Material identity work and reinforcement of collective identity in times of loss
(Conference abstract)





Sasaki Innan, Raitis Johanna, Stigliani Ileana

Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management

2020

Academy of Management annual meeting proceedings

Academy of Management annual meeting proceedings

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.18965abstract(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/50725752(external)



The death of a central figure, like a charismatic founder, can dilute
the sense of collective identity among the various stakeholders of a
local community. Maintenance of collective identity can be a difficult
task, because the organization needs to then simultaneously deal with
multiple identity drifts. We conducted an inductive study of Finnish
company Ponsse, the founder recently passed away. The second-generation
chairman took the lead to articulate the values that implicitly
prevailed during the leadership of the founder. Our findings show that
organizations that experience a loss can maintain and strengthen their
collective identity after the passing of a charismatic leader by
engaging in material identity work. Our study highlights two phases
underlying the process of reinforcing the collective identity: creating
the material environment and enacting material experiences. We
contribute to deepen current understanding of how collective identities
can be reinforced after a major loss by illuminating the material
underpinnings of identity work."


Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 11:51