The Dark Side of Organizational Identity

Abstract

There is a darker side to every individual, social group, organization and society. This paper explores the dark side of organizational identity, a construct that has been gaining importance in both research and practice. Organizational identity defined as the central, enduring and distinguishing characteristics of an organization (Whetten, 2006), has a strong relationship with long term high impact decisions; sense making in organizations; experienced reality of organizational members; organizational change; resources, capabilities and competitiveness; leadership; organizational structure, strategy and culture; projected image and reputation; organizational response to crises; and mergers, acquisitions and spin offs (Albert and Whetten