Towards “Strong” Multimodality: How Graphic Novels Can Help Us Rethink Modes

Prior literature has highlighted the multimodal nature of organizations and organizing. However, management and organization studies continue to be guided by institutionalized conventions that prioritize words over other modes. This overreliance on words has resulted in “weak” multimodality that treats modes sequentially and often favors one mode over others. In this essay, we use play as a theoretical lens to explore how researchers can use the graphic novel to blend modes to extend “strong” multimodality. By focusing on the liminality of words and images in graphic novels, we make two critical contributions to multimodal research. First, we identify three graphic novels’ affordances researchers can use in MOS to attend to embodied and affective experiences (eroticize), contextualize when one mode is insufficient (narrativize), and demonstrate new ways of inquiry (theorize). Second, we elucidate how these affordances emerge from the researcher's playful engagement with modes to explore how they might work together.