The constructing of identities—those processes through which actors in and around organizations claim, accept, negotiate, affirm, stabilize, maintain, reproduce, challenge, disrupt, destabilize, repair, or otherwise relate to their sense of selves and others—has become a critically important topic in the study of organizations. This volume attempts to amplify—and possibly refract—contemporary debates among identity scholars that question established notions of identity as “essence,” “entity,” or “thing.” It calls for alternative approaches to understanding identity and its significance in cont ... More

The constructing of identities—those processes through which actors in and around organizations claim, accept, negotiate, affirm, stabilize, maintain, reproduce, challenge, disrupt, destabilize, repair, or otherwise relate to their sense of selves and others—has become a critically important topic in the study of organizations. This volume attempts to amplify—and possibly refract—contemporary debates among identity scholars that question established notions of identity as “essence,” “entity,” or “thing.” It calls for alternative approaches to understanding identity and its significance in contexts in and around organizations by conceptualizing it as “process”—that is, being continually under construction. On the basis of diverse theoretical and philosophical traditions and contexts, contributions by leading scholars to this volume offer new perspectives on how individual and organizational identities evolve and come to be constructed through ongoing activities and interactions.