Multimodal Construction of a Rational Myth: Industrialization of the French Building Sector in the Period from 1945 to 1970
Multimodality, Meaning, and Institutions
ISBN: 978-1-78743-332-8, eISBN: 978-1-78743-331-1
Publication date: 30 November 2017
Abstract
This chapter examines how proponents of industrialization used multiple modes of communication to socially construct the rational myth of industrialization in the French construction sector after World War II. We illuminate the respective roles of visual and verbal communication in this process. Our findings suggest that actors construct rational myths according to the following step-by-step method: first, they use visuals to suggest associations between new practices and valuable purposes; then they use verbal text to establish the technical rationality of certain practices; and lastly, they employ both verbal and visual communications to convey their mythical features.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Danish Research Council (DFF-1327-00030) and helpful feedback from Davide Ravasi and colleagues at Grenoble School of Management, Copenhagen Business School, and MINES ParisTech.
Citation
Boxenbaum, E., Daudigeos, T., Pillet, J.-C. and Colombero, S. (2017), "Multimodal Construction of a Rational Myth: Industrialization of the French Building Sector in the Period from 1945 to 1970", Höllerer, M.A., Daudigeos, T. and Jancsary, D. (Ed.) Multimodality, Meaning, and Institutions (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 54B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-36. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X2017000054B001
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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