Identity work as a response to tensions: A re-narration in opera rehearsals

Paradoxical identity: The changing nature of architectural work and its relation to architects’ identity

“…Notably, the changing nature of architectural work in city building projects has led to an erosion of identity based on aesthetic supremacy while management practices and skills have become critical. Prior research has recognized that identity work is heightened in response to these tensions particularly in the creative industries (Beech et al 2012;Elsbach and Flynn 2013;Gotsi et al 2010;Hackley and Kover 2007) and that identity based dilemmas have several related manifestations (DeFillippi 2009; Jarzabkowski, Lê, and Van de Ven 2013). Our research connects disparate pieces of professional identity construction that other theories have offered and we provide further insights into the complex interplay between professional identity and professional work and how these tensions are revealed, negotiated and sometimes silenced (Brown et al 2010).…”

“…While a solid 'sense of self as creative' has long been acknowledged as crucial to the creative workers identity (DeFillippi 2009), prior research investigates identity dilemmas which, through processes of successful identity work, lead to a resolution (Beech et al 2012). For example, Hackley and Kover (2007) suggest that advertising workers constantly negotiate their identities in order to align their self-concepts with external groups and institutions.…”

Mediating ambiguity: Narrative identity and knowledge workers

“…There is a reaction detectable in Nathan's response to what he perceives as the increasing commercialisation of UKDesign that suggests he views those characteristics in opposition to his understanding of himself as a designer. This suggests a form of 'dis-identification' (Elsbach & Bhattacharya, 2001; see also Beech, McLeod, Cochrane, & Greig, 2012) in which Nathan is distancing himself from a perceived management outgroup. The aspects of the change that risk damaging claims to specialist expertise are 'written out' out of the story as an act of insincere compliance.…”

“…Social identities can create pressures on individuals to conform and to align themselves in terms of an intersubjective interaction with fellow group members. Identity work seeks to manage the conflicts, contradictions and changes that arise from this personalsocial dialectic (Kreiner, Hollensbe, & Sheep, 2006a, 2006b; see also Beech, 2008;Beech, McLeod, Cochrane, & Greig, 2012). This paper is interested in the types of process through which identity work seeks to overcome these challenges.…”

End-of-term editorial: On (Scandinavian) management studies: What works, what doesn’t, and what can we do better?

“…Yet, one should not be too surprised about the result of the poll, as it can be argued that rigorously done qualitative studies are more likely to discover something new, precisely because qualitative researchers approach topics with little clue as to what they will find. Another consequence can be that the journal will be even more prone to publish papers, which both report studies undertaken in empirical settings, such as an opera company (Beech, Gilmore, Cochrane, & Greig, 2012), a prison (Lemmergaard & Muhr, 2012), and Rotary International (Parsons & Mills, 2012), and produce interesting insights into identity work and the outsourcing of gender, and thereby, contribute to the advancement of management and organization studies. In fact, editors of major journals in the field (Bamberger & Pratt, 2010) emphasize that frame-breaking research demands frame-breaking research contexts, and thus, there is good reason to hope for a future where management and organization scholars will focus their attention and energy on such research, and will experience that Scandinavian Journal of Management is the most interesting outlet for the resulting papers.…”