Organizational Identity in the Digital Era

Abstract

The perception of an organization is largely based on its identity, which determines how it is expected to act. Yet, digital technology often creates situations where organizations experience conflicting demands from different stakeholders. Over time, organizations are therefore forced to take actions that may not be consistent with their identity and mission, and must find ways to pursue multiple - sometimes conflicting - goals simultaneously. Our study examines how organizations frame their identity and discusses how different framings may help addressing different needs while remaining consistent with the initial identity. Our findings allow us to contribute to extant literature by: (1) Identifying differences in the framing of organizational identities with regard to focus on Purpose, Strategic Boundaries, Value Propositions, and Value Statements. (2) Discussing the implications of our findings for the current literature dealing with the "identity-challenging" nature of digital technology. (3) Outlining promising research questions for future research.