Building Theories of Organization : The Constitutive Role of Communication

This volume explores the concept of communication as it applies to organizational theory. Bringing together multiple voices, it focuses on communication’s role in the constitution of organization. Editors Linda L. Putnam and Anne Maydan Nicotera have assembled an all-star cast of contributors, each providing a distinctive voice and perspective.

The contents of this volume compare and contrast approaches to the notion that communication constitutes organization. Chapters also examine the ways that those processes produce patterns that endure over time and that constitute the organization as a whole. This collection bridges different disciplines and serves a vital role in developing dimensions, characteristics, and relationships among concepts that address how communication constitutes organization. It will appeal to scholars and researchers working in organizational communication, organizational studies, management, sociology, social collectives, and organizational psychology and behavior.

LINDA L. PUTNAM (Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1977) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Her current research interests include discourse analysis in organizations, negotiation, and organizational conflict. She is the co-editor of eight books, including Organizational Communication, The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Discourse, and The New Handbook of Organizational Communication.

ANNE MAYDAN NICOTERA (Ph.D., Ohio University, 1990) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at George Mason University. Her research is grounded in a constitutive perspective and focuses on culture and conflict, diversity, race and gender, and aggressive communication, with a particular interest in healthcare organizations. She has also published four books and numerous articles on these topics.