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Book part
Publication date: 20 December 2005

Belinda Robnett

Through an analysis of the leaders of the 1960s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) this paper highlights the importance of individual identity work, and argues for…

Abstract

Through an analysis of the leaders of the 1960s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) this paper highlights the importance of individual identity work, and argues for an expanded theoretical treatment of social movement identity processes that takes account of partial identity correspondence (a partial alignment between an individual identity and the movement identity) to include degrees of identity congruence. Actors can embrace a movement, but remain in a state of conflict regarding some dimensions of its identity. Extending James Jasper's ((1997). The art of moral protest: Culture, biography, and creativity in social movements. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press) identity classifications, the data suggest that participants engage in identity justification work when incongruence among personal identity (biographical), collective identity (ascribed, i.e. race, gender), and movement identities exist. This work may not reflect the organization's efforts to frame or reframe the movement identity. This study finds that individuals manage incongruence with organizational and tactical movement identities by employing three identity justification mechanisms: (1) personal identity modification of the movement's identity; (2) individual amplification of the common cause dimension of collective identity; and (3) individual amplification of the activist identity through pragmatic politics. Rather than dismantling the past, as Snow and McAdam ((2000). In: S. Stryker, T. J. Owens, & R. W. White (Eds), Self, identity, and social movements (pp. 41–67). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press) propose, actors incorporate their biographies as a mechanism to achieve feelings of community and belonging. It is not so much an alignment with the organization's proffered movement identity as it is a reordering of the saliency hierarchy of their identities. Unlike Snow and McAdam's conceptualization of identity amplification, the reordering of an identity hierarchy and the amplification of certain identities is precipitated by the actor's, not the organization's, efforts to align her/his personal identity, collective identity, and movement identities.

Details

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-263-4

Book part
Publication date: 6 July 2005

Bert Klandermans

Despite the vast literature on the subject, theory, and empirical evidence regarding the role of collective identity for political protest remains underdeveloped. Some elements of…

Abstract

Despite the vast literature on the subject, theory, and empirical evidence regarding the role of collective identity for political protest remains underdeveloped. Some elements of the theory of collective identity and political protest are proposed. Key concepts such as personal and collective identity, identity salience and strength, and politicized collective identity are presented. In addition, some identity processes are conceptualized: politicization of collective identity, the causal relationship between collective identity and protest participation, and the interplay of multiple identities. Illustrative evidence from a study among farmers in Galicia (Spain) and the Netherlands, and among South African citizens is provided.

Details

Social Identification in Groups
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-223-8

Book part
Publication date: 22 November 2021

Randall Westgren and Peter Foreman

We argue for a new microfoundational approach to organizational identity to replace common vertical theory-borrowing from individual identity theory. Organizational identity…

Abstract

We argue for a new microfoundational approach to organizational identity to replace common vertical theory-borrowing from individual identity theory. Organizational identity becomes either an individualistic account of member representations of the group identity held together by other-regarding cognitive structures or a group-level account where jointly understood identity is tied to joint goals and agency as we-intentionality. Organizational identity is linked to collective action through intentionality. For large organizations, jointly held identity is crucial to guide individual action on behalf of the collective. This approach also internalizes shared identity within the organization as a collectively constructed cognitive representation rather than just an externally oriented social evaluation of membership in a category. In support of this approach, the authors examine a case study of individual wineries’ expectations and perceptions of the collective identity of their jointly constructed wine trail and how these evaluations affect commitment to membership and collective action.

Book part
Publication date: 21 March 2003

Michael G Pratt

I argue that while group and organizational identity research is gaining in popularity, there has not been sufficient attention paid to explicating what identity refers to at the…

Abstract

I argue that while group and organizational identity research is gaining in popularity, there has not been sufficient attention paid to explicating what identity refers to at the level of the collective. The goal of this chapter is to ‘disentangle’ various issues associated with the concept of collective identity. To meet this goal, I pose questions that scholars should consider when engaging in identity-related research. I begin by asking, “Is it identity?” Here, I address the characteristics that are central to identity, and that differentiate it from similar constructs (e.g. culture). I then ask, “Is it collective identity?” Here, I address issues of levels of analysis, identity locus and origin, as well as how identity comes to be shared in the collective via socialization and media. I conclude by discussing how identity research can be enhanced by more carefully considering these fundamental questions, and suggest some terms that scholars can employ to make their identity-related assumptions and arguments clearer and more precise.

Details

Identity Issues in Groups
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-168-2

Book part
Publication date: 6 June 2006

Roderick M. Kramer

Sociologists, social psychologists, and organizational theorists alike have shown a great deal of interest in the concept of social capital. To a large extent, this interest has…

Abstract

Sociologists, social psychologists, and organizational theorists alike have shown a great deal of interest in the concept of social capital. To a large extent, this interest has been fueled by accumulating evidence that social capital plays a vital role in the development of more cooperative relationships within groups and organizations. Inspired by this evidence, a primary goal of the present paper is to examine more systematically the psychological underpinnings of social capital within contemporary workplaces. Drawing on social identity theory and related theories on the self, this paper develops a framework for conceptualizing how individuals’ psychological identification with a workgroup enhances their willingness to engage in behaviors that contribute to the creation of social capital within that workgroup. The paper reviews empirical evidence in favor of the framework, and draws out theoretical and applied organizational implications of the framework.

