BEYOND THE EMOTIONAL WORK EVENT SOCIAL SHARING OF EMOTION IN ORGANIZATIONS Stefan Meisiek AKADEMISK AVHANDLING Som for avlaggande av ekonomie doktorsexamen vid Handelshogskolan i Stockholm framlaggs for offentlig gra.nskning 2 oktober 2003, kl. 10 i sal Torsten, Handelshogskolan Sveavagen 65 BEYOND THE EMOTIONAL WORK EVENT SOCIAL SHARING OF EMOTION IN ORGANIZATIONS ~~\- STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS ~.~~~.~ EFI, THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE EFIMission EFI, the Economic Research Institute at the Stockholm School ofEconomics, is a scientific institution which works independently ofeconomic, political and sectional interests. It conducts theoretical and empirical research in management and economic sciences, including selected related disciplines. The Institute encourages and assists in the publication and distribution ofits research fmdings and is also involved in the doctoral education at the Stockholm School of Economics. 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ORGANIZATIONAND MANAGEMENT Management and Organisation; (A) Prof Sven-Erik Sjostrand Center for Ethics and Economics; (CEE) Adj ProfHans de Geer Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Creation; (E) ProfCarin Holmquist Public Management; (F) ProfNils Brunsson Information Management; (I) ProfMats Lundeberg Center for People and Organization; (PMO) ProfJan Lowstedt Center for Innovation and Operations Management; (T) ProfChrister Karlsson ECONOMIC PSYCHOLOGY Center for Risk Research; (CFR) ProfLennart Sjoberg Economic Psychology; (P) ProfGuje Sevon MARKETING Center for Consumer Marketing; (CCM) Acting ProfMagnus Soderlund Center for Information and Communication Research; (CIC) Adj ProfBerti! Thomgren Marketing, Distribution and Industrial Dynamics; (D) ProfBjorn Axelsson ACCOUNTING, CONTROL AND CORPORATE FINANCE Accounting and Managerial Finance; (B) ProfLars Ostman Managerial Economics; (C) ProfPeter Jennergren FINANCE Finance; (FI) ProfClas Bergstrom ECONOMICS Center for Health Economics; (CRE) ProfBengt Jonsson International Economics and Geography; (lEG) ProfMats Lundahl Economics; (8) ProfLars Bergman ECONOMICS STATISTICS Economic Statistics; (ES) ProfAnders Westlund LAW Law; (RV) ProfErik Nerep Chairman ofthe Board: ProfHakan Lindgren. Director: Associate ProfBo Sellstedt. Adress EFI, Box 6501, S-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden • Internet: www.hhs.se/efi/ Telephone: +46(0)8-736 90 00 • Fax: +46(0)8-31 62 70 • E-mail [email protected] BEYOND THE EMOTIONAL WORK EVENT SOCIAL SHARING OF EMOTION IN ORGANIZATIONS STEFAN MEISIEK {;~ STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS '\~t:.tlj EFI, THE ECONOMIC R,ESEA,RCH INSTITUTE 4it' Dissertation for the Degree of ~j Doctor ofPhilosophy, Ph.D. (Business Administration) Stockholm School ofEconomics 2003 © EFI and the author ISBN nr 91-7258-628-1 Keywords: Emotion Sensemaking Knowledge Sharing Narrative Theory Social Networks H-umor Collective Memory Strategic Issue Emergence Job Interviews Organization Theatre Printed by Elanders Gotab, Stockholm 2003-08-24 Distributed by: EFI, The Economic Research Institute Stockholm School ofEconomics PO Box 6501, 113 83 Stockholm www.hhs.se/efi Fiir meine Mutter PREFACE This report is a result ofa research project carried out at the Center for Managen1ent & Organization (A-Sektionen) at the Economic Research Institute at the Stockholm School ofEconomics. This volume is submitted as a doctor's thesis at the Stockholm School of Economics. As usual at the Economic Research Institute, tIle author had been entirely free to conduct and present her research in her own ways as an expression ofher own ideas. The institute is grateful for the financial support provided by the Wallander & Hedelius Foundation. The present volun1e would not 11ave been possible without the cooperation ofthe Execlltive Education students and the organizations that participated in the study. The Economic Research Institute wishes to warmly thank all involved for their generosity and openness. Bo Sellstedt Sven-Erik Sjostrand Director ofthe Professor Economic Research Institute at the Center for Managen1ent & Stockl10lm School ofEconomics Organization at the Stockll0lm School ofEconomics ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have beell possible without the support and understanding ofthe people around me. I want to thank • Sven-Erik Sjastrand for taking me under his wings • Claes Gustafsson, Guje Sevon & Uclo Zander for being part ofmy demanding and supportive supervisor committee • Emil for colloquial Swedish; Filip and Dag for their theoretical inspirations; and my other colleagues from the A-Sektionen: