Organizational Identity Theory

Organizational identity theory asks, what do people think of when they think of your organization?

Organizational identity theory is an offshoot of social identity theory. In short it asks what kind of person an organization would be if the organization were an individual. The answer to the question involves nearly every aspect of an organization's behavior, philosophy and communications.

Principles

In essence an organizational identity is the things people think of when they think of an organization. This identity includes what kind of work the organization does and how well they do it. It also includes the organization's overall philosophy, how they treat their employees and customers, and the organization's ethics, behavior and advertising.

History

The concept of organizational identity pre-dates recorded history. Although the name is new and the exact definition is still debated, early governments and religions understood the basic principles when they used symbols for their kingdoms, empires and churches.

Implementation

How an organization is seen and how it would like to be seen is not only a matter of the organization's behavior. The perception of the organization is also affected by its branding or logo, its advertising, press relations, public relations and general communication. These elements are normally carefully crafted to reflect how an organization would like to be seen or, in other words, what the organization believes its identity is.

References

• Highbeam Business: Organizational Identity and Firm Performance
• University of Melbourne: The Role of Organisational Identity and Identification in Corporate Social Responsiveness
• University of Twente: Social Identity Theory