THE PERFORMANCE OF INDUSTRY CULTURE:
Assumptions, Sources and Evolutionary Patterns
as Revealed in the Paradigmatic Interplay of
Reporting Structures and Communicative Processes
A Dissertation
Presented for the
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Linda Gayle Lyle
May 1998
Copyright @ Linda Gayle Lyle, 1998
All rights reserved
Dedicated with love and appreciation to a master teacher
whose belief in me made me believe in myself
Dr. Bain Tate Stewart
A rarer spirit never did steer humanity.
— William Shakespeare
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my doctoral committee, and most especially to my major professor and good friend, Dr. Dorothy Bowles. Her insightful instruction, constant encouragement, inspiring example, and perennial patience have been the "stars" to my "wandering bark" (apologies to Shakespeare), and I'm incredibly fortunate to have been in her apprentice. Likewise, Dean Herbert Howard, Dean Faye Julian, and Dr. Barbara Moore are eagles on whose wings I have been bourne by their perennial faith in me, by their mentorship, and by their good humor. I will remain deeply grateful to this entire committee for the rest of my days.
I have also been blessed with the support and friendship of numerous professors and colleagues. Among these, I owe special thanks to Dr. John Haas, whose "org comm" course led me to this dissertation's topic; to Dr. Pamela Harris, my dear friend and beau ideal, whose moral support has been my mainstay; to Dr. Richard Marius, Harvard University, who generously opened his home to me when I traveled to Boston, and who has been a source of great inspiration since my undergraduate days; to Sherry McNair and Betty Bradley, who solved even the most stubborn logistical problems; to Dr. Margaret Phillips, Pepperdine University, for her advice and assistance at this project's outset; to Dean Michael Stahl, whose keen interest in this work has helped motivate its timely completion; to Drs. Ron Taylor and Margaret Morrison, for patiently enduring endless discussions of the intricacies of qualitative methodology; and to Dr. Michelle Violanti, for always giving me the best possible advice at the best possible moments.
A profound debt of gratitude is also owed my dear friends and erstwhile colleagues in the student travel industry. Their collective willingness to share heart-and-mind with me is a sacred trust that I have tried my best to honor. Most especially do I thank Dr. Gilbert Markle and Dr. Theodore Voelkel, whose respective cooperation has been unspeakably generous, and whose genuine interest in the project has been both sustaining and enlightening.
Finally, words are completely inadequate to express my deep and abiding gratitude to my family. My husband, Kerry Roehr, is surely the most enlightened husband in the whole of creation, not to mention the most patient. Our precious daughter, Madison Lyleroehr, has gracefully endured her mother's preoccupation with writing for nearly as long as she can remember — which may explain why math is her favorite subject! I could not have survived this endeavor had it not been for Kerry's and Madison's love. Nor could I have persevered without the complete collaboration of my mother, Betty Long Lyle, whose first and last questions are always, "How can I help?" She and my father, the late J.B. Lyle, taught me to do my best, to follow my heart, and not to lose my soul in the process. After all is said and done, that is what has brought me here.
To all these, and to everyone who has had a hand in this endeavor, I extend my humble and abiding thanks.
ABSTRACT
This study (1) describes cultural assumptions in the student travel industry, relying upon protocols previously established within the functionalist perspective and (2) explains how these assumptions may have evolved by examining the basic communicative processes (performances) wherein industry culture has been made manifest.
The study identifies eight members of the student travel industry and uses qualitative methods that consist of in-depth interviews with the industry's "elite" members, as well as content analysis of selected historical and contemporary documents. Data were analyzed, first by thematic coding and then by interpretive analysis of codes that emerged. To frame the analysis, Phillips' (1990) functional "reporting structure" (categories) for cultural assumptions was cross-referenced with Pacanowsky and O'Donnell-Trujillo's (1983) heuristic listing of Performances of Passion -- e.g. storytelling and repartee (constructs, jargon, vocabulary, and metaphor). One result of adopting this "paradigm interplay" as a metatheoretical perspective has been to demonstrate that the functionalist "side of the aisle" may serve as an heuristic frame for interpretation, while the rich description and depth of understanding generated by interpretive analysis may enhance the scope and understanding of the emerging frame. Not an original goal of the research, this phenomenon nonetheless materialized as the study progressed.
Beyond that, this study not only joins the growing body of empirical evidence suggesting that industry cultures underlie corporate cultures but also describes how an industry's culture has evolved by examining communicative "performances" of its cultural assumptions. In doing so, it uncovers a primary source of these assumptions, and provides insight, not only into existing theories of organizational and industry culture, but also into the relationship of communication and culture, per se.