Organizational longevity: perspectives on time in the discourse on management and strategy of long-lived companies

Yasmin Iara Ferreira Veloso, Jacquelaine Florindo Borges
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21529/RECADM.2025003

Abstract

In this research, business longevity is analyzed based on different concepts of temporality in the discourse on management and strategy of long-lasting companies operating in Brazil. The research offers an overview of two epistemological perspectives: one that represents orthodoxy and another with the potential to expand studies on organizational longevity. The article is based on studies on time and temporality, and on studies of business management and organizational strategy that deal with longevity in organizations: scenario analysis, organization life cycle, organizational path-dependence, strategic storytelling, organizational history and strategy as discourse. The collection and analysis of the researched material were conducted using the critical discourse analysis (CDA) method, considering Teun A.van Dijk's socio-cognitive approach. Data collection was carried out using documentary research on the websites of thirteen companies which have been operating for more than fifty years. The discourse analysis of the long-lasting companies researched resulted in ten images about organizational longevity. Such images intertwine elements of the past, a successful fight for survival, and projections of their promising future, which they incorporate into their present and shape the stories they tell society. This article contributes different views for researching and teaching of lasting company strategies and to studies on time and strategy.


Keywords

corporate longevity; strategic storytelling; long-lived company; organizational history; organizational strategy

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