Organizational Membership and the Formation of Dissonant Identities

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore the processes and strategies through which members of a group or organization use their organizational identity to make salient a normatively dissonant identity. Using both the functionalist perspectives of social identity theory and the existing narrative literature on identity formation in organizations, a conceptual process model of identity formation is created that integrates the identification process with the interaction of multiple identities, including the identity as members of an organization, a normatively dissonant identity, and other salient preexisting identities such as race and gender. This research also examined part of this conceptual model empirically, using members of a national running organization for Black women, Black Girls Run!, using a mixed-methods design including interviews and surveys of participants. Distance running, as a form of physical activity, is not a normative identity for Black women in the United States. Findings from Study 1 showed that members developed a running identity that informed their running behavior. Study 2 highlighted the process through which members used their identity as members of the organization to negotiate through their dissonance and become runners using modeling strategies. Findings from this study contribute to both sport management and organizational literature by empirically demonstrating the effects of and the processes through which an organizational identity might create a pathway for marginalized groups to adapt previously dissonant identities. It highlights the importance of organizational identities in the formation of deeper connections with physical activity, which has been shown to be an essential element of health maintenance and a conduit for sustainable active behaviors.