Lena, Johan, Markus, Ingrid, Nana, Annelie, Birgitta, Jenny, Pemilla, Emma, Illinca, Carina, Anna, Pia, Charlotte, Klara, Stefan, and ofcourse Johan (tjl), Jargen, Daniel and Gunnar for suggestions, questions alld small talk. • My colleagues and friends from other departments • Sigal Barsade and Elaine Hatfield for their helpful comnlents • Bernard Rime for his openness and theoretical inspirations • Bill Starbuck and Zur Shapira for my stay at NYU • Walter Powell and Barbara Beuche for my stay at Stanford • Eduard Bonet for my stay at ESADE •Y Vanessa por su ayuda, paciencia, amor, su carino y una sOI1fisa cuando 10 he necesitado 10 mas Stockholm, August 2003 Table of Contents Introduction ARTICLE ONE Nonsense Makes Sense: Humor in Social Sharing of Emotion at the Workplace ARTICLE TWO Addressing Collective Memory: ChiefExecutive Autobiographies, Enlotion and the Presentation ofSelf ARTICLE THREE Social Sharing ofEmotion and Strategic Change in a Small Business Venture ARTICLE FOUR Group Polarization Revisited: Effects of Discussion among Recruiters on Perceived Person­ Job and Person-Organization Fit ARTICLE FIVE From Theater Theory to Business Practice: Theories ofAction of Organization Theater Companies BEYOND THE EMOTIONAL WORK EVENT 1 INTRODUCTION very day people experience hassles and joys at work. EConsequently, research on emotion in organizational settings has tended to focus on these "as- they occur" (Weiss & Copranzano, 1996; Bartel & Saavedra, 2000; Pugh, 2001; Fischer, 2002; Grandey et ale 2002; Barsade, 2002) and "as they are mallaged" (Hochschild, 1983; Sutton & Rafaeli, 1988; Sutton, 1991; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1991; Wharton & Erickson, 1993; Huy, 2002). However, not only do people experience emotional events at work: they may also talk abollt these events to their colleagues or intimates (Rime et al., 1998; Sjostrand et aI., 2001). And this verbal sharing of emotion may occur as well in everyday work life as it does in turbulent times or after extraordinary events (Rinle et al., 1998). It can be assumed that this narrating and sharing of emotional work events will have an impact on organizations which, in order to be successful, depend heavily on fluid knowledge-sharing (Hayek, 1945; Kogut & Zander, 1992; Tsoukas, 1996; Tsai, 2002), on the cOl1struction of a shared system of mealling for tIle integratioll of their nlenlbers (Weick, 1995; Sjostrand, 1997; cf. Berger & Luckmann, 1966) and on fruitful interactiollS among their members for the development of vital social networks (Labianca et aI., 1998; Mehra et aI., 2001; Sparrowe et aI., 2001). To extend the perspective on emotion in organizations as something that occurs and is managed, it can 2 INTRODUCTION thus be rewarding to look at what happens beyond the emotional work evel1t. Felt emotion does not necessarily disappear immediately after the event that caused it; rather the reminiscence of it may be stored in memory al1d pondered over, most likely triggering verbal communication about the original emotional event later on (Pennebaker et aI., 1987; Rime et aI., 1991; 1998). Discussions at meetings or video conferences can be idel1tified in organizations as arenas for the social sharing of emotional experiences, but so too can "small talk" at coffee breaks, in telephone calls or in e­ mails. It is not always feasible to draw a clear distinctiol1 between these apparently formal and informal organizational interactions, but the dichotomy is nonetheless frequently used to classify forms of organizational coordination (Tsai, 2002). The narratives picked up from insiders or outsiders of the organization can be shared in the same way, leading in some cases to their diffusion in the organization and their possible retention as organizational narratives (Boje, 1991; Czarniawska, 1996). This type of commllnication about emotional events has been labeled the social sharing of emotion (SSE) (Rime et al., 1991; 1998). Talking about an emotional event is not then regarded as a purely cognitive activity. Rather, while recalling an emotional event and lending words to it, the storyteller is to a certain extent re-living the emotiol1 that originally accompanied the event. This finds expression in vocal, facial and postural cues, as well as in the words chosen to tell the story. This indicates that the social sharing ofemotion or SSE is an emotional event is itself. A solid theoretical base for analyzing SSE in organizations can be found in Weick's ideas on sensemaking (Weick, 1993; 1995). According to Weick, enl0tiol1 is bellind the "ongoing" property of sensemaking. Weick employs here an emotions-as­ they-occllf perspective by focusing on sensemaking, emotion and the interruption