Paradoxical Change and Construction of Identity in an Educational Organization
Abstract
This article focuses on the construction of organizational identity and the strategic change in an educational organization. The aim of this empirical study is to examine how the members of an educational organization construct the meaning of ‘who we are’ during an ongoing change. In addition, we examine whether it is reasonable to expect that a loosely coupled educational organization can possess a coherent organizational identity. This thematic template analysis is based on themed interviews consisting of the members’ conceptions of (1) the manifestation of organizational identity and (2) changes concerning the organization. In the article, the differences between the management and the personnel are then examined and interpreted through theories of organizational subcultures and loosely coupled systems. The management and the teachers structure organizational identity differently in relation to time, which has a strong effect on the incompleteness of the planned change.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
Albert S, Ashforth BE, Dutton JE (2000) Organizational identity and identification: Charting new waters and building new bridges. The Academy of Management Review 25(1): 13–18.
Albert S, Whetten DA (1985) Organizational identity. In: Cummings LL, Staw BM (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 263–295.
Alvesson M, Willmott H (2002) Identity regulation as organizational control: Producing the appropriate individual. Journal of Management Studies 39(5): 619–644.
Bhattacharya CB, Elsbach KD (2002) Us versus them: the roles of organizational identification and disidentification in social marketing initiatives. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 21(1): 26–36.
Bouchikhi H, Kimberly JR (2003) Escaping the identity trap. MIT Sloan Management Review 44(3): 20–26.
Corley KG (2004) Defined by our strategy or our culture? Hierarchical differences in perceptions of organizational identity and change. Human Relations 57(9): 1145–1177.
Gagliardi P (1986) The creation and change of organizational culture: a conceptual framework. Organizational Studies 7(2): 117–134.
Gioia DA, Thomas JB (1996) Identity, image and issue interpretation: sensemaking during strategic change in academia. Administrative Science Quarterly 41(3): 370–403.
Gioia DA, Schultz M, Corley KG (2000) Where do we go from here?. The Academy of Management Review 25(1): 145–148.
Greene A-M, Ackers P, Black J (2001) Lost narratives? From paternalism to team-working in a lock manufacturing firm. Economic and Industrial Democracy 22(2): 211–237.
Haslam A, Postmes T, Ellemers N (2003) More than a metaphor: organizational identity makes organizational life possible. British Journal of Management 14(4): 357–369.
Hatum A, Pettigrew A (2004) Adaptation under environmental turmoil: organizational flexibility in family-owned firms. Family Business Review 17(3): 237–258.
He H, Baruch Y (2009) Transforming organizational identity under institutional change. Journal of Organizational Change Management 22(6): 575–599.
Herath SK (2007) A framework for management control research. Journal of Management Development 26(9): 895–915.
Huff JO, Huff AS, Thomas H (1992) Strategic renewal and the interaction of cumulative stress and inertia. Strategic Management Journal 13: 55–76.
Humpreys M, Brown AD (2002) Narratives of organizational identity and identification: a case study of hegemony and resistance. Organization Studies 23(3): 421–447.
Kejonen M. (2006) Kohtaavathan suoratkin avaruudessa. Tapaustutkimus teollizen työpaikan henkilöstöryhmien puhetavoista [Well, the Rectilinears Will Meet Each Other Somewhere in the space. A Case Study on Discourses of Different Personnel Groups.]. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopisto.
King N, Horrocks C (2010) Interviews in Qualitative Research. London: SAGE.
Kuhn T (2006) A ‘demented work ethic’ and a ‘lifestyle firm’: discourse, identity, and workplace time commitments. Organization Studies 27(9): 1339–1358.
Kärrreman D, Alvesson M (2004) Cages in tandem: management control, social identity, and identification in a knowledge-intensive firm. Organization 11(1): 149–175.
Margolis SL, Hansen CD (2002) A model for organizational identity: exploring the path to sustainability during change. Human Resource Development 1(3): 227–303.
Orton JD, Weick KE (1990) Loosely coupled systems: a reconceptualization. The Academy of Management Review 15(2): 203–223.
Oswick C, Grant D, Michelson G, Wailes N (2005) Looking forwards: discursive directions in organizational change. Journal or Organizational Change Management, 18(4): 383–390.
Pratt MG (2000) The good, the bad, and the ambivalent: managing identification among Amway distributors. Administrative Science Quarterly 45(3): 456–493.
Puusa A (2009) The meaning and implications of a fragmented organizational identity. a case study of a Finnish University of applied sciences. Administrative Studies, 28: 16–29.
Rask M (2002) Ammattikorkeakoululaitoksen vakiintuminen ja uudet haasteet [The institutionalization of the polytechnics and new challenges]. In: Liljander J-P (ed.) Omalla tiellä. Ammattikorkeakoulut kymmenen vuotta [Following Their Own Path. Polytechnics after Ten Years]. Helsinki: Edita, 31–41.
Reger RK (1998) A strategy conversation on the topic of organization identity. In: Whetten AD, Godfrey PC (eds) Identity in Organizations. Building Theory Through Conversations. London: SAGE, 273–294.
Reger RK, Gustafson LT, DeMarie SM, Mullane JV (1994) Reframing the organization: why implementing total quality is easier said than done. The Academy of Management Review 19(3): 565–584.
Schein EH (1996) Three cultures of management: the key to organizational learning. Sloan Management Review 38(1): 9–20.
Stimpert JL, Gustafson LT, Sarason Y (1998) Organizational identity within the strategic management conversation. In: Whetten DA, Godfrey PC (eds) Identity in Organizations. Building Theory Through Conversations. London: SAGE, 83–98.
Sveningsson S, Alvesson M (2003) Managing managerial identities: organizational fragmentation, discourse and identity struggle. Human Relations 56(10): 1163–1193.
Sveningsson S, Larsson M (2006) Fantasies of leadership: identity work. Leadership 2(2): 203–224.
Thomas R, Linstead A (2002) Losing the plot? Middle managers and identity. Organization 9(1): 71–93.
Van de Ven A, Poole MS (1995) Explaining development and change in organizations. The Academy of Management Review 20(3): 510–541.
Whetten DA, Godfrey PC (1998) Identity in Organizations. Building Theory Through Conversations. London: Sage.
Whetten DA, Mackey A (2002) A Social Actor Conception of Organizational Identity and Its Implications for the Study of Organizational Reputation. Business and Society 41(4): 393–414.
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: February 28, 2013
Issue published: March 2013
Keywords
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 1003
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Receive email alerts when this article is cited
Web of Science: 4 view articles Opens in new tab
Crossref: 0
-
Organisational Identity as a Barrier to Widening Access in Scottish Un...
-
From Disunited to Joint Action...
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
BELMAS members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
BELMAS members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
