Organizational Narcissism
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Abstract
This article is a critical examination of discourses on technology in a nongovernment organization (NGO). In it, the author elaborates on the organization’s use of “appropriate technology” discourse, its framing of information and communication technology (ICT) in the NGO, and the development of a for-profit ICT system in the organization. The author argues that the NGO’s use of appropriate technology discourse serves to produce and perpetuate an overall market bias. Alongside this, a limited conception of information and communication results in the NGO defining its rural constituents in terms of a passive market. This has consequences for the NGO’s identity, which it conceives of in terms of its own legitimacy rather than public accountability. The term organizational narcissism is used to explain this phenomenon. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.