Details

Advances in Group Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-330-3

Book part
Publication date: 11 August 2014

Gregory W. Stevens

This chapter proposes a paradigm shift in considering the collective identification of employed physicians and how it influences physician engagement.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter proposes a paradigm shift in considering the collective identification of employed physicians and how it influences physician engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

There are many challenges for organizations employing physicians, particularly in terms of engagement in organizational initiatives. Prior research suggests this conflict stems from how physicians think of themselves as professionals versus employees (as forms of collective identification). Unfortunately, research is limited in addressing these dynamics.

Findings

This conceptual chapter considers the complex network of relationships that physicians perceive between the collectives to which they belong. A primary collective identification (i.e., the profession) is proposed to influence subsequent collective identification (i.e., the organization), and that these meanings and relationships along with contextual factors drive engagement.

Originality/value

Health care organizations increasingly rely on engagement from their physicians to improve upon coordinated care. This proposed conceptualization offers new insight into the dynamics surrounding how and why employed physicians become engaged.

Details

Annual Review of Health Care Management: Revisiting The Evolution of Health Systems Organization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-715-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 September 2014

Amaka Okechukwu

Social movement scholarship points to the significance of collective identity in social movement emergence. This chapter examines the relationship between structural identities…

Abstract

Social movement scholarship points to the significance of collective identity in social movement emergence. This chapter examines the relationship between structural identities, such as race, gender, and sexuality, and the collective identity of student activist conferences in order to analyze how groups succeed or fail at engaging difference. Utilizing ethnographic participant observation at two student activist conferences – one of majority Black students and the other of majority white male students – this chapter employs an intersectional framework in analyzing the resonance of organizational collective action frames. This chapter finds that cultural resonance, frame centrality, and experiential commensurability are all important factors in engaging difference, and that the utilization of political intersectionality in framing may shape frame resonance. This framework that applies intersectionality to framing contributes to social movement analysis by recognizing how structural identities shape collective identity and group mobilization.

Details

Intersectionality and Social Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-105-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 November 2019

Mary Ann Glynn and Benjamin D. Innis

The authors theorize the role that identity, and especially collective identity, plays in the creation of new institutions. The authors begin by reviewing the literature on social…

Abstract

The authors theorize the role that identity, and especially collective identity, plays in the creation of new institutions. The authors begin by reviewing the literature on social movements, focusing on identity movements; from this, the authors extract and explore the role of identity in collective action and institutional formation. The authors propose that identity and lifestyle movements create institutions that furnish the necessary cultural tools to support and enact a given identity. As an example of this process, the authors examine Martha Stewart’s cultivation of a lifestyle-driven brand. The authors discuss the implications of their work on social movement theory and institutional theory.

Details

Microfoundations of Institutions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-123-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 October 2006

Jo-Ellen Pozner and Hayagreeva Rao

In this paper, we explore the conditions under which organizations that compete in both market and non-market domains might engage in collective strategy. We study low-power FM…

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the conditions under which organizations that compete in both market and non-market domains might engage in collective strategy. We study low-power FM radio activists in the U.S., who employed a collective strategy both within and across geographic communities to gain the right to broadcast in low-power broadcast spectra. By comparing and contrasting two stages of the micro-radio movement, we argue that, under certain conditions, for collective strategy to be viable, organizations competing on the dimensions of both ideology and resources must recognize themselves as members of an identity group, based on their common struggle against a stronger, more salient enemy. We highlight the role of collective strategies in the processes of organizational ecology, and discuss the generalizability of our argument.

Details

Ecology and Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-435-5

Book part
Publication date: 7 November 2011

Alison E. Adams and Thomas E. Shriver

Existing research indicates that collective identity is critical in sustaining social movements, especially in the face of significant opposition. We extend this literature by…

Abstract

Existing research indicates that collective identity is critical in sustaining social movements, especially in the face of significant opposition. We extend this literature by analyzing the ways collective identity evolves and develops over time to combat external barriers and obstacles. Drawing from a unique dataset on activists in the post-communist Czech environmental movement, we analyze how women rallied around their gendered identity to protest against nuclear power. Our analysis focuses on the case of the South Bohemian Mothers (Jihočeské matky), an organization that rallied specifically around the protection of children and healthy communities. The activists faced extensive obstacles including: post-communist patriarchal institutions and sexism; the South Bohemian Daddies, a male-dominated pro-nuclear countermovement; and pervasive anti-environmentalist sentiments. Our results highlight the complex and evolutionary nature of collective identity and the role it can play in sustaining activism in the face of external challenges.

Details

Critical Aspects of Gender in Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding, and Social Movements
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-913-5

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