Organizational Identity and Organizational Identity Work as Valuable Analytical Resources

“Organizational identity” is best understood, not as a phenomenon that exists in the social and organizational world, but as a concept—a tool which social scientists use to improve human beings’ understanding of how the social and organizational world “works.” Pragmatist methodological thinking is applied to the development of a formal new conceptualization of the notion of organizational identity and a concept of organizational identity work which may help future researchers, either directly or indirectly. The new apparatus builds on existing thinking and is developed in a way which avoids the metaphor-influenced tendency of organizational identity research to treat organizations in too unitary or personified a manner—a tendency which does not do justice to the fluidity, conflict, and contestation which is inherent in organizations, and arises in managerial efforts to manipulate organizational identities.