Your central resource for new developments in antenarrative theory, research, and organizational transformation
Where the seeds of your organization's future stories begin—capturing the pre-narrative fragments that shape what becomes possible
Boje challenges these assumptions by introducing "antenarrative" and "quantum storytelling":
2025 - Current Focus
Pioneering peacebuilding through microstorying-work in communities to heal conflict. Visit storying.site for the latest implementations of ethics-led, participatory storytelling that rewires collective consciousness from division toward coherence.
Updated February 2025
Comprehensive collection of antenarrative research spanning two decades. Explore foundational theories, empirical studies, and cutting-edge applications in organizational development and storytelling.
Evolving Since 2001
Before, Beneath, Bets, Being, Becoming, Between, Beyond—the seven antenarrative processes that reveal how stories emerge and shape organizational futures. Practical applications for leaders, change agents, and strategists.
Antenarratives are the speculative, fragmented, non-linear pre-stories that exist before they crystallize into coherent narratives. They are the bets, hunches, whispers, and emerging possibilities circulating in organizations—the living story material that traditional narrative analysis misses.
Founded by Dr. David Boje in 1991 (first published article) and formally introduced in 2001, antenarrative theory has become a cornerstone of organizational storytelling research, offering practitioners and scholars tools to:
Dr. Boje identified seven distinct processes that reveal how antenarratives function in organizations:
Current antenarrative research spans multiple domains:
Stop creating strategies in a vacuum. Use the 7 Bs to crowd-source strategic intelligence from across your organization. Surface the "bets" people are making, understand the "beneath" that drives resistance, and build strategies aligned with reality.
Change fails when we only manage the "official" narrative. Learn to listen to the living stories circulating—hallway conversations, resistance, fears—and work with them rather than against them through participatory antenarrative processes.
Innovation doesn't start with a business plan—it starts with fragments, hunches, and possibilities. Learn to cultivate the seeds of ideas before forcing them into rigid structures.
Apply microstorying methodologies for conflict transformation and collective healing. Create spaces where multiple voices can be heard and divisive narratives can be rewired toward coherence.
Microstoria and Microstorying represent Dr. Boje's vision for peacebuilding through microstorying-work in communities to heal conflict.
This ethics-led, participatory storytelling process rewires collective consciousness from division toward coherence and healing. The methodology involves:
Learn more at storying.site and explore TogetherStorying sprints for community healing work.
Comprehensive collection of Dr. Boje's antenarrative research from 1991-present, including journal articles, book chapters, and working papers spanning organizational storytelling, quantum narratology, and ethics.
Browse publications →Key texts including "Storytelling Organizations" (2008), "Quantum Storytelling" (forthcoming), and "Antenarrative Ethics" exploring the foundations and applications of antenarrative theory.
View complete bibliography →Active investigations into microstorying for conflict transformation, quantum organizational development, and the integration of Indigenous wisdom traditions with contemporary organizational theory.
Explore quantum storytelling →Whether you're a scholar, practitioner, or organizational leader, there are multiple ways to engage with this evolving body of work.
Or explore GrowthOD consulting services for organizational transformation support
Dr. David Boje is Professor Emeritus at New Mexico State University, Invited Visiting Professor at Fisk University, and founder of antenarrative theory. Since coining the term in 2001, he has published over 70 articles and multiple books developing this approach to understanding organizational storytelling.
As Past Director of GrowthOD (Gratitude-Rooted Organizational Wisdom, Transformation & Healing) and co-founder of PerView Inc., Dr. Boje bridges cutting-edge academic research with practical applications for leaders, change agents, and communities.
Recognition: Lifetime Achievement Award for International Organizational Development, ranked among top scholars globally in social sciences (#1,879 in US, #3,949 globally, 2025 Research.com).