Emotions and Identity

Wilfred J. Zerbe, Charmine E. J. Härtel, Neal M. Ashkanasy, Laura Petitta, Wilfred J. Zerbe, Charmine E. J. Härtel, Neal M. Ashkanasy, Laura Petitta, Wilfred J. Zerbe, Charmine E. J. Hartel, Neal M. Ashkanasy, Laura Petitta

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781787144385
• eBook ISBN: 9781787149311
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This volume focuses on the crucial role of emotions in forming and sustaining individual and collective identities at work. In addition, it explores the outcomes and boundaries of such identities while recognizing the driving role of emotions at various organizational levels, acknowledging that the relationship between emotion and identity is multifaceted and can be explored from various points of view. Identities and emotions are constantly evolving and are central aspects of organizational behavior, from the front-line interactions of employees to the broader ideological forces that shape institutions and organizational cultures. Thus, this volume recognizes the depth of emotion and identity at work by addressing these topics on individual, group, occupational, and social role levels. This volume is organized in four parts to contribute clearly to each of these areas of inquiry. Part 1 focuses on the micro-level topics of identity, anger and diversity. Part 2 focuses on the role of emotions in public sector settings, Part 3 focuses on the relationships between gender, emotions and identity, while Part 4 investigates how emotions influence individual identification with work.

SECTION 1
IDENTITY, ANGER, DIVERSITY

CHAPTER 1

FINDING POSITIVITY DURING A MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: IN SEARCH OF TRIGGERS OF EMPLOYEES’ POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS AND FEELINGS

Johanna Raitis, Riikka Harikkala-Laihinen, Melanie Hassett and Niina Nummela

ABSTRACT

This study explores the sources and triggers of positivity during a major organizational change. The qualitative research methodology is developed around discovering and interpreting employees’ perceptions in a mergers & acquisitions (M&A) process. The results lead us to suggest that change may be perceived in at least three positive ways to constitute positive identity construction. Implications for work-related identity and identification research are discussed.

Keywords: Positive identity; emotions; identification; qualitative research; mergers & acquisitions

INTRODUCTION

There is increasing interest in positivity in the field of organizational studies. Emphasizing goodness and positive human potential, the recent emphasis on positive organizational scholarship (POS), which focuses on positive outcomes, processes and attributes within an organizational context, demonstrates this interest well (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003). Similarly, in the organizational identity literature, the new domain of positive identity has emerged (Dutton, Roberts, & Bednar, 2009). Focusing on the positive is suggested to cultivate collective identities that mobilize collective action and enable valued organizational outcomes (Dutton, Roberts, & Bednar, 2010; Glynn & Walsh, 2009). In the fast-paced global economy, gaining a deeper understanding of positive identity is vital. Thus, scholars have put forward that positive identities and identification enable and facilitate organizational changes (Glynn & Walsh, 2009), such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) (Van Knippenberg, Van Knippenberg, Monden, & de Lima, 2002).

However, positivity is not a new concept in the organizational identity and identification literature. The basic assumption in the field has always been that people strive to see themselves and wish to be seen in a positive light. The positive perceptions, based on individuals’ evaluations, meanings and motivations, are the basis for individual and collective identities (Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999; Cornelissen, Haslam, & Balmer, 2007; Tajfel, 1982). Although positivity may be seen as a pre-condition for identity construction and maintenance, surprisingly few studies have addressed it (Dutton et al., 2010). In the literature, there is substantial emphasis on the factors threatening identity construction (e.g. Elsbach & Kramer, 1996; Kreiner, Ashforth, & Sluss, 2006), rather than on the matters enforcing it. Although studies in the positive identity domain are emerging (Roberts & Dutton, 2009), there is still much to be done to address and understand positivity in the organizational context. In particular, there is a need for a specific focus on the content, processes and outcomes of positive identity (Dutton et al., 2009).

What creates positivity in an organization in the midst of changes? The present study was aimed at addressing this question. We chose positive emotions as our pathway to understanding positive identity construction and maintenance. In particular, we sought to explore which emotions are linked to identity content and processes and identify the sources or triggers of these emotions (Dutton et al., 2010). Following Humphrey, Ashforth, and Diefendorff (2015), we defined emotions as signals of what is important to individuals in organizations (p. 754). Moreover, we regarded emotions as reactions to stimuli, leading to (positive) organizational behaviour and outcomes (cf. Frijda, 1988). The theoretical framework of the study was built around the literature on positive organizational identity, emotional identification and emotions. Empirically, we explored the positive feelings that employees attach to the organization and their membership within it.

Major opportunities exist to expand and develop the identity research in organizational contexts. By exploring positive emotions relating to organizational identification and identity, we expect to contribute to the development of a theory of work-related identities and emotional identification. Our focus on positivity instead of negativity (e.g. threats) will also counterweigh the overriding negative trend in the research. Given the challenges that exist in the contemporary business environment, understanding the sources and triggers of positivity will help managers to form and manage stronger organizational identities and facilitate employees’ identification with the organization. In a fast-paced and constantly changing global business world, finding positivity in organizational membership is expected to strengthen employees’ bond with their employer (Dutton et al., 2009). Moreover, considering the dynamic and changing nature of the business environment, finding positivity in the midst of major changes is a topical theme.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Constructing Positive Identities in Organizations

Identity is a central construct in organizational studies. In the literature, organizational identity is defined as those things or characteristics of an organization that are perceived as central, distinctive and enduring (Albert & Whetten, 1985). Accordingly, the prevailing social construction perspective posits that organizational identity is constituted by members’ subjective understanding and interpretation of what is central, distinctive and enduring about their organization (Albert, 1998; Dutton & Dukerich, 1991; Gioia, Schultz, & Corley, 2000; Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). Thus, organizational identity is the members’ collective understanding of these features rendering a common understanding of who they are (Raitis, 2015).

