This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ganesh, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Organizational Narcissism

Technology, Legitimacy, and Identity in an Indian NGO

University of Montana

This article is a critical examination of discourses on technology in a nongovernment organization (NGO). In it, the author elaborates on the organization’s use of "appropriate technology" discourse, its framing of information and communication technology (ICT) in the NGO, and the development of a for-profit ICT system in the organization. The author argues that the NGO’s use of appropriate technology discourse serves to produce and perpetuate an overall market bias. Alongside this, a limited conception of information and communication results in the NGO defining its rural constituents in terms of a passive market. This has consequences for the NGO’s identity, which it conceives of in terms of its own legitimacy rather than public accountability. The term organizational narcissism is used to explain this phenomenon. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Key Words: auto-communication • information and communication technology • narcissism • NGOs • organizational legitimacy • organizational accountability

Management Communication Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 4, 558-594 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0893318903252539


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Ganesh and K. F. Barber The silent community: Organizing zones in the digital divide Human Relations, June 1, 2009; 62(6): 851 - 874. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Guowei Jian, A. M. Schmisseur, and G. T. Fairhurst Organizational discourse and communication: the progeny of Proteus Discourse & Communication, August 1, 2008; 2(3): 299 - 320. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Lewis The Civil Society Sector: A Review of Critical Issues and Research Agenda for Organizational Communication Scholars Management Communication Quarterly, November 1, 2005; 19(2): 238 - 267. [Abstract] [PDF]