TY - JOUR

T1 - Resistance through difference

T2 - the co-constitution of dissent and inclusion

AU - Gagnon, Suzanne

AU - Collinson, David Leonard

N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Organization Studies, 38 (9), 2017, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2017 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Organization Studies page: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/oss on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/

PY - 2017/9/1

Y1 - 2017/9/1

N2 - This article argues that discursive constructions of difference can shape practices of organizational resistance. Drawing on an inductive study of international teams in a global leadership programme, the paper reveals how difference is discursively produced and reproduced in team members’ talk. In conditions of normalizing control, the majority of teams engage in individuating practices that reinforce internal differences, preclude group cohesion and marginalize certain members. One team, however, explicitly resists programme stipulations in ways that express members’ heterogeneity and simultaneously reinforce group solidarity. Referring to these oppositional practices as ‘resistance through difference’, the article describes how dissent challenges the hierarchies and disciplinary practices embedded in the leadership programme, and theorizes the co-constitution of inclusion and resistance. By examining the construction of difference not as ‘a problem’, but as a productive resource, the paper also addresses thegenerative outcomes of this managerial resistance. We argue that ‘resistance through difference’ is an important form of dissent that could well become more prevalent as globalized business processes expand.

AB - This article argues that discursive constructions of difference can shape practices of organizational resistance. Drawing on an inductive study of international teams in a global leadership programme, the paper reveals how difference is discursively produced and reproduced in team members’ talk. In conditions of normalizing control, the majority of teams engage in individuating practices that reinforce internal differences, preclude group cohesion and marginalize certain members. One team, however, explicitly resists programme stipulations in ways that express members’ heterogeneity and simultaneously reinforce group solidarity. Referring to these oppositional practices as ‘resistance through difference’, the article describes how dissent challenges the hierarchies and disciplinary practices embedded in the leadership programme, and theorizes the co-constitution of inclusion and resistance. By examining the construction of difference not as ‘a problem’, but as a productive resource, the paper also addresses thegenerative outcomes of this managerial resistance. We argue that ‘resistance through difference’ is an important form of dissent that could well become more prevalent as globalized business processes expand.

KW - Resistance

KW - difference

KW - leadership development

KW - social diversity

KW - inclusion

KW - normative control

KW - Discourse

U2 - 10.1177/0170840616685362

DO - 10.1177/0170840616685362

M3 - Journal article

VL - 38

SP - 1253

EP - 1276

JO - Organization Studies

JF - Organization Studies

SN - 0170-8406

IS - 9

ER -