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Athletes, Best Friends, and Social Activists: An Integrative Model Accounting for the Role of Identity in Organizational Identification

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  • Shelley L. Brickson

    (University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607)

Abstract

Organizational identification links together organizational and member identity, yet we currently lack theory explicating the role of organizational and member identity variations in members' evaluations of organizations as identification targets. In this theoretical paper, I outline a model of organizational identification that aims to do three things—account for the role of identity in the identification process, integrate and extend disparate approaches to organizational identification, and illuminate social comparison processes underlying members' organizational evaluations. The model proposes that members undertake two identity comparisons to assess the value of organizational membership for identification purposes. In one, they compare the organization's current identity with their own identity, allowing them to assess the organization's ability to meet their motivation for self-continuity. In the other, they compare the organization's current identity with its expected identity, allowing them to assess the organization's ability to meet their motivation for self-esteem. After introducing the identity congruence framework, I apply to it the identity orientation lens to make specific predictions about how organizational and member identity shape the nature and outcomes of the specific social comparison content drawn upon in each of the two identity comparisons. This analysis reveals how the metrics used to evaluate organizations fundamentally vary by organizational and member identity. Implications for organizational studies are addressed, including those related to organizing and stakeholder theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Shelley L. Brickson, 2013. "Athletes, Best Friends, and Social Activists: An Integrative Model Accounting for the Role of Identity in Organizational Identification," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 226-245, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:1:p:226-245
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0730
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    References listed on IDEAS

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