Influencing Organizational Identification During Major Change: A Communication- Based Perspective

Abstract

This article argues that the concept of organizational identification can provide new and valuable insights into the dynamics of organizational change and its management. It introduces the notion of shift in identification, which consists of dis- and re-identification states that organizational members experience during change, and proposes a framework for the study of the communication-based influence strategies used by management to induce such shifts. The article introduces the concept of confluence, which involves providing some sense of self-consistency to members during change. Two empirical examples illustrating the influence strategies used by management are analyzed. Implications to the wider discourses on language, identification and change are addressed.