Online Program
Session Type: Symposium
Program Session: 1799 | Submission: 17833 | Sponsor(s): (OMT)
Scheduled: Tuesday, Aug 13 2019 9:45AM - 11:15AM at Boston Hynes Convention Center in 103
 
Organizational Ghosts: How Historic Leaders Live on Beyond the Grave
Organizational Ghosts
Research

View Map
Organizer: Joelle Basque, TELUQ U.
Organizer: Ann Langley, HEC Montréal
Organizer: Nora Meziani, HEC Montreal
Organizer: Viviane Sergi, UQAM
Discussant: Daniel Wadhwani, U. of the Pacific
Presenter: Jeffrey Bednar, Brigham Young U.
Presenter: Jacob Brown, Boston College
Presenter: Mairi Maclean, U. of Bath
Presenter: Charles Edward Harvey, Newcastle U.
Presenter: Innan Sasaki, Lancaster U. Management School
Presenter: Davide Ravasi, UCL School of Management
This symposium focuses on the notion of ‘organizational ghosts’, that is, revered founders and other historical figures who still ‘haunt’ their organizations, even long after they have passed away. The four presenters in this symposium explore the role and influence that figures such as Walt Disney and Steve Jobs (but also lesser-known figures) have on the discourse, identity and strategies of their organizations. Specifically, the aim of this symposium is to address how, as symbols from the past, founder figures are kept ‘alive’ by successors, and how they continue to influence various organizational processes. The four presentations consider, for example, how organizational ghosts become sources of motivation, accountability, legitimation and behavioral norms for employees involved in a merger, how they enable organizations to “live off their past,” how they sustain their presence through text, oral memory and material artefacts, and how they serve as discursive devices for their successors. Each presenter draws on different examples. These include well-known companies (Proctor & Gamble, Apple, Delta Airlines, Hewlett-Packard), centuries-old Japanese firms, and lesser known organizations including a cooperative bank and a gourmet restaurant. Dan Wadhwani, an expert in historical organization studies and the uses of history, will serve as discussant.
Organizational Ghosts and Their Enduring Influence in Organizations
Presenter: Jeffrey Bednar, Brigham Young U.
Presenter: Jacob Brown, Boston College
Living Off the Past? The Role of Organizational Ghosts in Organizational Transition
Presenter: Mairi Maclean, U. of Bath
Presenter: Charles Edward Harvey, Newcastle U.
Organizational Ghosts and Memory Forms
Presenter: Innan Sasaki, Lancaster U. Management School
Presenter: Davide Ravasi, UCL School of Management
Organizational Ghosts as Discursive Devices
Presenter: Joelle Basque, TELUQ U.
Presenter: Ann Langley, HEC Montréal
Presenter: Nora Meziani, HEC Montreal
Presenter: Viviane Sergi, UQAM
  
KEY TO SYMBOLS Teaching-oriented Teaching-oriented   Practice-oriented Practice-oriented   International-oriented International-oriented   Theme-oriented Theme-oriented   Research-oriented Research-oriented   Teaching-oriented Diversity-oriented
Selected as a Best Paper Selected as a Best Paper