We are projects: Narrative capital and meaning making in projects

Carlsen, A.; Pitsis, T.S.

doi:10.1177/8756972820929479

We are projects: Narrative capital and meaning making in projects

Carlsen, A.; Pitsis, T.S.

Authors

A. Carlsen

Professor Tyrone Pitsis tyrone.s.pitsis@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Research on projects has to a limited degree taken issue with how projects are chief producers of meaning at work. We develop the concept of narrative capital as a basic mechanism for how people can engender meaning in and through projects in organizations. Narrative capital is derived from experiences that people appropriate into their individual and collective life stories, retrospectively, as adding to a repertoire of accumulated learning and mastering, and prospectively, in terms of living with purpose and hope. We chart implications for meaning making in projects as expanding ownership, expanding connections of impact, and extending narrative possibility.

Citation

Carlsen, A., & Pitsis, T. (2020). We are projects: Narrative capital and meaning making in projects. Project Management Journal, 51(4), 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972820929479

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Feb 27, 2020
Online Publication Date	Jun 16, 2020
Publication Date	Aug 1, 2020
Deposit Date	Mar 13, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Apr 16, 2020
Journal	Project Management Journal
Print ISSN	8756-9728
Electronic ISSN	8756-9728
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	51
Issue	4
Pages	357-366
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972820929479
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1268205

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Copyright Statement
Carlsen, A. & Pitsis, T. S. (2020). We are projects: Narrative capital and meaning making in projects. Project Management Journal 51(4): 357-366. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s) DOI: 10.1177/8756972820929479