Maintaining distinctiveness through the passage of time: Organizational identity as a continuously constructed outcome of socio-temporal comparisons

Abstract

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</p><p>This paper addresses changes in the use of socio-temporal comparison, in other words in expressing the distinctive nature of an organization by connecting it to its various referents along the social and temporal dimensions. Our examination of the evolutionary phases of a spin-off suggests that these changes emerge from the fact that flexible use of socio-temporal comparison allows organizational actors to meet two identity-related challenges at the same time. That is, they can maintain endurance between the successive forms of identity on the one hand and congruence between these forms and the operational characteristics of the organization on the other. In general, we find that organizational actors seek to maintain a coherent identity among their target audiences by phase-specific selection, positioning, and valuation of socio-temporal referents. Moreover, while organizational evolution continually compels organizational actors to reconstruct identity, it also continuously offers them new resources to do so.</p>