Puneet Varma (Editor)

Organizational identity

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Organizational identity is a field of study in organizational theory, that seeks the answer to the question: "who are we as an organization?" The concept was first defined by Albert and Whetten (1985) and later updated and clarified by Whetten (2006),

According to Whetten (2006) the attributes of an organizational identity are central, enduring, and distinctive/distinguishing (CED).

  • A central attribute is one that has changed the history of the company; if this attribute was missing, the history would have been different.
  • Enduring attributes are deeply engrained in the organization, often explicitly considered sacrosanct or embedded in the organizational history.
  • Distinguishing attributes are used by the organization to separate itself from other similar organizations, but can also set minimum standards and norms for that type of organization.

    • As a research topic, organizational identity is related to but clearly separate from organizational culture and organizational image (Hatch and Schultz, 1997). It assumes a larger perspective than work identity (the identity individuals assume when in a work-related context) and organizational behavior (the study of human behavior in organizational settings).

    References

    Organizational identity Wikipedia
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