| A process model of organizational identity |
| | Hatch, Mary Jo | Cranfield U. | m.j.hatch@cranfield.ac.uk | 44 (0)1234 754356 |
| | Schultz, Majken | Copenhagen Business School | ms.sprqk@cbs.dk | 451-38-15-3220 |
| | While early definitions of organizational identity emphasized the central,
distinctive and enduring aspects of an organization's character or
personality (e.g., Albert & Whetten 1985; Ashforth & Mael 1989; 1996; Fiol &
Huff 1992), a growing number of researchers challenge this view, arguing
that strategic or organizational change demands identity change and thus
our models of organizational identity cannot and must not be static. Taking
an interpretive perspective, which we distinguish from postmodern views of
identity, we formulate a dynamic model to explain the relationships between
organizational identity, image and culture. The links between identity,
image and culture are derived from a review of the literature on
organizational identity from which the processes of mirroring and
projection are extracted. Our interpretive perspective suggests additional
processes of attribtuion and expression, further linking identity with an
organizational self concept. The model is called EMAP because it links the
processes of Expression, Projection, Mirroring and Attribution to explain
organizational identity formation and use in relation to organizational self
concept and image. Contextualization of the processes by organizational and
societal culture is also discussed. Implications of the EMAP model are
presented including discussions of organizational self-esteem and hubris,
self-absorption and honesty.
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| | Keywords: Organizational identity; Organizational culture; Organizational images |
| Beyond collective organizational identity: Empirical evidence for multiple subidentities |
| | Gustafson, Loren T. | Seattle Pacific U. | lgustaf@spu.edu | (206) 281-2088 |
| | Reger, Rhonda K. | U. of Maryland | rreger@mbs.umd.edu | (301) 405-2167 |
| | The existence of a collective organizational identity does not preclude the possibility of distinct and even disparate organizational subidentities. This research examines research questions concerning organizational subidentities. Do distinct or even disparate organizational subidentities exist? Are significant differences apparent among members' organizational identity schemas based on geographic location, business unit, and organizational level? These questions were examined by comparing the cognitive maps of members across organizational subunits. The findings indicate evidence for distinct subidentities by geography and business unit, with mixed support for organization level-based subidentities. |
| | Keywords: Organizational identity; Organizational cognition; Collective cognition |
| Boundary Management in New Product Teams: A Replication and Extension |
| | Scott, Susanne G. | U. of Massachusetts, Dartmouth | sscott@umassd.edu | 508-999-9188 |
| | Small group theorists have long argued that when group boundaries lack clarity and become overly permeable, a group looses its
identity and its ability to integrate and work as a group. Indeed, a recent empirical study of product development teams
demonstrated that members' cognitive identification with their team was positively related to team effectiveness. Yet, product
development teams often engage in as much communication and interaction with team outsiders as they do with insiders,
suggesting that members' identification is difficult. Ancona & Caldwell (1992) found the content of communication and interaction
varies across teams, and that the type of boundary management strategies used by teams are differentially related to manager-rated
performance. The current study attempted to replicate this work with 47 project teams engaged in new product development,
technical support, and management information systems design in three different types of team-based organizations (i.e., functional
matrix, balanced matrix, and project matrix). The study also extends prior work by investigating the relationship between boundary
management strategies and team members' identification, and their joint effects on team performance. Results show members'
team identification and boundary strategies were positively correlated with manager rated team effectiveness. Moreover, project
teams higher on members' identification also reported higher levels of "ambassador" and task-coordination activities on behalf of their
team and lower levels of scouting activity. Finally, members' identification with the team was higher in the project matrix and the
project team structures than in the functional matrix or balanced matrix structures.
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| | Keywords: team effectiveness; product development; social identification |