Conceptual Expansion into Organizational Identity Change

The three criteria proposed by Albert and Whetten (1985) for organizational identity were summarized as (a) central, (b) distinctive, and (c) enduring. They reinforce a traditional image of identity as (a) unparalleled, (b) unique, and (c) unchanging over time. Ashforth and Mael (1989), representative work of social identification, understand this to be the case. However, Albert and Whetten (1985) expanded (a), (b), and (c) and asserted that (a′) if identities are stated, several identities may exist and not just one, (b′) if a comparison with others and self-classification can be performed, then an identity need not be unique, and (c′) if an identity has continuity, it may change over time. Based on this, the range of application for the concept of identity can be extended to organizations, enabling an analysis of organizational identity, particularly an analysis of organizational identity change.