Organizational Identity Formation in a Virtual Education Organization

• In Event: Initiating and Delivering Virtual Programs for Student Learning

Abstract

This descriptive, single case study of identify formation in a virtual education organization addressed a significant gap in the existing research on how organizational identity (OI) formation takes shape from an organization’s inception (Gioia, Price, Hamilton, & Thomas, 2010). Evidence from 35 interviews and documents generated four key findings. (1) Organizational identity formation is impacted by members’ perceptions of the styles of formal and informal leaders. (2) The construct of organizational identity itself resides within an amalgam of referents that are difficult to isolate. (3) The perceived ability to establish a professional identity influenced organizational identity formation. (4) Organizational complexity negatively impacted members’ abilities to develop professional identities, influenced their perceptions of the organization’s culture and influenced organizational identity formation.

Authors

• Eric Nippard, University of Calgary

• Jim Brandon, University of Calgary