TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring Complex Organizational Communities
T2 - Identity as Emergent Perceptions, Boundaries, and Relationships
AU - Gilpin, Dawn
AU - Miller, Nina K.
PY - 2013/5/1
Y1 - 2013/5/1
N2 - Scholars in the fields of organization science and communication have shown increasing interest in exploring theories of complexity as a framework for theorizing about organizational processes. We conceive of organizations as heterogeneous complex systems characterized by interdependency and member identification, which self-organize into a relatively stable core and fluid, ill-defined boundaries. This conceptualization also necessitates rethinking our understanding of organizational identity construction, since many predominant theories of organizational identity suffer from managerial bias (Scott, 2007). We thus propose that identity is an emergent property of self-organization in complex organizational communities. From a complexity theory perspective, organizational identity can be viewed as a dynamic, emergent, multilevel process of negotiation that encompasses reflexivity, boundary setting, and relationship building.
AB - Scholars in the fields of organization science and communication have shown increasing interest in exploring theories of complexity as a framework for theorizing about organizational processes. We conceive of organizations as heterogeneous complex systems characterized by interdependency and member identification, which self-organize into a relatively stable core and fluid, ill-defined boundaries. This conceptualization also necessitates rethinking our understanding of organizational identity construction, since many predominant theories of organizational identity suffer from managerial bias (Scott, 2007). We thus propose that identity is an emergent property of self-organization in complex organizational communities. From a complexity theory perspective, organizational identity can be viewed as a dynamic, emergent, multilevel process of negotiation that encompasses reflexivity, boundary setting, and relationship building.
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U2 - 10.1111/comt.12008
DO - 10.1111/comt.12008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84876080137
SN - 1050-3293
VL - 23
SP - 148
EP - 169
JO - Communication Theory
JF - Communication Theory
IS - 2
ER -