组织词汇研究述评及展望

Organizational Vocabulary Perspective:Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

组织词汇研究将语言学的理论框架与研究方法情境化融入到组织研究中,通过剖析组织情境中的词汇及其运用洞察组织行为、现象及其内在逻辑的演进,在近年得到广泛的学术认可。本文首先简介组织词汇研究现状并分析其与话语研究的主要异同,进而重点从结构与功能视角对已有研究及其主要成果进行系统的回顾。从结构视角来看,词频、词间关系及词例关系构成已有组织词汇研究的主要内容,而词汇结构将三者融为一体;从功能视角来看,组织词汇的表层沟通功能与深层逻辑功能促使词汇研究与组织沟通、协作、制度逻辑等领域紧密结合。以此为基础,本文综合述评词汇研究对组织研究的主要贡献,提出组织词汇研究结构与功能视角互动模型,并通过分析现有研究的局限之处展望未来研究的主要方向,以期在向中国组织管理界推介这一研究方法及理论框架的同时,为后续组织词汇研究提供启示与建议。

Since the linguistic turn in the late 1980s ,vocabulary analysis has been gradually employed and extended in organizational studies as a promising new research framework and methodology. Different from traditional empirical paradigms where language is treated as merely a tool to express research ideas, the organizational vocabulary perspective focuses directly on the words themselves-the usage of words, examples and their relationship to other vocabulary elements are the primary research lens used to uncover the underlying organizational behavior mechanisms and their evolutions over time. Despite its increasing importance in organizational studies abroad, this new approach has been largely neglected by the Chinese management scholars. Given its rich and complex vocabulary system, the Chinese language is a natural setting to extend the organizational vocabulary perspective, and findings from further explorations of the associations between vocabulary system and cultural connotations could yield important theoretical insights for organizational studies. Addressing this research opportunity through a systematic literature review incorporating both the structural and functional perspectives, this paper introduces the framework and methodology of the vocabulary perspective to the Chinese management field, and hopes to pave ways for future studies by offering several ways to improve and extend existing studies. From the structural perspective, organizational vocabulary studies mainly explore word frequency ,word-to-word relationship, word-to-example relationship and vocabulary structure. Word frequency refers to the frequency of key words appearing in a particular context;word-to-word relationship refers to the relationship between key words and related words, such as word matching and word clusters;word-to-example relationship links the key words with or- ganizational practices;and vocabulary structure presents a systematic description of structural characteristics by incorporating all three dimensions, with many more dimensions to be explored. From the functional perspective, the key functions of organizational vocabulary can be classified into two types-the communication function at the extrinsic level and the logic function at the intrinsic level. At the extrinsic level, basic functions of vocabularies, such as persuasion and coordination, contribute to communication among different members of the organization. At the intrinsic level, organizational vocabularies help to construct widely-understood organizational norms and practices through conventions related to the social and cultural connotation of words and examples. The categories emerged as a result of this integration process of scnsemaking and human cognition in turn allow organizational vocabularies to create, alter, and shape the underlying organizational logic. Obviously, elements of both perspectives are not independent when vocabulary is employed in the organizational context. It is precisely the interactions of elements from both the structural and functional perspectives that make vo- cabulary studies a valuable perspective in many fields of management. Therefore, this paper presents ＂an interactive model of the structural and functional perspectives in organizational vocabulary studies＂ based on the extensive literature review. With this model, we suggest possible directions for future research by analyzing limitations in extant studies. From the structural perspective, new dimensions can be explored by borrowing concepts and methods from syntax and text studies and adapting the basic approach of social network studies. Such dimensions will enrich our understanding of vocabulary structure and contribute to further empirical studies. From the functional perspective, more academic attention must be paid to the functions at the intrinsic level. To obtain a systematic and thorough understanding of such functions, future research could borrow cross-disciplinary theories from related fields, such as psychology, sociology and neuroscience, and conduct analysis from multiple levels and perspectives. Most important of all, future research should fully considered the interactions among different structural dimensions and functions, and explore topics related to the proposed interactive model.