From ‘Less Landfilling’ to ‘Wasting Less’: Societal narratives, socio-materiality, and organizations

• Abstract in UndeterminedPurpose - The purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narratives - narratives about the character, history, or envisioned future of societies. Design/methodology/approach - A case study of a Swedish municipal waste management company serves as an illustration. Findings - Swedish waste governance is powered by two main narratives: "less landfilling" and "wasting less". Less landfilling has been the dominant narrative for several decades, but wasting less is gaining momentum, and a new narrative order is establishing itself. This new narrative order significantly redefines the socio-material status of waste and imposes major changes on waste management organizations. Research limitations/implications - Based on the case of waste governance in Sweden, the authors conclude that organizations should be aware that societal narrative affects the legitimacy and nature of their operations; therefore, they must integrate a watch for narrative change in their strategic reflections. Originality/value - This paper establishes the relevance of the notion of societal narrative to understand organizational change.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Society

Narratives

Sweden

Waste management

Social change

Sustainability

Organizational change

Organizational processes

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)