Masking the Need for Cultural Change: The Effects of Emotion Structuration

This study explores the ways in which the expression and management of emotion influence organizational action. The interview sample consisted of 21 volunteer leaders of a non-profit professional association. The triangulated design included interviews, observations, and document analyses. Emotion expression was primarily associated with externally oriented organizational actions, such as mission; emotion management was primarily associated with internally oriented organizational actions, such as culture. This expression and management combined to form a reciprocal connection between the volunteers and the organization that resulted in emotion structuration that masked the need for the organization to consider cultural change.