Organizational Discourse and Change in Japan: Practicing Between Generative and Dominant Discourses

Abstract

The major objective of this article is to respond to Grant and Marshak’s (2011) call for a move towards change perspectives that emphasize the generative nature of discourses, narratives, and conversations and how change practitioners discursively facilitate the process in Japanese organizational culture. This paper attempts to investigate the question, “Can we specify the conditions and sources which make generative conversations emerge and may lead to a successful change effort in Japan?” The preliminary inquiry into the question indicates that the generative change process convinces change sponsors that changing the dominant discourses and welcoming alternative ones can lead to the long-term development of the organizations and themselves. With respect to the sources of alternative discourses, while psychological safety and trust in the external authority figure are generally required, the importance of the players’ survival anxiety and talent diversity may vary across the broad contexts on which organizations depend. The development of the discourse-based change framework with applications to the concepts of a political sensemaking approach and economic sociology is also emphasized in this context.