3.3. Narratives in intercultural research

take a narrative form of representation” (Creswell, 1998, after: Moen, 2006, p. 57). Some researchers consider the narrative approach to be a research method (e.g. Connelly and Clandini, 1990; Gudmundsdottir, 2001). This view has been criticised by other scholars who consider it more as framing and assume that narratives can both reflect and create reality (e.g. Heikkinen, 2002; Moen, 2006). The perspective adopted in this book is in line with Moen’s view that integrated all three approaches, defining the narrative approach as “a frame of reference in a research process, wherein narratives are seen as producers and transmitters of reality” (Heikkinen, 2002, after: Moen, 2006, p. 57). It encourages narrative research rather than narrative analysis as it does not focus on the form of narration but on the potential of narration to “explain [help us to] understand a phenomenon better” (Swain, Kinnear and Steinman, 2011, p. xiii). Moreover, storytelling not only documents socio-cultural stories but also strengthens them by evoking emotions and reflections in interlocutors (Daiute and Lightfoot, 2004).

The narrative approach has been successfully applied in intercultural research. It makes it possible to observe the processes of communication and intercultural cooperation, especially in international organisations (e.g. Czarniawska and Gagliardi, 2003; Gertsen and Søderberg, 2010; 2011; Søderberg, 2006; Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld, 2005). Narratives perform cognitive, semantic and explanatory functions (Wilczewski and Søderberg, 2017) because they enable communication participants to understand, give meaning, and interpret the reality they experience in intercultural contexts. On the other hand, they help researchers to identify both differences and similarities in the intercultural experience, which may form the basis for developing effective communication and mutual trust as well as lead to the development of cultural sensitivity and intercultural competence (Søderberg and Worm, 2011).

Based on the analysis of interviews with Chinese and Western managers working in branches of Chinese companies with a global reach, Anne-Marie Søderberg and Verner Worm (2011) illustrated the potential of the narrative approach in the study of intercultural communication. It makes it possible to reduce the impact of constraints that clearly defined cultural patterns (e.g. dichotomous categorisation of low and high cultures or individualistic and collectivist cultures) may have on the interpretation of cultural phenomena. These authors argue that clear boundaries between cultural patterns do not apply to migrants in a given place. Migrants often share many multicultural experiences gained in various