The formation of a sustainable organizational identity: Insights from Brazilian coffee producers

Abstract

Organizations craft their identities to define their character and effectively communicate their values to stakeholders. In the contemporary quest for sustainability, building an identity that genuinely reflects their awareness and attention to these issues is increasingly salient. Over the years, research on organizational identity exhibited constant growth, witnessing the power of organizational identities exerted over organizational behavior. Prior research has emphasized the importance of organizational identity for an array of positive organizational outcomes. Still, much less is known about the levers behind the identity formation process. Against this backdrop, the present study explores the pathways to the formation of a sustainable organizational identity. By drawing on organizational identity and sensemaking literature, we build up a narrative inquiry, analyzing the experiences and perspectives of executives from 25 Brazilian coffee producers through in‐depth interviews. The findings underline that the process of formation involves three phases, namely, orienting toward sustainability, acting sustainably, and forging a sustainable identity, which are also shaped by contextual factors. We emphasize the key role of leadership in building a sustainable identity, as their motivations and sustainability‐oriented commitments could serve as catalysts for triggering organizational change.