Managing Identity Change, Challenges, and Continuity Over Time

Temporality is an inextricable component of identity. As people experience identity change over time, they are motivated to create a sense of self-continuity, i.e., the subjective feeling of having a sustained and coherent identity story and trajectory (Giddens, 1991; Vignoles et al., 2006). More so than ever, management researchers have been examining the diverse ways through which people craft self-continuity that transcends time (Petriglieri, Ashford, & Wrzesniewski, 2019; Petriglieri, Petriglieri, & Wood, 2018). However, scholars also acknowledge that crafting a sense of self-continuity has become more challenging because of the uncertain, unstructured, and discontinuous nature of contemporary careers (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996; Ashford, George, & Blatt, 2007; Ibarra and Obodaru, 2016). The papers in this symposium examine how people manage their identit(ies) over time as they face identity change, challenges, and the need for self-continuity. We examine identity work strategies both at transitional moments in one's career and as evolving processes in the long term. Our symposium includes qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical works, and investigates identity work in both traditional and novel work settings. Retaining Connection to an Elite Organization through Time-bending Idealization Author: Spencer Harrison; INSEAD Author: Kristie Rogers; Marquette U. Author: Preeti Varma; INSEAD Losing the Plot? How Narrative Identity Challenges Affect Independent Scientists’ Progression Author: Brianna Barker Caza; U. of North Carolina, Greensboro Author: Susan J. Ashford; U. of Michigan Author: Erin Marie Reid; McMaster U. Author: Steve Granger; Concordia U., Montreal Author: Manjari Ganti; U. of Michigan, Ross School of Business Constructing an Entrepreneurial Identity Amidst an Inescapable Archetype Author: James Hughey; U. of Utah, David Eccles School of Business Author: Glen E. Kreiner; U. of Utah, David Eccles School of Business How People Manage Unimaginable and Impossible Future Selves Author: Zhuo Lin; U. of Cincinnati Author: Elaine Cahalan Hollensbe; U. of Cincinnati Weaving Self-continuity Across the Identity Gestalt Author: Sarah Wittman; George Mason U. Author: Blake E. Ashforth; Arizona State U. Author: Herminia Ibarra; London Business School