Identity construction among boundary-crossing individuals

Monica Lindgren and Nils Wåhlin

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2001, vol. 17, issue 3, 357-377

Abstract: In this article we describe a study of boundary-crossing individuals (individuals who change organisation frequently) and the way they construct identities through interaction and self-reflexion. It is argued from a social constructionist perspective that studies of the way individual identities are constructed are important to our understanding of the complexity of the identity phenomenon. Identities cannot simply be reduced to certain stable institutionalised aspects such as profession or gender. Rather life should be seen as an ongoing process of identity construction, whereby reflexion upon life episodes and the pattern of such episodes shape identities. The results suggest different patterns of articulations through narratives. These narratives are associated with different underlying ontological discourses that describe diverse ways of reasoning among boundary-crossing individuals.

Keywords: Identity; construction; Boundary-crossing; individuals; Self-reflexion; Narratives; Discourses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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