Textuality and Agency in Interaction Analysis

Abstract

This article examines the role of textuality and agency in organizational interaction analysis. Six genres of interaction analysis research are reviewed, some of which address the question of how organizations are discursively constituted. Although interaction analysts agree on the role of discourse/text in the constitution of organizations, no such agreement exists on the role of meaning and agency. After addressing several criticisms of interaction analysis research, this article focuses on the contributions made by the study of temporal form through interaction analysis. This article concludes by revisiting the question of how organizations are constituted vis-a-vis the role of discourse and agency from an interaction analysis perspective.