What Does It Mean to Be a “Polytechnic” University? Cultural Discourse Analysis of Organizational Identity

Abstract

This study explicates discourse surrounding organizational identity negotiation among different stakeholders during organizational change in a polytechnic university. We bridge organizational identity approach and Cultural Discourse Analysis (CuDA) and demonstrate how an organizational identity is negotiated through cultural communicative practices active among student leaders, faculty, administrators, and staff. Five themes emerged from our analysis of 24 interviews with university stakeholders: 1) polytechnic as “STEM”; 2) polytechnic prioritizes certain disciplines over others; 3) polytechnic as “learn-by-doing”; 4) polytechnic as many arts; and 5) polytechnic as symbolic of tension among colleges.