Critical incident story creation and culture formation in a self‐directed work team

Storytelling has been identified as an important vehicle for culture transmission. Explores the role of story creation and storytelling in culture change and culture formation. Using an anthropological approach, the research was conducted using qualitative methodology and a holistic definition of culture. Based on research in a company which had recently reorganized knowledge workers into self‐directed work teams, describes the process by which a critical incident becomes a story used to form culture. Addresses the questions: how does culture form in an organization? How can one identify its presence when one cannot assume that every grouping has culture? Can one see culture forming? What part do stories have to play in culture formation and change? Contributes to our understanding of some of the issues involved in managing self‐directed work teams.