The purpose of this article is to contribute a conceptualization of liminality, a state of in-between-ness and ambiguity, as it applies to identity reconstruction of people in organizations. Liminality is discussed in anthropological and organizational literatures and a composite understanding is developed here. This incorporates a dialogical perspective and defines liminal practices along with varying orientations of dialogue between the self and others. Application of this conceptualization is illustrated by analysis of two cases and a broader application of the concept to the identity work literature is discussed.
Alvesson M. and Robertson M. ( 2006) The best and the brightest. Organization13(2): 195-224.
2.
Alvesson M. and Willmott H. ( 2002) Identity regulation as organizational control. Journal of Management Studies39(5): 619-644.
3.
Alvesson M., Ashcraft KL and Thomas R. ( 2008) Identity matters: Reflections on the construction of identity scholarship in organization studies. Organization15(1): 5-28.
4.
Bakhtin MM ( 1981) The Dialogical Imagination. Emerson C and Holquist M (trans) . Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
5.
Bebbington J., Brown J., Frame B. and Thomson I. ( 2007) Theorizing engagement: The potential of a critical dialogic approach. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal20(3): 356-381.
6.
Beech N. ( 2008) On the nature of dialogic identity work. Organization15(1): 51-74.
7.
Beech N. and Sims D. ( 2007) Narrative methods for identity research. In: Pullen A, Beech N and Sims D (eds) Exploring Identity: Concepts and methods. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 288-301.
Boje DM ( 2001) Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: SAGE.
10.
Brown AD ( 2001) Organization studies and identity. Human Relations53(1): 113-121.
11.
Brown AD ( 2006) A narrative approach to collective identities. Journal of Management Studies43(4): 731-753.
12.
Chreim S. ( 2002) Influencing organizational identification during a major change: A communication-based perspective. Human Relations55(9): 1117-1137.
13.
Collinson DL ( 2003) Identities and insecurities. Organization10(3): 527-547.
14.
Costas J. and Fleming P. ( 2009) Beyond dis-identification. Human Relations63(3): 353-378.
15.
Coupland C. ( 2001) Accounting for change. Journal of Management Studies38(8): 1103-1119.
16.
Cunliffe A. ( 2002) Social poetics as management inquiry: A dialogical approach . Journal of Management Inquiry11(2): 128-146.
17.
Czarniawska B. and Mazza C. ( 2003) Consulting as a liminal space. Human Relations56(3): 267-290.
18.
Eden C. and Huxham C. ( 2005) Researching organizations using action research. In: Clegg S, Hardy C, Nord W and Lawrence T (eds) Handbook of Organization Studies (2nd edn). London : SAGE, 526-542.
19.
Ellis N. and Ybema S.(2010) Marketing identities: Shifting circles of identification in Inter-organizational Relationships. Organization Studies31(3): 1-27.
20.
Eriksson-Zetterquist U. ( 2002) Gender construction in corporations. In: Czarniawska B and Hopfl H (eds) Casting the Other: Production and Maintenance of Inequality in Organizations. London: Routledge, 89-103.
21.
Fiol CM ( 2002) Capitalizing on paradox: The role of language in transforming organizational identities. Organization Science13(6): 653-666.
22.
Gabriel Y. ( 2004) Narratives, stories and texts. In: Grant D, Hardy C, Oswick C and Putnam L (eds) The Sage Handbook of Organizational Discourse. London: SAGE, 61-78.
23.
Garsten C. ( 1999) Betwixt and between: Temporary employees as liminal subjects in flexible organizations. Organization Studies20(4): 601-617.
24.
Gergen KJ, McNamee S. and Barrett F. ( 2001) Toward transformative dialogue. International Journal of Public Administration24(7-8): 697-707.
25.
Goffman E. ( 1974) Frame Analysis. New York: Harper and Row.
26.
Heracleous LT ( 2004) Interpretivist approaches to organizational discourse . In: Grant D, Hardy C, Oswick C and Putnam L (eds) The Sage Handbook of Organizational Discourse . London: SAGE, 175-192.
27.
Karreman D. and Alvesson M. ( 2001) Making newsmakers. Organization Studies22(1): 59-90.
28.
Kornberger M., Clegg S. and Carter C. ( 2006) Rethinking the polyphonic organization: Managing as discursive practice. Scandinavian Journal of Management22(1): 3-30.
29.
Lutgen-Sanvik P. ( 2008) Intensive remedial identity work. Organization15(1): 97-120.
30.
MacLean D., MacIntosh R. and Grant S. ( 2002) Mode 2 management research. British Journal of Management13(3): 189-207.
31.
Mangham IL ( 2001) Looking for Henry. Journal of Organizational Change Management14(3): 295-304.
32.
Mueller F. and Carter C. ( 2007) We are all managers now: Managerialism and professional engineering in UK electric utilities. Accounting, Organizations and Society32(1-2): 181-195.
33.
Noble CH and Walker BA ( 1997) Exploring the relationships among liminal transitions. Symbolic consumption and the extended self. Psychology and Marketing14(1): 29-47.
34.
Shotter J. ( 2008) Dialogism and polyphony in organizing theorizing in organization studies. Organization Studies29(4): 501-524.
35.
Silverman D. ( 2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data. London : SAGE.
36.
Sims D. ( 2003) Between the millstones: A narrative account of the vulnerability of middle managers’ storying. Human Relations56: 1095-1121.
37.
Sims D. ( 2005) You bastard: A narrative exploration of the experience of indignation within organizations. Organization Studies26: 1625-1640.
38.
Strauss A. ( 1996) Mirrors and Masks: The Search for Identity. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
39.
Sturdy A., Schwarz M. and Spicer A. ( 2006) Guess who’s coming to dinner? Structures and uses of liminality in strategic management consultancy. Human Relations59(7): 929-960.
40.
Sveningsson S. and Alvesson M. ( 2003) Managing managerial identities: Organizational fragmentation, discourse and identity struggle. Human Relations56(10): 1163-1193.
41.
Tempest S. and Starkey K. ( 2004) The effects of liminality on individual and organizational learning. Organization Studies25(7): 507-527.
42.
Thomas R. and Linstead A. ( 2002) Losing the plot? Middle managers and identity. Organization9(1): 71-93.
43.
Thornborrow T. and Brown A.(2009) Being regimented: Aspiration, discipline and identity work in the British Parachute Regiment. Organization Studies30(4): 355-376.
44.
Turner V. ( 1967) The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
45.
Turner V. ( 1984) Liminality and performance genres. In: MacAloon JJ (ed) Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals Toward a Theory of Performance. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues , 19-41.
46.
Van Gennep A. ( 1960[1909]) The Rites of Passage (Vizedom MB and Caffee GL, trans.). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
47.
Watson T. ( 2009) Narrative, life story and manager identity. Human Relations63(3): 425-452.
48.
Whittle A., Meuller F. and Mangan A.(2009) Storytelling and character: Victims, villains and heroes in a case of technological change. Organization16(3): 425-442.
49.
Ybema S., Keenoy T., Oswick C., Beverungen A., Ellis N. and Sabelis I. ( 2009) Articulating identities. Human Relations63(3): 299-322.
