Professional identity – product of structure, product of choice: Linking changing professional identity and changing professions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the discussion of the recursive relationship between the identity of a profession and the professional identity of individuals in the context of change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on qualitative data collected as part of a pilot study into change in the NHS. It draws on structuration theory and insights from social identity theory (SIT) to propose that the relationship between the collective level of the profession and the individual level of the professional is recursive.

Findings

The data suggest that individual professionals use and rewrite scripts of their profession but also draw upon new scripts as they engage with local change. To that extent they contribute from the local level upwards to the changing identity of their profession. Further more detailed micro level studies are required.

Research limitations/implications

The argument is based on a limited data set and points towards the need for further microlevel studies which examine the recursive relationship between professionals' identity and the identity of a profession.

Practical implications

Further research can contribute to better understanding of local variance as professionals engage with change.

Originality/value

The paper fuses structuration theory and SIT and examines the agency/structure nexus in a specific change context.

Citation

Hotho, S. (2008), "Professional identity – product of structure, product of choice: Linking changing professional identity and changing professions", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 721-742. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810810915745