LINGERING IDENTITIES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wittman, Sarah
• 署名单位: George Mason University
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0363-7425
• DOI: 10.5465/amr.2015.0090
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 724-745
• 关键词: ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY; COMMITMENT THERAPY; NARRATIVE IDENTITY; work; self; job; acceptance; identification; strategies; employees

摘要

Our theories about people's transitions to new work roles generally assume that significant identity changes accompany role change. Offering a contrasting view, this article examines role change as an uncertainty-producing event that, like other such events, may trigger a range of appraisals, associated coping responses, and, consequently, outcomes for the self. I build a conceptual model encompassing both the established view of identity adaptation following role change and a new perspective of identity stability and lingering identities, the expression I use to describe identities that are premised on former roles that persist significantly beyond role change. I show how identity adaptation-the cognitive restructuring we have long associated with role change and successful socialization-is not the default response to the ongoing uncertainty that many role changes engender. Rather, ongoing uncertainty triggers cognitive continuity responses that, when sustained, support identity lingering. I examine when lingering identities might inspire role crafting, neutral identification, or dis-identification in new roles and when these outcomes might be functional or maladaptive for individuals and organizations. Finally, I discuss the implications lingering identities have for research and for managing people as they move within, between, and beyond today's workplaces.