The Patterning of Interactive Organizational Identity Work

Abstract

Our study delves into how organizational identity work unfolds during interpersonal interactions among members of an organization. Most existing research focuses on the isolated utterances of individual members or on organizational-level discourse. Analyzing directly the interrelationships between individuals allows us to offer a fresh viewpoint on the concept of “organizational identity work.” Based on a longitudinal case study of an open innovation organization from inception, we reveal multiple patterns of interactive organizational identity work emerging over time. Although Monologue is a one-sided pattern that involves the dominance of a single voice, Polyphony involves episodes of engaged collective conversation about identity issues without clear resolution. In Dialogue, we see interactions around critical issues accumulating towards temporary compromises on identity concerns, whereas the Deadlock pattern arises when compromises appear unattainable, potentially culminating in Rupture, as interactions around identity lead members to dissociate themselves from the organization. We show how the direct and indirect focus on organizational identity issues (i.e., whether identity is the focal topic of conversation, or a consideration brought up in making another decision), as well as the intensity of personal identity engagement among participants (i.e., the degree to which the conversation addresses speakers’ personal identity commitments), may be implicated in the emergence of these patterns. Moreover, we show how the patterns in turn enact multiplicity and singularity in expressions of organizational identity within situated interactions.