Understanding How Organizations Remember

Rice University
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Psychology
DOI: 10.18258/1380
$1,550
Raised of $1,500 Goal
103%
Funded on 11/09/13
Successfully Funded
  • $1,550
    pledged
  • 103%
    funded
  • Funded
    on 11/09/13

About This Project

Organizational behavior research tries to understand organizations (in this case, companies). One of the emerging fields within this research is institutional memory, how organizations remember and make sense of their history. My research will focus on two companies: the first one is a large, well-established firm and the second is a start-up. Additionally, this will become the groundwork for my Ph.D. thesis after I graduate from Swarthmore College.

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What is the context of this research?

How do established companies remember and make sense of significant events in their history and how do new companies create their intuitional memory?

What is the significance of this project?

There is no existing research about
how companies and organizations remember and make sense of major events. This study will begin to fill in the blanks. By building on the existing body of research literature that focuses on organizational identity, this study will use the qualitative tools of identity research to create new theoretical contributions to the literature.

What are the goals of the project?

I will be using the funds to travel to the research locations. I have two companies, one based in California and the other in Tennessee, that have agreed to be part of my study. I need the funds to travel to their offices to conduct interviews, review company memos and newsletters, and take notes about their offices. Additionally, I will be recording and transcribing my interviews (a very time consuming process) and I will need to hire a research assistant that will help me transcribe my interviews.

Budget

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The funds that are raised will go to four items. The first two items are the cost of airfare to travel to the companies’ offices in both California and Tennessee so that I can conduct interviews with executives. The third item is local travel costs (i.e. taxi and subway costs). The final item is hiring a research assistant to help me transcribe the interviews, which will be about an hour in length each and require significant assistance to transcribe.

Meet the Team

Aldo Frosinini
Aldo Frosinini

Team Bio

Aldo Frosinini is a student at Swarthmore College and is spending this fall semester at Rice University working under Professor Otilia Obodaru. His goal is to use the data he gathers during this semester to publish a paper in the area of institutional memory, and subsequently use the data set when he pursues his Ph.D.

Lab Notes

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Travel Update
October 17, 2013
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Update on travel!
October 9, 2013
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Project Backers

  • 18Backers
  • 103%Funded
  • $1,550Total Donations
  • $86.11Average Donation
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