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The construction of organizational identity: Comparative case studies of consulting firms

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  • Alvesson, Mats
  • Empson, Laura

Abstract

This paper explores how organizational identity is constructed in four very different management consulting firms. The study suggests four broad dimensions that organizational members refer to in constructing their organizational identity: Knowledge Work, Management and Membership, Personal Orientation, and External Interface. We identify multiple themes within these broad dimensions of identity construction and highlight several broader identity-related issues, specifically: the extent to which shared ideas of a distinct organizational identity are present or absent in organizations, the relationship between organizational identity and the individual, and the balance of reality and fantasy in identity construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Alvesson, Mats & Empson, Laura, 2008. "The construction of organizational identity: Comparative case studies of consulting firms," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:24:y:2008:i:1:p:1-16
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Guiette, Alain & Vandenbempt, Koen, 2013. "Exploring team mental model dynamics during strategic change implementation in professional service organizations. A sensemaking perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 728-744.
    2. Weihui Mei & Lorraine Pe Symaco, 2022. "Students’ Entrepreneurial Identity Construction: Role and Social Identity Influences," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    3. Sébastien Gand & Lucie Noury & Jean-Claude Sardas, 2013. "On the existence and sustainability of organizational alternatives to the dominant PSF model: crisis and change in a democratic consulting firm," Post-Print hal-00956789, HAL.
    4. Miloslava Hiršová & Lenka Komárková & Petr Pirožek, 2019. "Hybrid Orientation of Organizational Identity and Its Relation to Particular Organizational Components," Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(2), pages 21-37.
    5. Jan Ketil Arnulf & Kai Rune Larsen & Øyvind Lund Martinsen, 2018. "Semantic algorithms can detect how media language shapes survey responses in organizational behaviour," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Ali Asghar Pourezzat & Nader Seyed Kalali & Ghazaleh Taheri Attar, 2012. "Analyzing the Consequences of Bad Outsourcing on Human Resources in Iranian Public Organizations," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 4(2), pages 64-71.
    7. Guillaume Mercier & Ghislain Deslandes, 2020. "Formal and Informal Benevolence in a Profit-Oriented Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 125-143, August.
    8. Breit, Eric, 2014. "Discursive practices of remedial organizational identity work: A study of the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 231-241.
    9. Canning, Mary & O'Dwyer, Brendan, 2016. "Institutional work and regulatory change in the accounting profession," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-21.
    10. Peterson, Helen, 2016. "Merging management ideals in Swedish IT offshoring," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 97-105.
    11. Bövers, Jana & Hoon, Christina, 2021. "Surviving disruptive change: The role of history in aligning strategy and identity in family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    12. Linda Gabbianelli & Emanuela Conti, 2018. "Content Marketing Tools and Metrics in Consulting Firms: Preliminary Results," The International Journal of Economic Behavior - IJEB, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 8(1), pages 81-99.
    13. Mathias Béjean & Sébastien Gand, 2010. "The odyssey of "alternative firms": new organizational propositions from a case-study," Post-Print hal-00708237, HAL.
    14. Margaret Brunton, 2017. "Risking the Sustainability of the Public Health System: Ethical Conundrums and Ideologically Embedded Reform," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 719-734, June.
    15. Blake E. Ashforth & Kristie M. Rogers & Kevin G. Corley, 2011. "Identity in Organizations: Exploring Cross-Level Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1144-1156, October.

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