The semiotic theory of A.J. Greimas in mainstream organization theory and organization research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider the reception of the semiotic theory of A.J. Greimas in mainstream organization theory and organization research. “Mainstream organization theory” and “mainstream organization research” comprise a domain with publications entirely in English in higher-impact journals with a characteristically substantial attraction of citations to the published works. This delineation of the “mainstream” indicates no apology, but, on the contrary, suggests criticism towards the prevailing hegemonic dominance with inequalities between national languages, cultures, and cultural and linguistic regions of the world (Meriläinen et al. 2008; Tietze and Dick 2013). The quantitative character of established impact indicators of academic research further adds to the hegemony. This paper considers the reception of the theory from an extensive rather than an intensive point of view. For instance, the paper does not try to catch authors for skewed reception of the theory of Greimas, ignorance of the theoretical context of the borrowed elements, simplification verging towards vulgarization, or misunderstanding. The paper asks two research questions: 1. How has the theory of Greimas been received in mainstream organization theory and organization research? 2. Has mainstream organization theory and organization research left opportunities offered by the theory of Greimas unexploited as concerns the reception of this theory?