Translating Management Ideas in Hierarchical Organization

Although current translation theory and research emphasize the importance of contextual factors in translation processes, little research has investigated how translation occurs in strongly hierarchical structures. This paper reports the findings from a longitudinal case study of the translation of Leadership Pipeline in a Danish fire department and how the translators’ approach changed over time from a modifying to a reproducing mode. The study finds that translation does not necessarily imply transformation of the management idea at every phase of the process, pointing instead to efforts of exact imitation and copying of the ”original” idea. It also suggests that translation is likely to involve multiple and successive translation modes and, furthermore, that strongly hierarchical structures offer translators control over the translation process. This hierarchical control seems to reduce the likelihood of unpredictable translation outcomes.