Abstract: This talk introduces organizational paradox theory and provides an in-depth example from the National Communication Association’s 2025 “Outstanding Journal Article” for Organizational Communication. Specifically, the focus is on the adaptive journey of a regulatory organization when navigating the (dis)equilibrating dynamics of multiple paradoxes in an interorganizational system. The process model that emerges from our study highlights phronetic pivoting, first, as change-ups in the regulatory space that shift the power dynamics with oscillation toward equilibrium in seemingly disequilibrating ways and, second, facilitates the learning of oscillation grounded in the power/knowledge practices of competing regulatory philosophies.
Bio: Gail T. Fairhurst is a Distinguished Research Professor, Emerita of Organizational Communication at the University of Cincinnati, USA. She specializes in organizational communication processes, including those involving paradox, problem-centered leadership, and framing. She is the author of four books, including Performing Organizational Paradoxes (with L. Putnam), Discursive Leadership: In Conversation with Leadership Psychology, The Power of Framing: Challenging the Language of Leadership, and The Art of Framing: Managing the Language of Leadership (with R. Sarr) and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Organizational Leadership Communication (with G. Jian). She has published over 100 articles and chapters in management and communication journals and books, and has received numerous awards for her scholarship. She is a Fellow of the International Communication Association, Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association, Fulbright Scholar, and recipient of three career achievement awards: the International Communication Association’s Steven Chaffee Career Achievement Award, Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Leadership Association, and the University of Cincinnati Faculty Career Award.
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Anu Sivunen
Professor
Department of Language and Communication Studies
