We are both surprised by and proud of the impact our article has had on the study of organizational identification. But if we had the opportunity of a do-over—with the benefit of 35 years’ hindsight—we would focus proportionately: (a) less on how identification occurs and more on why it matters (because “why” helps explain the process of organizing along with key drivers and outcomes); (b) less on cognition and more on affect and internalization (because they are also central to the experience of identification); (c) less on the organization and more on other targets of identification (because they often matter even more); and (d) less on Social Identity Theory and more on other identity perspectives (because they would expand our tools for understanding identification). We also reflect on how a so-called “classic” article can both enable and constrain scholarly inquiry and on the promise of revisiting history.
AlbertS.AshforthB. E.DuttonJ. E. (2000). Organizational identity and identification: Charting new waters and building new bridges. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 13–17. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791600
2.
AshfordS. J.CazaB. B.ReidE. M. (2018). From surviving to thriving in the gig economy: A research agenda for individuals in the new world of work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 38, 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2018.11.001
3.
AshforthB. E. (2001). Role transitions in organizational life: An identity-based perspective. Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
AshforthB. E. (2016). Exploring identity and identification in organizations: Time for some course corrections. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(4), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816667897
5.
AshforthB. E.CazaB. B.MeisterA. (2024). My place: How workers become identified with their workplaces and why it matters. Academy of Management Review, 49(2), 366–398. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2020.0442
6.
AshforthB. E.HarrisonS. H.CorleyK. G. (2008). Identification in organizations: An examination of four fundamental questions. Journal of Management, 34(3), 325–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308316059
7.
AshforthB. E.MaelF. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 20–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/258189
8.
AshforthB. E.MoserJ. R.BubenzerP. (2020). Identities and identification in work contexts: Beyond our fixation on the organization. In BrownA. D. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of identities in organizations (pp. 817–832). Oxford University Press.
9.
AshforthB. E.SchinoffB. S.RogersK. M. (2016). I identify with her,” “I identify with him”: Unpacking the dynamics of personal identification in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 41(1), 28–60. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2014.0033
10.
BergamiM.BagozziR. P. (2000). Self-categorization, affective commitment and group self-esteem as distinct aspects of social identity in the organization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39(4), 555–577. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466600164633
11.
BladerS. L.PatilS.PackerD. J. (2017). Organizational identification and workplace behavior: More than meets the eye. Research in Organizational Behavior, 37, 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2017.09.001
12.
BrownA. D. (2017). Identity work and organizational identification. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(3), 296–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12152
13.
DingX.LiQ.ZhangH.ShengZ.WangZ. (2017). Linking transformational leadership and work outcomes in temporary organizations: A social identity approach. International Journal of Project Management, 35(4), 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.02.005
14.
FooteN. N. (1951). Identification as the basis for a theory of motivation. American Sociological Review, 16(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/2087964
15.
GrecoL. M.PorckJ. P.WalterS. L.ScrimpshireA. J.ZabinskiA. M. (2022). A meta-analytic review of identification at work: Relative contribution of team, organizational, and professional identification. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(5), 795–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000941
16.
HallD. T.SchneiderB.NygrenH. T. (1970). Personal factors in organizational identification. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391488
17.
HallD. T.YipJ.DoironK. (2018). Protean careers at work: Self-direction and values orientation in psychological success. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 129–156. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104631
18.
HarquailC. V. (1998). Organizational identification and the “whole person”: Integrating affect, behavior, and cognition. In WhettenD. A.GodfreyP. C. (Eds.), Identity in organizations: Building theory through conversations (pp. 223–231). Sage.
19.
HaslamS. A. (2004). Psychology in organizations: The social identity approach (2nd ed). Sage.
20.
HaslamS. A.EllemersN. (2005). Social identity in industrial and organizational psychology: Concepts, controversies and contributions. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 20, 39–118. https://doi.10.1002/0470029307
21.
HoggM. A.TerryD. J. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 121–140. https://doi.org/10.2307/259266
LaPointeK. (2010). Narrating career, positioning identity: Career identity as a narrative practice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.04.003
24.
LeeE.-S.ParkT.-Y.KooB. (2015). Identifying organizational identification as a basis for attitudes and behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 141(5), 1049–1080. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000012
25.
MaelF.AshforthB. E. (1992). Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 103–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030130202
26.
MaelF. A.AshforthB. E. (2001). Identification in work, war, sports, and religion: Contrasting the benefits and risks. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 31(2), 197–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00154
27.
MaelF. A.TetrickL. E. (1992). Identifying organizational identification. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52(4), 813–824. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164492052004002
28.
MayhewM. G.GardnerJ.AshkanasyN. M. (2010). Measuring individuals’ need for identification: Scale development and validation. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(5), 356–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.031
29.
MeyerJ. P.BeckerT. E.van DickR. (2006). Social identities and commitments at work: Toward an integrative model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(5), 665–683. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.383
30.
MoserJ. R.AshforthB. E. (2021). My network, my self: A social network approach to work-based identity. Research in Organizational Behavior, 41(100155), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2022.100155
31.
MowdayR. T.SteersR. M.PorterL. W. (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14(2), 224–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(79)90072-1
32.
OttenS. (2016). The minimal group paradigm and its maximal impact in research on social categorization. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 85–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.06.010
RafaeliA.PrattM. G. (2006). Artifacts and organizations: Beyond mere symbolism. Lawrence Erlbaum.
36.
RikettaM.van DickR. (2005). Foci of attachment in organizations: A meta-analytic comparison of the strength and correlates of workgroup versus organizational identification and commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(3), 490–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2004.06.001
SkorikovV. B.VondracekF. W. (2011). Occupational identity. In SchwartzS. J.LuyckxK.VignolesV. L. (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 693–714). Springer.
39.
SlussD. M.AshforthB. E. (2007). Relational identity and identification: Defining ourselves through work relationships. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 9–32. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23463672
40.
SolanskyS. T. (2011). Team identification: A determining factor of performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 26(3), 247–258. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941111112677
41.
TajfelH. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. In European monographs in social psychology, No. 14. Academic Press.
42.
TajfelH.TurnerJ. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In WorchelS.AustinW. G. (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed., pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.
43.
TurnerJ. C.HoggM. A.OakesP. J.ReicherS. D.WetherellM. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Blackwell.
44.
van DickR.WagnerU.StellmacherJ.ChristO. (2004). The utility of a broader conceptualization of organizational identification: Which aspects really matter?Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77(2), 171–191. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317904774202135
45.
van KnippenbergD.van SchieE. C. M. (2000). Foci and correlates of organizational identification. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900166949
46.
WeismanH.WuC.-H.YoshikawaK.LeeH.-J. (2023). Antecedents of organizational identification: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Management, 49(6), 2030–2061. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221140049
47.
ZhangH.LiF.ReynoldsK. J. (2022). Creativity at work: Exploring role identity, organizational climate and creative team mindset. Current Psychology, 41(6), 3993–4000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00908-9
