Narrative Identity Achieved Through Utterances: The Implications of Bakhtin for Managing Change and Learning

Abstract

Ricoeur’s work on narrative has been instrumental in moving the conception of identity from the rational mind (Cartesian) to a text of narratives of meanings, desires, and aspirations. But his effort to question the Cartesian certainty came at a price, namely an excessive emphasis on personhood. This paper explicates the relevance of Bakhtin’s notion of dialogue for management by arguing for a critical examination of Ricoeur’s centripetal superiority of narrative order in favour of centrifugal encounters based on a Bakhtinian (dialogical) tension, one between an active addressor and an active addressee, rather than an active reciter and a passive listener. Adopting Bakhtin’s ideas has clear implications for the management of change and development of learning organisations.