History as a Source of Organizational Identity Creation

Oertel, Simon; Thommes, Kirsten

doi:10.1177/0170840618800112

Cited by 38 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The second paper that analyzes how the past is used to construct organizational identity is "History as a Source of Organizational Identity Creation" in which Oertel and Thommes (2018) describe the use of history in self-representations of a regional cluster of twelve watch-making firms located in the Saxonian region of Germany. The authors divide the firms into three groups; mature firms founded in the region in the early nineteenth century and with continuity of family ownership, GDR rooted firms which were also founded in the region in the early nineteenth century but which were subsequently sold to non-family owners, and new firms that relocated relatively recently to the region.…”

Section: Identity and Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

History as Organizing: Uses of the Past in Organization Studies

Wadhwani¹,

Suddaby

Mordhorst³

et al. 2018

Organization Studies

118

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research on the “uses of the past” in organizations and organizing is flourishing. This introduction reviews this approach to integrating history into organization studies and explores its paths forward. We begin by examining the intellectual origins of the approach and by defining why and how it matters to the study of management and organizations. Specifically, we emphasize the performative role of history in making and unmaking organizational orders. Next, we elaborate on how the articles in the special issue demonstrate the uses of the past in shaping organizational identity, strategy, and power. We also highlight how this work contributes to our understanding of the socially embedded character of history in organizations by accounting for the role of materiality, intertextuality, competing narratives, practices, and audiences in how the past is used. We conclude by considering four research frontiers particularly worthy of further exploration—the influence of temporal form, the role of non-rational knowledge, the range of methods, and the integration of ethics—in studies of the uses of the past in organizations.

show abstract

Section: Identity and Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

History as Organizing: Uses of the Past in Organization Studies

Wadhwani¹,

Suddaby

Mordhorst³

et al. 2018

Organization Studies

118

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research in this area has multiplied in varieties of fruitful avenues because of the recognition that the past is an important feature of organizational life. For example, some researchers have studied the importance of the past for managerial action and the ability of managers to harness the past for organizational purposes, such as catalysing change, organizational identity and revival (Basque & Langley, 2018; Foster, Coraiola, Quinn-Trank, & Bastien, 2020; Hatch & Schultz, 2017; Oertel & Thommes, 2018; Wadhwani et al, 2018). Others have highlighted the role of diverse stakeholders, such as employees, customers and investors/donors, in shaping organizational memories (Bell & Taylor, 2016; Foroughi, 2020; Ybema, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Memory Studies

Foroughi

Coraiola

Rintamäki

et al. 2020

Organization Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper provides an overview and discussion of the rapidly growing literature on Organizational Memory Studies (OMS). We define OMS as an inquiry into the ways that remembering and forgetting shape, and are shaped by, organizations and organizing processes. The contribution of this article is threefold. We briefly review what we understand by organizational memory and explore some key debates and points of contestation in the field. Second, we identify four different perspectives that have been developed in OMS (functional, interpretive, critical and performative) and expand upon each perspective by showcasing articles published over the past decade. In particular, we examine four papers previously published in Organization Studies to show the distinctiveness of each perspective. Finally, we identify a number of areas for future research to facilitate the future development of OMS.

show abstract

“…On the other hand, organizational identity claims need to be sufficiently understandable and appealing to external funders and customers to attract resources (Martens et al, 2007). Furthermore, while more established organizations have a history which can provide a basis for identity claims (Oertel and Thommes, 2018; Sillince and Simpson, 2010), founders of new organizations have little or no past to draw on when engaging in organizational identity work. In such nascent firms, how does organizational identity take shape?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicing identity in emergent firms: How practices shape founders’ organizational identity claims

Oliver

Vough

2019

Strategic Organization

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Establishing a new firm presents a variety of challenges to organizational founders. An important concern is the development of a set of clear and coherent organizational identity claims that can inform future strategic decision-making. While practices have been identified as important resources that individuals draw on during organizational identity change and formation, their role in initiating shifts in organizational identity claims has not been examined. In this longitudinal study of seven de novo organizations, we develop a process model showing how practices engaged in by founders when establishing their firms cue sensemaking about the organization’s identity by identifying identity voids, generating identity insights through interactions with outsiders, and identifying identity discrepancies through interactions with insiders. Founders interpret these sensemaking triggers as either opportunities or threats to their identity aspirations for their firms, leading to organizational identity work that generates new identity claims. We discuss implications of our model for scholars of organizational identity emergence and practice, as well as for founders of new organizations.

show abstract

History as a Source of Organizational Identity Creation

Cited by 38 publications

References 52 publications

History as Organizing: Uses of the Past in Organization Studies

History as Organizing: Uses of the Past in Organization Studies

Organizational Memory Studies

Practicing identity in emergent firms: How practices shape founders’ organizational identity claims

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About