Negotiating Order in Interorganizational Communication: Discourse Analysis of a Meeting of Three Diverse Organizations

This study analyzes the discourse during a meeting of three diverse organizations as they attempt to resolve conflicting organizational inter ests. The three diverse groups were a waste disposal business, a grass- roots community organization, and a state regulatory agency. Discourse analysis of a meeting among these three organizations supported nego tiated order theory, which suggests organizations with different cultures find it difficult to achieve a negotiated order because they will at times fail to share the symbolic meaning of the common terms they use. Implications for practice and future research are offered.