Legitimating Nascent Collective Identities: Coordinating Cultural Entrepreneurship

Tyler Wry (), Michael Lounsbury () and Mary Ann Glynn ()
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Tyler Wry: University of Alberta School of Business and National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E7, Canada
Michael Lounsbury: University of Alberta School of Business and National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E7, Canada
Mary Ann Glynn: Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467

Organization Science, 2011, vol. 22, issue 2, 449-463

Abstract: The concept of collective identity has gained prominence within organizational theory as researchers have studied how it consequentially shapes organizational behavior. However, much less attention has been paid to the question of how nascent collective identities become legitimated. Although it is conventionally argued that membership expansion leads to collective identity legitimacy, we draw on the notion of cultural entrepreneurship to argue that the relationship is more complex and is culturally mediated by the stories told by group members. We propose a theoretical framework about the conditions under which the collective identity of a nascent entrepreneurial group is more likely to be legitimated. Specifically, we posit that legitimacy is more likely to be achieved when members articulate a clear defining collective identity story that identifies the group's orienting purpose and core practices. Although membership expansion can undermine legitimation by introducing discrepant actors and practices to a collective identity, this potential downside is mitigated by growth stories , which help to coordinate expansion. Finally, we theorize how processes associated with collective identity membership expansion might affect the evolution of defining collective identity stories.

Keywords: institutional theory; organization and management theory; organizational identity and identification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (78)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:2:p:449-463

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