Investigating the Social-Symbolic Work of Organizational Repurposing

Existing studies of organizational purpose have predominantly taken a backward view, highlighting how leaders uphold the existing, historical purpose of the organization. However, relatively little work investigates how purpose can intentionally shift, thereby incorporating novel moral imperatives that connect ethical aims with everyday practices. To address this gap, we introduce the notion of radical purpose adaptation, wherein an established organization consciously and substantially revises its purpose to align with broader societal obligations. Our analysis draws on a longitudinal, single-case study of a business school undergoing a process of strategic change. Using a social-symbolic work perspective, we conceptualize purpose as a social-symbolic object and examine how leaders actively construct the new purpose while aligning internal and external stakeholder. We find that while leaders’ efforts can indeed enact major change, they also produce unintended effects: some organizational members become distanced from the new purpose, resulting in what we term “precarious bridging.”