Finding Myth and Motive in Language: A Narrative of Organizational Change

Abstract

Our article defines myth as “ideology in narrative form” and explores the role of myth in an organizational change story. Following Roland Barthes we show that when word meaning shifts from first- to second-order semiology the myth that develops within the second-order semiology of a discourse may become a determinant of change outcomes. Here we tell a story of a symphony orchestra that operated as a self-governing co-operative for its first 25 years but, influenced by the storying of second-order semiology, it undertook a radical change: it adopted a corporate style of governance. We explore this change as an example of a restructuring that was assumed to be managed rationally but was in part mythologically driven.