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Rethinking vulnerability of dialogical interactions in an organizational merger through embodied metaphors : a methodological study
(Presentation at the European Academy of Management Annual Conference (EURAM) 2025)





AuthorsNummi, Eeva; Satama, Suvi

Conference nameEuropean Academy of Management Annual Conference

PublisherEuropean Academy of Management

Publication year2025

Journal:EURAM conference

Book title EURAM 2025, Florence, Italy : Managing with Purpose

ISBN978-2-9602195-7-9

ISSN2466-7498

Web address https://euram.academy/euram?service=info&d=past_conferences

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/491928320

Additional informationFor EURAM 2025, the abstracts and full papers will be published in e-format and for the latter, accessible for registered delegates only.


Abstract

This study explores the methodological potential of embodied metaphors to capture the vulnerabilities of dialogical interactions in an organisational merger. Although there is an established body of research on the embodied side of work organisations in the field of organisation studies, little is known about how organizational merger unfolds as a highly embodied and vulnerable process. This study is based on a two-year ethnography of an organisational merger. The empirical material consists of 13 dialogues between organizational members, five dialogic interviews, workshop material and an autoethnographic diary by one of the authors written in the midst of the merger process. Based on our in-depth ethnographic analysis, we identified three embodied metaphors which capture the experiences of vulnerability of the organizational members in dialogic interactions amidst the merger – Bambi, a spider, and a bat in a glass box. These embodied metaphors offer a powerfully sensory perspective on the collectively intimate struggles faced during the organisational merger and illustrate their potential in capturing the embodied nuances of this process.


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Last updated on 2025-07-10 at 10:15