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Facilitating members' continual participation in a community is crucial for ensuring the community's long-term survival. However, knowledge regarding whether member similarity is related to member participation and the mechanism underlying this relationship is limited. Drawing on similarity–attraction, social exchange and social identity theories, this study explored the influences of different facets of similarity (i.e. value, personality and goal similarity) on group norm conformity, group identity and social participation.

Data were collected from 444 Taiwanese members of social networking sites (SNSs), and structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The results revealed that value similarity directly affected group norm conformity but did not directly affect group identity; personality similarity influenced group identity but not group norm conformity. Goal similarity had positive influences on group norm conformity and group identity. Moreover, group norm conformity had direct and positive influences on group identity and social participation; group identity also had a positive influence on social participation.

On the basis of the aforementioned findings, this study contributes to the understanding of factors facilitating SNS members' participation from the perspective of similarity. These findings can serve as a reference for SNS administrators to facilitate social participation by emphasizing member similarity.

This study aims to examine the effect of halal company identity includes halal identity similarity, halal identity distinctiveness and halal identity prestige on customer satisfaction and customer trust. Furthermore, it verifies the influence of customer satisfaction and customer trust on customer-company identification. Finally, it explores the effect of customer-company identification on halal restaurant loyalty.

This study selected a sample of halal restaurants in the area of Semarang City, Indonesia, using a purposive sampling method with a total of 520 respondents. The data analysis uses confirmatory factor analysis to identify discriminant and convergent validity and then structural equation modeling is used to validate the hypotheses.

The result showed that all aspects of halal company identity, namely, halal identity similarity, halal identity distinctiveness and halal identity prestige, significantly affect customer satisfaction. Halal identity similarity and halal identity distinctiveness insignificantly affect customer trust; however, halal identity prestige successfully affects customer trust. Both customer satisfaction and customer trust positively impact customer-company identification and, in turn, customer-company identification impacts halal restaurant loyalty.

This study contributes to the theory of halal tourism based on social identity theory and the theory of relationship quality in achieving customer loyalty of halal restaurants.

The purpose of this paper is to build a model of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance drawing from the concept of organizational identity theory. The paper proposes that successful performance of an M&A is dependent upon two things, namely, the alignment of the organizational identities of the two merging firms and the method used to integrate them.

This is a conceptual paper based on current research and uses multiple real-world examples of M&A to elaborate the proposed model and highlight scholarly and practical implications.

The paper explains that the similarity of the identities of the merging organizations has a significant impact on the performance of the combined entity. Furthermore, the integration method used by the merged firms influences the success of the merged entity. The use of an identity approach helps unravel new variables impacting M&A performance.

A limitation of the paper is that it does not address how, over time, identity management can overcome the resistance of two merging entities. In addition to testing the proposed relationships, further research can explore these identity dynamics in unraveling an M&A performance.

This paper highlights the importance of evaluating identity as an element of an M&A due diligence. Practitioners should be aware of the dangers of signaling one identity integration strategy but using contradictory actions in implementation.

Given the importance of identity in a variety of organizational outcomes, the paper is timely in integrating the organizational identity (OI) concepts in understanding M&A performance issues.

Given the importance of identity in a variety of organizational outcomes, the paper is timely in integrating the OI concepts in understanding M&A performance issues.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and theoretically explain how line managers and lower-status experts work together in public health-care organizations. Hence, this study explores how lower-status experts influence line managers' decision-making and task prioritizing in order to guide staff experts' cooperation and performance improvements.

The authors used a qualitative method for data collection and analysis of the experts' and line managers' explanations about their cooperation. A theoretical approach of experts' identity positioning, in terms of differences and similarities, was used in analyzing the interaction between managers and experts.

This study shows that similarities and differences in positioning acts exist simultaneously. Similarity is constructed by way of strategic and professional alignment with the line managers' core tasks. Differences stem from the distinction between knowledge-grounded skills and professional attributes such as language, analytical tools, and jargon. Lower-status experts need to leave their entrenched positions and match the professional status of line managers in both knowledge aspirations and appearance to reach a respected approach of experts' identity positioning.

Unlike many previous studies, this study demonstrates that similarities and differences in positioning acts exist simultaneously.

This study aims to enhance the understanding of how co-created content (CCC) can facilitate relevant and meaningful customer experiences in social media brand communities (SMBCs). It investigates the characteristics of CCC and explores the effects they have on member engagement from an identity theories perspective.

A netnography of a university’s Facebook and Instagram accounts was undertaken to analyse exemplary content co-creation practice and resulting user reactions in an organic setting.

The analysis of CCC confirmed a strong presence of identity narratives and cues that can be categorised into university, sub-group and student role identity themes. Members’ identity-consistent reactions highlight that CCC can influence member perceptions of the distinctiveness, prestige and similarity of the identities they enact. University identity theme CCC allows members to project other member’s identity narrative, while sub-group and student-role identity theme CCC can help increase identity synergy.

The paper adds to the social media marketing literature that SMBC members are important integrators of symbolic resources that influence other members’ identity constructions and further their perceived relationships with the organisation and other members. Social media enables marketers to leverage members’ diverse identities to enhance customer experiences. The study’s single context focus may be a limitation.

The paper provides a useful framework for designing social media content that facilitates meaningful engagement.

The use of identity theories to enhance the understanding of CCC and its role in SMBCs is original. The paper generates new lines of future enquiries to advance theorisation of social media marketing.