Social identities require both cognitive and emotional aspects (Dutton, Dukerich, & Harquail, 1994; Glynn & Walsh, 2009; Tajfel, 1982). Similarly, identification – i.e. the process by which individuals come to define and connect themselves within the organization – evolves through cognitive and emotional phases (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). Cognitive identification occurs when a member of the organization defines him- or herself according to the same attributes that he or she believes define the organization (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). Further, the strength of the identification is determined by the level of ‘oneness’ portraying the extent of the overlap between these individual and organizational attributes (Mael & Ashforth, 1992; Dutton et al., 1994). However, this identification is not exclusively a cognitive process; it also requires an emotional bond (Pratt, 2000), as ‘full’ belongingness cannot be attained by mere perception (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Thus, emotional identification entails employees’ emotional attachment and the feelings they experience in relation to their organization and membership in the organization. Consequently, feeling oneness is distinct from perceiving oneness (Albert, 1998; Johnson, Morgeson, & Hekman, 2012).

Emotion and attachment have long been recognized as having a positive influence on self-esteem (Pratt, 2000; Tajfel, 1982). Several decades ago, emotion was assigned a central role in the construction of one’s perceptions of the world and the self (Albert & Whetten, 1985; Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993). According to Fredrickson (2003), positive emotions lead to optimal individual- and organizational-level functioning over the long term. Concerning identification, emotions can be ‘felt to isolate or to unite’ (cf. Frijda, 1988). Emotional identification is associated with positive feelings about one’s membership, including pride, enthusiasm and a sense of affiliation or belongingness with others (Albert & Whetten, 1985). On the negative side, studies have shown that emotional dissonance may occur when an emotional experience is evaluated as a threat to a person’s identity (Jansz & Timmers, 2002). Negative emotions may also lead to individuals’ dis-identification or decreasing levels of identification. The more central one’s social identity is to one’s identity, the greater the threat of emotional costs will be (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993).

Identity is associated with a broad range of self-relevant emotions and attitudes (Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004). When discussing the positivity of emotions, it is important to remember that an emotion as such cannot be straightforwardly labelled as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. Rather, how the individual interprets the emotion – i.e. its personal relevance – is positive or negative. For example, one can be happy about being angry, or ashamed of feeling personal pride (Lazarus, 1991). In the workplace, emotions can be triggered by myriad stimuli. For example, positive emotions can be prompted by interpersonal contact with colleagues or customers (Rafaeli & Worline, 2001), by positive feedback, through meeting goals (Fisher & Ashkanasy, 2000), through perceived task significance or through task autonomy (Saavedra & Kwun, 2000). In addition, artefacts can trigger emotions; for example, employees can react positively to colours, such as the environmentally friendly symbolism embedded in the colour green (Rafaeli & Vilnai-Yavetz, 2004).

In their recent study, Dutton et al. (2010) highlight four distinctive sources of positivity in an organizational context. The sources of positive work-related identities and identity construction processes through which individuals can cultivate positive self-definitions are positive virtues, self-evaluations, self-development and a structural approach. The virtue perspective highlights that work-related identity is positive when the identity content includes virtuous qualities that can be defined as inherently good and positive. While the virtue perspective focuses on identity content, the evaluative perspective is based on members’ positive self-evaluations, sense of worth and meaning of their work-related identity. The third perspective takes into consideration the development of members’ self-definition over time. It may evolve either progressively as individuals proceed through different career and identity steps towards higher levels of the ideal self. Alternatively, it may occur adaptively when an individual develops and achieves a more appropriate fit with a set of internal and external standards. The fourth path, the structural perspective, states that an individual’s identity structure is more positive when the multiple facets of the identity are in a balanced or complementary relationship with one another, thus reducing identity conflict (Dutton et al., 2010).

This study was grounded in the notion that positive identities elicit positive emotions. Thus, in order to uncover what creates positivity in an organizational context, we needed to identify the sources and triggers of positive emotions that create and uphold organizational identification. Emotions are rarely, if ever, elicited by isolated stimuli. Emotional reactions are meaningful and always tied to the particular spatial and temporal contexts in which they occur (Frijda, 1988). In our study, we explored positivity and positive emotions during an acquisition process. Major organizational changes, such as M&A, may create contexts in which it is difficult to distinguish positivity. According to Kreiner and Sheep (2009), however, threats caused by major changes can be turned into positive opportunities when individuals reframe identity-threatening situations into positive and forward-looking growth opportunities. This ‘positive jujitsu’ (Kreiner & Sheep, 2009) served as the starting point for this study.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This research applied a qualitative, single case study approach. A qualitative approach was chosen to obtain a deeper understanding of the grounds of positive identity formation during M&A. Further, case studies create rich opportunities for exploring positive emotions and discovering the triggers behind those emotions (cf. Gioia, Corley, & Hamilton, 2013). The case study strategy was appropriate because it would enable a rich and contextualized description of the phenomenon under scrutiny (cf. Eisenhardt, 1989; Stake, 1995).

The case was a Finnish–British acquisition conducted between two companies in 2013. To respect the anonymity requirements of the companies involved, the names are withheld and replaced with pseudonyms. The acquired, BuildIT, is a Finnish firm operating in the building and construction industry. In 2011, BuildIT was acquired by Omega Group, which is based in California, and became part of Omega Group’s Building Division. However, since BuildIT was Omega Group’s biggest acquisition, it was...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Section 1 Identity, Anger, Diversity
• Section 2 Public Sector Settings
• Section 3 Gender, Emotions And Identity
• Section 4 Emotions and Identification With Work
• Conference Reviewers
• Index