Organizational identity orientation: Making the link between organizational identity and organizational behavior.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Because identity defines what all entities are, it plays a critical role in guiding behavior at every level of analysis. Yet we know virtually nothing about the link between organizational identity and organizational behavior. To help understand this link, I introduce the construct of identity orientation at the organizational level, suggesting that some organizations are individualistically oriented, some are relationally oriented, and some are collectivistically oriented toward stakeholders.
Each of the two chapters presented is intended to serve as an independent paper. The first chapter of the dissertation reports a two-industry field study utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods to measure organizational identity orientation. Evidence supports the viability of identity orientation as an organizational-level construct. In addition, general properties of identity orientation, such as the frequency of “pure” and “hybrid” identity orientation types, are assessed and possible antecedents explored.
In the second chapter, I flesh out a framework of how organizational-level identity orientation is structured as well as its likely outcomes at the interorganizational-, intraorganizational-, and individual-levels of analysis. At the interorganizational level, it likely influences the pattern of relations between organizations and external stakeholders. At the intraorganizational level, identity orientation is apt to affect the way that organizations manage their members. At the individual level, it likely shapes the way in which individuals evaluate their organizations as well as their own individual-level identity orientation. Contributions to various literatures at multiple levels of analysis are discussed.