For a long time, researchers have stressed the importance of identity for collaborative supply relationships. Accordingly, it has been proposed that supply relationships may be efficiently managed by establishing a shared collective identity among partners. However, this strategy may challenge the partners' individual distinctiveness and thus lead to adversarial relationship outcomes. In this article, it is argued how and when establishing an intergroup relational identity may be a better choice than building a collective identity.

The conceptual research is based on an analysis of previous literature. Relational identity theorizing and the theory of intergroup leadership are applied to build on and extend previous views on identity in interorganizational contexts.

It is proposed that when supply chain actors are subject to identity threats in collaborative supply relationships, such threats are driven by the imbalance of power between or among the parties. Therefore, establishing an intergroup relational identity should be preferred over a collective identity in situations characterized by a high identity threat.

Future studies could support this article's theoretical suggestions with empirical evidence.

Intergroup relational identity preserves the distinctiveness of all parties involved in a collaborative relationship and is based on their individual contributions. Managers could support a collaborative environment and promote a shared vision between or among organizations through appropriate rhetoric.

This study contributes to an understanding of the relational aspects of interorganizational behavior by adapting social psychological theories to this area of research.

Despite to useful relevance to better understand how group-level identity develops, few studies have explored the identity theory in the esports field and, in particular, considering the impact of a fan's role identity. The current study aims to explore esports fan role-identity vis-à-vis the relationship with the sponsor and the sponsee so as to understand the effects on their behavioral intentions.

Using a sample of 356 esports fans who attended the 2021 FPF eFootball Open Challenge, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) analyzed the psychometric properties of the constructs and a subsequent Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined the effects of fan identity on two types of behavioral intentions and sponsor–sponsee relationship.

Results indicate that fans who highly identify with esports have the highest attachment to the event and tend toward having a positive word-of-mouth intention. Esports fans who have a higher brand identification reported a positive attitude toward the event's sponsor brand and tend to purchase its products. Moreover, the study findings also provide evidence of the bidirectional interaction between the way in which fans attach with the esports event and its sponsor brand, leading to greater reciprocity in their identity formation.

This study helps to understand how the fan identity process can enhance its fate and develop mutually, building role overlapping identity in the esports sponsor–sponsee relationship. Complementarily, it supports of how the marketeers and managers must analyze the importance of being a fan to the individual in order to understand how its self-identity can shape the future behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to address the research issue of how companies manage their consumers' identification to compete effectively in intensely competitive market places. Drawing on theories of social identity and organizational identification, this study proposes that favorable consumer purchase intentions often result from the consumer‐company identification (C‐C identification) which depends on several identity judgments like identity prestige and identity attractiveness.

A research model and 13 hypotheses are derived in this study. LISREL models are employed to identify the validity of the entire model and data are collected from ten direct selling companies.

The results of empirical analysis show that identity judgments positively affect C‐C identification and the degree of C‐C identification positively influences consumer purchase intentions. The moderating effects of identity trustworthiness and embeddedness have mild influences on the relationship between identification and purchase intentions.

This study confirms that encouraging identification has not only been identified as a good employee retention strategy in organization management but also a good customer retention strategy in marketing management.

This study intends to go one step further to empirically test the viability of the C‐C identification model that is lack of empirical supported.

This paper aims to explore how place identity can be expressed in residents’ place image descriptions, addressing differences and similarities in place identity expressions between residents’ descriptions of the image of their place and the image of the place as described to others.

In-depth interviews were conducted with residents of a Swedish city. Place image descriptions were analyzed through thematic analysis.

Different types of identity perspectives manifest in the place image descriptions of residents. Respondents’ associations reflect place, person and social group identity perspectives, including their own perspective as residents, but also as visitors, or a combination of both. Priming is needed when gathering place image perceptions, to establish which underlying identity perspective is expressed.

This study offers a Nordic perspective on the organic communication of place image. The scope and qualitative nature of this study is a limitation to its generalizability but also suggests a rich ground for future cross-cultural studies on the topic.

Results point to the importance of accurately formulating questions to catch stakeholders’ place image. Insights are offered into how stakeholders communicate Nordic place image perceptions when engaging in communication about a place and into the effects of identity on organic place brand communication.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to explore how key stakeholders’ lenses to interpret a place brand are activated in the communication of place image, and how this influences their descriptions of the place.

The purpose of this paper is to challenge existing models of career ambition, extending understanding of how women define and experience ambition at early career stages in a professional services organisation.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 women from a professional services organisation, who were aged 24-33 and had not yet reached managerial positions. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and template analysis was conducted.

The analysis revealed four main themes in the women’s experiences: subjective, dynamic ambition; frustrated lack of sight; self-efficacy enables ambition; and a need for resilience vs a need to adapt. The findings support that women do identify as ambitious, but they vary in the extent to which they view ambition as intrinsic and stable, or affected by external, contextual factors, such as identity-fit, barriers, support and work-life conflict.

These results demonstrated insufficiency of current models of ambition and a new model was proposed. The model explains how women’s workplace experiences affect their ambition and therefore how organisations and individuals can better support women to maintain and fulfil their ambitions.

This study extends and contributes to the redefinition of women’s career ambition, proposing a model incorporating women’s affective responses to both internal (psychological) and external (organisational) factors. It provides further evidence against previous individual-level claims that women “opt-out” of their careers due to an inherent lack of ambition, focussing on the interplay of contextual-level explanations.