Organizational and Corporate Identity Revisited: Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Identity in Business (original) (raw)
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Identity studies: multiple perspectives and implications for corporate-level marketing
European Journal of Marketing, 2007
The concept of identity provides the platform by which many corporate-level concepts can be understood such as corporate branding, corporate communications, corporate image and corporate reputation. As such, it can be viewed as providing the foundation to the nascent field of corporate marketing. This article breaks new ground by marshalling the literatures that underpin the major disciplinary strands that inform identity studies and that respectively focus on the concepts of corporate identity (marketing) and organisational identity (organisational behaviour). Our review of the literature makes an advance on extant reviews of the literature by highlighting not only the importance of identity and its potential to reveal the organisation (and thereby providing a foundation for the management and comprehension of corporate marketing activities such as corporate branding, communications, reputation etc) but also throws light in terms of the various identity perspectives (five are identified) which differ in terms of conceptualisation, locus of analysis and explanandum. Our analysis of the literature also revealed a degree of synergy and integration between the two disciplinary strands of thought relating to identity. Moreover, our analysis of the literature facilitates a more comprehensive analysis of the implications of identity studies for the nascent field of corporate marketing.
Managing corporate identity: an integrative framework of dimensions and determinants
Corporate Communications: An …, 2003
Although there has been an enduring interest in corporate identity and image management, there is relatively little systematic empirical research on the topic. Largely due to the diffuse interpretations and dubious denotation that have characterized the subject of corporate identity so far, the authors present an integrative conceptual framework of dimensions and determinants of corporate identity management. This framework and its constructs specify the concept of corporate identity and can be used on a predictive basis to guide, frame and model empirical research into this area.
This paper presents the results of a data research on the issue of organizational identity, the aim of which was to explore the current state of the discussion on organizational identity based on the analysis of papers published in 10 of the world's leading organizational and management journals between 2000 and 2011, in order to identify paradigms, subjects, and trends. After a first selection of 5509 papers, 92 articles dealing with the specific issue of organizational identity were classified for analysis. Identity is not only an important perspective of study within the organizational field, but it has also become a relevant reference to bear in mind in order to understand phenomena related to organizations. The concept of identity is not new in the human and social sciences. Philosophy has approached it from different perspectives and in different historical contexts. Identity seems to be the result of a certain line of reasoning that reduces what is real to what is identical, that is, to sacrifice the multiplicity of identity in order to explain it and to use it as a base for any theorization on the human condition. Additionally, during the last century, psychology and psychoanalysis gave identity a crucial role in the study of individual processes, and it became a key element in understanding the development of personality. Anthropology has had to produce a body of theory regarding the issue of social identity. Of course, it is also important to consider the contributions of other disciplines such as sociology, political science, and linguistics. Identity has played an important role in the theorizing of the social and human sciences, which contribute to and have an effect on organizational studies (Corley et al., 2006), the field of knowledge of this paper. Notwithstanding the academic interest the term arouses, its study in the organizational field is relatively recent (Hatch & Schultz, 2004). The conceptualization proposed by Albert and Whetten (1985), who claimed that organizational identity (OI) implied organizational aspects meeting the criteria of centrality, distinctive character, and continuity in time, has given way to new approaches. This influential work has inspired a wave of research and theorizing continuing to the present. Nevertheless, a little more than a quarter of century after its conceptualization, the definition of the term OI is not complete, and the discussion on its scope and proposed models is far from finished. Within the organizational field, definitions have abounded, ranging from the individual level to perceptions of what an organization actually is, based on institutionalist or essentialist perspectives aimed at identifying the features
Seven dimensions of corporate identity: A categorisation from the practitioners' perspectives
European Journal of Marketing, 2006
Purpose -This paper investigates what organisations perceive as the essential components of corporate identity concept and their contents. It proposes an operational definition of corporate identity on the basis of the practitioners' views. Design/methodology/approach -The information was gathered through 32 in-depth interviews with managers from different organisations (mainly multinational companies) and an analysis of corporate literature and web sites. The initial analysis is based on a multidisciplinary categorisation developed by the first author, which facilitated the systematic analysis of a wide range of components (e.g. corporate communication, corporate design, corporate culture etc.) associated with corporate identity. Findings -The study shows that there is a considerable divergence in opinions concerning the fundamental components of corporate identity among practitioners. Most interviewees heavily associated identity with the areas of corporate design, communication, behaviour and strategy whereas there was no unanimous agreement as to whether or not corporate culture was a product or determinant of corporate identity. Research limitations/implications -Developing sub-items and their measures for each dimension presented in the proposed definition and examining the possible relationships between them might be the further step. Also additional empirical research which considers consequences of corporate identity management in relation to company performance indicators could enhance overall understanding of the concept. Practical implications -Senior company management can use the categorisation discussed in this paper as a starting point for development of corporate identity management strategies. Originality/value -Recategorisation of Melewar's corporate identity dimensions, which help define corporate identity concept in measurable terms.
