Culture and Identity in Organization Studies

This chapter deals with culture and identity in management studies. An interest in culture and identity can be understood as an interest in the symbolic side of the organization that deals with meaning, interpretation, symbols and action (rather than behavior). The symbolic side of enterprise has always been present in organization studies; since the early 1980s, however, this has predominantly been understood and explored through the concepts of culture and identity. Here we will follow the chronology of how the two concepts became prominent in organization studies. That is, we are going to start with an account of the emergence of culture in organizational analysis, proceed with an account of the emergence of identity, and conclude with a summary of what we think are the main contributions of culture and identity in organization studies.