We offer as our main theoretical contribution a conceptual framework for how the past is evoked in present identity reconstruction and the ways in which the past influences the articulation of claims for future identity. We introduce the notion of textual, material, and oral memory forms as the means by which organizational actors evoke the past. The conceptual framework is applied in a study of two occasions of identity reconstruction in the LEGO Group, which revealed differences in ways that the past was evoked and influenced claims for future identity. Our study suggests that (1) a longer time perspective in the use of memory enabled a longer time perspective in formulating claims for future identity, (2) a broader scope of articulated identity claims for the future was related to the combination of a broader range of memory forms, and (3) the depth of claims for future identity was related to the way in which memory forms were combined. At a more general level, our paper illustrates how viewing identity construction from the perspective of an ongoing present adds a new dimension to understanding the temporal dynamics of organizational identity.

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A basic tenet of this article is that the nature of an organization’s or group’s boundaries influences the ability of its members to exert influence on other organizations and groups. The organizations in the study are of different size and form, including an informal group, institutional sub-units, educational institutions and a virtual organization. A framework of interpretation is developed to assist in the distinction between organizations on the basis of their boundary properties. The framework is applied to the setting up and development of a virtual organization. It is used to interpret how three key developments between the organizations were possible due to differences in their respective boundary characteristics. The findings are critiqued and implications are suggested.

An important challenge to organization theory is to search for constructs that explain how contexts for work emerge, evolve, persist and change. This book explores the concept of "space" as representing a wide variety of contexts. Organization as a process, as distinguished from organization as an entity, is seen as the construction of space, where space is the outcome of human action and interaction as well as providing a context for actions and interaction. The book shows how different forms of space lie at the base of a number of developments in organization theory. It then takes the step to show how contemporary developments in social science represented by works by writers such as Giddens, Luhmann, Latour and Bourdieu can be used to establish a dynamic understanding of organization as space. Insights from these discussions are used to establish a unique and coherent way of understanding complexities of modern organization.