RITUAL WORK AND THE FORMATION OF A SHARED SENSE OF MEANINGFULNESS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lepisto, Douglas A.
• 署名单位: Western Michigan University; Western Michigan University
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2018.0854
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1327-1352
• 关键词: CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP; EMOTIONAL ENERGY; ORGANIZATIONS; SENSEMAKING; engagement; management; synchrony; SPACES; self; job

摘要

Drawing from a 21-month field study of an athletic footwear and apparel company, I build theory on how a shared sense of meaningfulness forms through interaction ritual and emotion. I find that a shared sense of meaningfulness is composed of a shared feeling and a shared representation that are constructed sequentially. Leaders trigger and propel formation through a set of actions I refer to as ritual work that proliferates emotional energy across the population of members. Members subsequently share their feelings of emotional energy through talk and gesture to develop a shared feeling of meaningfulness. Leaders then articulate words and connect these words to shared feelings to produce a shared representation of meaningfulness. I integrate these findings into a three-step process model. This model contributes to our understanding of the triggers, cultural mechanisms, and role of emotions in the formation of meaningfulness in organizations.