Identity Ambiguity and Change in the Wake of a Corporate Spin-off

Kevin G. Corley; Dennis A. Gioia

doi:10.2307/4131471

journal article Jun 01, 2004

Identity Ambiguity and Change in the Wake of a Corporate Spin-off

Kevin G. Corley Dennis A. Gioia

Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. 49 No. 2 pp. 173-208 · JSTOR

View at Publisher Save 10.2307/4131471

Abstract

We report on the findings of an inductive, interpretive case study of organizational identity change in the spin-off of a Fortune 100 company's top-performing organizational unit into an independent organization. We examined the processes by which the labels and meanings associated with the organization's identity underwent changes during and after the spin-off, as well as how the organization responded to these changes. The emergent model of identity change revolved around a collective state of identity ambiguity, the details of which provide insight into processes whereby organizational identity change can occur. Additionally, our findings revealed previously unreported aspects of organizational change, including organization members' collective experience of “change overload” and the presence of temporal identity discrepancies in the emergence of the identity ambiguity.

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Citations

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References

Details

Published: Jun 01, 2004
Vol/Issue: 49(2)
Pages: 173-208
License: View

Authors

K

Kevin G. Corley

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

D

Dennis A. Gioia

The Pennsylvania State University

Cite This Article

Kevin G. Corley, Dennis A. Gioia (2004). Identity Ambiguity and Change in the Wake of a Corporate Spin-off. Administrative Science Quarterly, 49(2), 173-208. https://doi.org/10.2307/4131471

Identity Ambiguity and Change in the Wake of a Corporate Spin-off

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