Ahead of the curve in the MBA bubble: Institutional narcissism and the narrative reconstruction of moral agency
- Authors
- Type
- Published Article
- Journal
- Frontiers of Narrative Studies
- Publisher
- De Gruyter
- Publication Date
- Aug 08, 2017
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 142–157
- Identifiers
- DOI: 10.1515/fns-2017-0009
- Source
- De Gruyter
- Keywords
- License
- Yellow
Abstract
Academic criticism of institutional narcissism in business schools is well established. But little scholarly attention has been devoted to insider critics of business schools. Filling this research gap – from an interdisciplinary narrative perspective – is the aim of this article. It draws attention to one of the many autobiographical narratives that have recently been published by MBA graduates. Narcissism here appears as an important theme, both on an institutional and a personal level. What role does narration play for coping with narcissism? To explore this question, this paper offers a close reading of Ahead of the curve: Two years at Harvard Business School (2008) by Philip Delves Broughton. After a brief introduction to institutional narcissism and organizational narrative studies, the article illustrates how narrative functions as a sense-making tool for understanding institutional narcissism and as a means to reconstruct individual moral agency. The study pushes the frontiers of narrative studies by providing an innovative blend of empirical organizational research and literary studies, while also touching upon genre, interdisciplinarity, and the ethical responsibility of business in society.
