Affiliations: Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Culture,
Organization and Management, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081,
1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail:
{sb.ybema,m.veenswijk}@fsw.vu.nl | Bournemouth Media School, Bournemouth University,
Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK. E-mail:
cdaymon@bournemouth.ac.uk
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: In professional organizations undergoing commercial change a natural
dilemma presents itself between two competing value orientations; one more
market-driven, the other based on an occupational or ideological ethic. As a
natural hybrid the cultural industry may be considered as an extreme case in
this respect, due to the inherent tension between being both 'cultural' (i.e.,
a focus on professional quality, public good) and 'industry' (a commercial
imperative and market orientation). In this paper internal negotiations
resulting from this inherent tension within two media organizations are
analysed. The study examines how members of an established Dutch newspaper and
a relatively new British television station deal with their increasingly
commercialised working environments. By analysing everyday talk and text
competing cultural discourses and rhetorical strategies are discerned, showing
the politicised nature of cultural change. Theoretical implications of the
findings for culture theory are discussed by critiquing clear-cut boundary
thinking. The focus on hybridity (or hybridisation) helps to clarify the
complexity of cultural change in organizations that become infused with
commercial values and, more specifically, the way cultural boundaries are
reinforced and transcended in this process.
Keywords: Media organizations, organizational culture, hybridisation, cultural change, commercialisation
