Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine egoidentity
(Erikson, Psychol Issues 1:1–171, 1959; Identity,
youth and crisis, Norton, New York, 1968; Marcia, J Pers
Soc Psychol 3:551–558, 1966) and social identity (Tajfel
and Turner, In: Austin WG, Worchel S (Eds.) The social
psychology of intergroup relations. Brooks/Cole, Monterey,
pp 33–47 1979; Turner et al., Rediscovering the social
group: A self-categorization theory. Blackwell, Oxford,
1987) theories within the organizational literature. We
adopted a person-centered approach to analyze whether
employees classified in various identity statuses and identification
profiles exhibited differences in job outcomes
(i.e., burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship
behaviors). We also analyzed interconnections among
identity statuses and identification profiles.
Design/methodology/approach Participants were 515
employees (85.4 % women) between 24 and 64 years old.
They completed self-reported questionnaires assessing
personal identity, social identity, and job outcomes.
Findings Cluster analysis indicated that participants could
be classified into four identity statuses (i.e., achievement,
early closure, moratorium, and searching moratorium) and
into four identification profiles (i.e., orthogonal combinations
of high vs. low organizational and group identification,
respectively). Employees classified in the various identity
statuses and identification profiles reported meaningful differences
on job outcomes. Further, findings highlighted significant
associations between identity statuses and
identification profiles, giving rise to various identity configurations
associated with job outcomes.
Implications This study highlights the importance of
integrating different facets of job identity. These findings
have relevant implications in terms of suggesting which
dimensions of identity should be promoted in order to
reduce workers’ burnout, and enhance their satisfaction and
organizational citizenship behaviors.
Originality/value This study provides evidence for integrating
ego-identity and social identity theories. In doing
so, it bridges developmental psychology literature on personal
identity with social and organizational psychology
literature on social identity,
(Erikson, Psychol Issues 1:1–171, 1959; Identity,
youth and crisis, Norton, New York, 1968; Marcia, J Pers
Soc Psychol 3:551–558, 1966) and social identity (Tajfel
and Turner, In: Austin WG, Worchel S (Eds.) The social
psychology of intergroup relations. Brooks/Cole, Monterey,
pp 33–47 1979; Turner et al., Rediscovering the social
group: A self-categorization theory. Blackwell, Oxford,
1987) theories within the organizational literature. We
adopted a person-centered approach to analyze whether
employees classified in various identity statuses and identification
profiles exhibited differences in job outcomes
(i.e., burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship
behaviors). We also analyzed interconnections among
identity statuses and identification profiles.
Design/methodology/approach Participants were 515
employees (85.4 % women) between 24 and 64 years old.
They completed self-reported questionnaires assessing
personal identity, social identity, and job outcomes.
Findings Cluster analysis indicated that participants could
be classified into four identity statuses (i.e., achievement,
early closure, moratorium, and searching moratorium) and
into four identification profiles (i.e., orthogonal combinations
of high vs. low organizational and group identification,
respectively). Employees classified in the various identity
statuses and identification profiles reported meaningful differences
on job outcomes. Further, findings highlighted significant
associations between identity statuses and
identification profiles, giving rise to various identity configurations
associated with job outcomes.
Implications This study highlights the importance of
integrating different facets of job identity. These findings
have relevant implications in terms of suggesting which
dimensions of identity should be promoted in order to
reduce workers’ burnout, and enhance their satisfaction and
organizational citizenship behaviors.
Originality/value This study provides evidence for integrating
ego-identity and social identity theories. In doing
so, it bridges developmental psychology literature on personal
identity with social and organizational psychology
literature on social identity,
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 281-300 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Business and Psychology |
| Volume | 29 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- Identity statuses
- Identification
- Burnout
- Job satisfaction
- Organizational citizenship behaviors
- Person-centered approach