The Identity Conundrum and an Expanded Framework of Organizational Identity
New Horizons in Managerial and Organizational Cognition, 2022
Although the organizational identity (OI) construct (Albert & Whetten, 1985) is now in its fourth decade, research in the field has been somewhat uneven, particularly with respect to an essentialist view and hypothetico- deductive type of studies. Believing that this stems in large part from insufficient construct clarity (Suddaby, 2010), this theory-development initiative presents an expanded conceptual framework. The authors exploit several key elements of individual identity and make the case for using these as the basis for conceptualizing an organizational-level equivalent. Starting with the premise that an individual’s identity is the product of comparisons, two dimensions are identified: the type of comparison (similarity, difference), referred to as the “identity conundrum,” and the object of comparison (self–other, self–self), referred to as the “identity perspective.” The authors then propose a four-cell distinctive conceptual domain for OI and explore its implications for scholarship. Keywords: Organizational identity; individual identity; construct clarity; identity construct; identity conundrum; CREAD framework
Conceptualizing corporate identity in a dynamic environment
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
Purpose This study aims to revisits the meaning of corporate identity (CI) in practice to identify its key dimensions and the interrelationships between them and to provide insights on how to operationalize the construct. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a comprehensive literature review and qualitative research consisting of 22 semi-structured interviews with senior managers from 11 UK-leading companies, and three in-depth interviews with corporate brand consultants who worked closely with these firms in cognate areas. Findings The study identifies the following six key dimensions of CI in the UK industry: communication, visual identity, behavior, organizational culture, stakeholder management and founder value-based leadership. Research limitations/implications The focus on UK leading companies limits the generalizability of the results. Further studies should be conducted in other sectors and country settings to examine the relationships identified in the curren...
CURRENT TRENDS IN RESEARCH IN ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY FORMATION: A REVIEW
IAEME PUBLICATION, 2020
This paper highlights the origin of organizational identity. Most studies tackle the issues of identity during organizational change. This paper particularly focuses on the formation of organization identity. A dynamic view of organizational identity is presented in the paper, wherein, the labels of organizational identity could be static but the interpretation of the meaning of organizational identity as a collective negotiated exercise of the stakeholders. Thus, this paper posits the idea that organizational identity as both a sense making and a sense giving process.
The Identity Paradox and an Expanded Framework of Organizational Identity
2012
This conceptual paper is guided by three objectives: First, to bolster the argument for organizational identity as a defined concept, as compared with a metaphor or paradigmatic perspective. Second, articulate a clearer and more fully developed connection between the concepts of individual identity and organizational identity. Third, specify a distinctive, defensible conceptual domain for the concept of organizational identity and align the definition of organizational identity with that domain. Guided by these objectives, we argue that the tension between being similar and different is a fundamental and distinguishing feature of identity – and that this “identity paradox” exists at both the individual and organizational levels. We then propose a two-dimensional form of this identity paradox and suggest that the resulting framework serve as the conceptual domain of organizational identity. In the end, we examine the implications of the proposed conceptual space for Albert and Whette...
Exploring the identity and "sense of identity" of organisations
Sa Journal of Industrial Psychology, 2006
During the past two decades a steady increase in scholarly contributions in the area of organisation identity have been observed-to the point that the phenomenon is now the subject of a sustainable discourse in several disciplines. Many theoretical and conceptual dilemmas however remain, largely as a result of the low incidence of empirical research in the area. This study reports the results of an exploratory investigation that adapted Schley and Wagenfield's (1979) concept of identity for use in an organisational setting. Interviews were conducted with 152 top managers representing 10 companies. The results indicate that organisational responses to the question "who am I?" elicit distinctive organisational self-descriptions and some awareness of identity issues.
British Journal of Management, 2007
This paper provides an overview of previous work that has explored issues of social, organizational and corporate identity. Differences in the form and focus of research into these three topics are noted. Social identity work generally examines issues of cognitive process and structure; organizational identity research tends to address the patterning of shared meanings; studies of corporate identity tend to focus on products that communicate a specific image. Nonetheless, across these areas there is general consensus that collective identities are (a) made viable by their positivity and distinctiveness, (b) fluid, (c) a basis for shared perceptions and action, (d) strategically created and managed, (e) qualitatively different from individual identities and (f) the basis for material outcomes and products. This paper calls for greater cross-fertilization of the three identity literatures and discusses requirements for the integration of microand macro-level analyses.