Hope as a Cultural Counter-Narrative: When Emotional Norms Subvert Organizational Logic

Sawyer & Clair (2021) introduce the concept of hope culture as a set of collectively held emotional norms. But what happens when these emotional norms directly contradict the organization’s formal rules or rational procedures? This research would focus on cases where hope, optimism, or collective aspiration drive employees to subvert established processes or targets—sometimes with positive (resilience, innovation) and sometimes with negative (overreach, burnout) consequences. By treating hope not just as a mood but as a competing normative system, this study would challenge the assumption that organizational culture is always rational or efficiency-driven. The novelty is in exploring emotional norms as powerful, sometimes subversive, cultural forces that can drive strategic and ethical outcomes beyond what top-down change management can achieve. This could inform new approaches to managing “emotional climates” in organizations facing grand challenges or existential threats.

References:

1. Hope Cultures in Organizations: Tackling the Grand Challenge of Commercial Sex Exploitation. Katina B. Sawyer, Judith A. Clair (2021). Administrative Science Quarterly.