How a Brussels octopus met an Italian workhorse: from narrative collaboration to shared organisational insights

Chen, Katherine;Mandiberg, James;Thunus, Sophie
(2026) Voluntary Sector Review — Vol. published online ahead of print 2026, p. 1-18 (2026)

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Authors
  • Chen, Katherineorcid-logohttps://dx.doi.org/https://ror.org/00wmhkr98The City College of New York and Graduate Center, CUNY, USA
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  • Mandiberg, Jamesorcid-logohttps://dx.doi.org/https://ror.org/00g2xk477Hunter College and Graduate Center, CUNY, USA
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  • Thunus, Sophieorcid-logohttps://dx.doi.org/https://ror.org/02495e989UCLouvain, Belgium
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Abstract
How can researchers expand methods to match their organisations' practices, rather than forcing fixed procedures? We show how we used narratives to gain new vantagepoints towards developing shared knowledge, or what Gadamer (1991) would call 'a fusion of horizons'. Our emergent process involved: (1) in-text questioning, editing, and orally discussing circulated stories to reveal narrative-derived knowledge; (2) writing individual stories around shared observations and connecting stories with respondents to promote narrative reassembly; and (3) applying and testing developed knowledge through narrative experimentation. We illustrate this process of developing collective understanding using our collaboration on three case studies of organisations that support members with mental illnesses in three countries (US, Belgium, and Japan).
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Chen, K., Mandiberg, J., & Thunus, S. (2026). How a Brussels octopus met an Italian workhorse: from narrative collaboration to shared organisational insights. Voluntary Sector Review, published online ahead of print 2026, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1332/20408056y2026d000000076 (Original work published 2026)