SHAPING THE FUTURE: THE EVOLVING ROLE OF NARRATIVES IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL INNOVATION.

Abstract

This dissertation study examines and produces empirical evidence on how organizational members, who are food pantry employees, share stories and narratives created by the organizational group. This exploration provides insight into how to appropriately categorize these stories, leading to the identification of distinctive themes and narratives. The study's findings contribute to understanding the shared values, goals, and objectives of the organizational group. Utilizing symbolic convergence theory and fantasy theme analysis, this study answers the research question regarding the existence of fantasy themes, types, and rhetorical visions among organizational members. The organization under study is a mid to large-sized nonprofit food pantry organization located on the campus of a large academic institution. Semi-structured interviews are employed to gain a deeper understanding of organizational members' experiences. Furthermore, the researcher has developed and established an extension of this theory, known as the ‘construct and confront framework,’ which is heavily influenced by symbolic convergence theory.

Keywords: nonprofit organizational communication, food pantry, narrative building, symbolic convergence theory