Organizational Identity and Trust Nordplus Neighbour Project Lic. Sc. (BA) Anu Puusa
M.Sc. (BA) Ulla Tolvanen
University of Joensuu
June 2006
Organizational Identity and Trust Nordplus Neighbour Project Lic. Sc. (BA) Anu Puusa
M.Sc. (BA) Ulla Tolvanen
University of Joensuu
June 2006
Introduction
Focus is on the interrelation between organizational identity and trust
Theoretical approach
Exploring concepts and their interrelation is important and valuable scientific work with the purpose of increasing understanding of the concepts and their interrelation
=> Basis for theorizing and theory creation
Identity as a multilevel notion
Identity in an individual level can be characterized as individual’s theory of oneself
Identity can be understood in referring to different meanings individuals associate to themselves
Individuals and groups
Typically humans characterize themselves based on structural features of a group membership or with the help of characteristics individual him/herself associate with herself.
Interpretation as being a part of something
=> Creates team spirit
Identity at the organizational level
Organizational identity refers to what is central, distinctive and enduring in organization when considering its past, present and the future
Organizational identity is commonly seen as the property of a collective
“Who we are as an organization”
Organizational identity and its related concepts – self-identity
Theory and research results have indicated the close relationship between self-identity and organization identity
The relationship between individual and organizational identities is regarded as reciprocal
=> Organizational members both shape and are shaped by their organizational membership through this dynamic dialectic process. Identity at both levels is a social construction deriving from repeated interactions with others
Organizational identity and its related concepts – identification
Identity is central to the understanding of how individuals relate to the groups and organizations in which they are participants
Organization identity can be understood as if a part of an answer relating to identification: To what is someone identifying themselves with?
Words both words “affect” and “emotion” are terms that are closely linked to understanding identity and identification
..
Organizational identity, as the object of commitment and a sense of belonging, is seen as providing a cognitive and emotional foundation on which organizational members build meaningful relationships with the organization concerned. Identification has been defined as an individual’s sense of oneness or belongingness with and organization
Organizational identity, identification and commitment
Organizational identification occurs when an individual beliefs about his or her organization become self-referential or self-defining
Organizational identity creates a sense of identification among organizational members. The degree to which members identify with their organizations depends on the attractiveness of the perceived organizational identity, the consistency between individual self-concepts and organizational identity. Thereby organization members’ identification with their organization enhances commitment and consistency of actions
The concept of trust
Based on interpersonal interaction
Central elements:
Willingness to be vulnerably
Risk
Uncertainty
Predictability
Trust and identification
Identification-based trust:
the highest order of trust
Parties effectively understand and appreciate the others’ wants and goals
Monitoring the actor is not necessary
Commitment and trust
Psychological strength of an individual’s attachment to the organization
Strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values
Salient outcome of trust in organization
Building bridges between Organizational Identity and Trust
Organizational identity
Commitment
Identification
An individual
Trust
Identification
An individual
Organizational identity, identification, commitment and trust
Empson (2004) suggests that a well defined, clearly differentiated, widely shared, and positively construed organizational identity can provide a focus for member identification in an insecure employment context, like many are nowadays
“How” is the key question. We believe trust and creation of trust is the key in creating greater commitment to organization. Trust however, does not create identification. Instead we believe, strong organizational identity affects the level of identification of individuals within organization which in return creates trust
Summary
Organization identity, when realized by organization members has an effect on how strongly individuals within organization identify themselves with the organization. Strong identification then, results in stronger commitment to organization and its goals. How to create identification and commitment to organization? Can it be created by someone or does it create on its own?
Discussion
Implications of our proposal
Suggestions for further study
The link between organizational identity and identification is a reciprocal one. An interesting avenue for future empirical research would be to study the relationship between organizational identity, member identification and trust. Our discussion here has been framed around the idea that identification is an important element for organizational member commitment and creation of trust and therefore for the creation of strong organizational identity
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