User:Laurenwheat/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Each fact in the article "Organizational identity" is referenced. The sources appear to be reliable in that they are all from academic or trade journals. Everything in the article is related to the topic, and is written from a neutral perspective. Based on the article, it seems that there aren't a lot of people researching this topic. The same scholar, Whetten, is cited often through the article. This does make some sense, given that he coined the concept. If there are other voices out there on the topic, it would be useful to add them. The newest information referenced in the article is from 2006, so it will be useful to determine if there has been any new writing or research on this topic since then.

All of the links to other Wikipedia pages work. There are no links to outside sources in the article. Full text of two of the three references are available through the Texas State University library. The third was only available as a detailed citation. There does not appear to be any plagiarism or close paraphrasing taken from the sources that are fully accessible through the Texas State University Library.

Overall, the article is very short. With one exception, ideas that are included are pretty fully explained. The article mentions the relationship between organizational culture, organizational image, and organization identity but it does not really elaborate or fully explain this relationship. That should be improved if possible. The length of the sources referenced leads me to believe there is more information on this topic that should be included in the article.

Annotated Bibliography

Akbari, Mohsen, Sayed Hesam Kashani, Hani Nikookar, and Javad Ghaemi."Servant Leadership and Organizational Identity: The Mediating Role of Job Involvement." International Journal Of Organizational Leadership 3, no. 2 (2014): 41-55. Accessed March 7, 2017.

This source focuses on the way a servant leader model of management influences organizational identity and job performance. It is primarily focused on the positive impact created when employees connect with their organization’s identity and the way that a servant leader can help to foster this connection. This source will also provide a different perspective from most other (read: Western) literature as the research was conducted in an Iranian tax agency.

Galvin, Benjamin M., Donald Lange, and Blake E. Ashforth. “Narcissistic Organization Identification: Seeing Oneself as Central to the Organization’s Identity.” Academy Of Management Review 40, no. 2 (2015): 163-181. Accessed March 7, 2017.

This source may not end up being useful. It does however provide an interesting perspective on a possible pitfall in the way that managing or power-holding employees may view their organization’s identity. This source contends that, in some cases, powerful employees was confound their own identity with that of the organization, leading them to make decisions for their own, rather than the organization’s, benefit. It may be difficult to present their discussion in an unbiased way, but this article may help to illuminate what organization identity is by discussing what it is not.

Kozica, Arjan M. F., Christian Gebhardt, Gordon Müller-Seitz, and Stephan Kaiser. "Organizational Identity and Paradox: An Analysis of the “Stable State of Instability” of Wikipedia’s Identity." Journal Of Management Inquiry 24, no. 2 (2015) : 186-203. Accessed March 7, 2017.

This sources expands and rethinks the idea of changes in organizational identity as being a result of external factors. It discusses the ways in which organizations with multiple identies may hold them in conflict with each other and how an identity may in fact hinge on an organization’s flexible nature. The focus of the article is on Wikipedia’s identity, which is a hilarious added bonus.

MacLean, Tammy L., and Sheila Simsarian Webber. "Navigating Multiple Identities Across Multiple Boundaries: A Cross-Level Model of Organizational Identification." Journal Of Management Inquiry 24, no. 2 (2015): 156-173. Accessed March 7, 2017.

This source expands on the idea of organizational identity as the central attribute that describes an organization by arguing that an organization may have two or more identities. It also explores the way in which an individual, who might also have multiple identities, can come to identify with their organization. The author’s research, both qualitative and quantitative was conducted at Longwood Symphony Orchestra. It provides an interesting perspective on organizational identity in contexts where organizational goals and purposes may be more diverse.

Snihur, Yuliya."Developing Optimal Distinctiveness: Organizational Identity Processes in New Ventures Engaged in Business Model Innovation." Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 28, no. 3 (2016): 259-285. Accessed March 7, 2017.

This source discusses specific actions taken by entrepreneurs to create and shape an identity for their new business. With the distinctiveness aspect of organizational identity in mind, the author looks at four new business and discusses four different methods of creating the ideal level of distinctiveness needed to stand apart from competition while still remaining identifiable as a particular type of business.

To Add To Lead of Article

Organizational identity has its roots in applying sociological and psychological concepts and theories about individual identity to organizations.

Identity Change and Instability

Organizational identity is sometimes viewed as a social construction under constant creation through interactions between combinations of internal and external actors. This view sees organizational identity as unstable and changeable rather than enduring. Identity instability is theorized to be beneficial in allowing organizations to adapt to changing operating environments.

Gioia et al. theorize that the basic components of identity endure, but their meanings are reinterpreted over time. Internal actors can influence organizational identity through reinterpretation of or disagreement with the stated or official identity. Powerful members may try to stabilize or officialize organizational identity, resulting in a tension between members with different views of the organization. This tension may be expressed as identity instability.

External factors can also cause change or contribute to identity instability. External perceptions of the organization’s identity may contribute to change or instability when those perceptions conflict with internal views of the organization’s identity. Critical questions about the organization from external actors or critical evaluations of the organization may also contribute to identity change.

Albert and Whetten theorized that certain parts of an organization's life cycle are important for the formation or reformation of an organization's identity, such as the initial founding of the organization, removal of an important element of the organization, completion of the organization’s main goal, rapid growth or decline, mergers, or splits.

Identity change can be used intentionally to guide organizational change. For example, rather than seeking to answer the question: “who are we as an organization?” an organization may ask “is this who we want to be [as an organization]?” Albert and Whetten identified three main paths organizational identity may take over time:

• Organizations may have a stable identity for the entire life of the organization.

• Organizations may make a permanent change in their identity at some point in the life of the organization.

• Organizations may change their identity and then revert back to their original identity.