IT-driven identity work: Creating a group identity in a digital environment

Authors:
Marie-Claude Boudreau;Christina Serrano;Keri Larson
Affiliations:
Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States;Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, United States;Collat School of Business, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, United States
Venue:
Information and Organization
Year:
2014

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Abstract

While organizational scholars are increasingly interested in issues of identity, identity work, and identification, in-depth empirical studies analyzing the process of identity creation have lagged behind, particularly when such process is triggered by the digitization of a work environment. In this longitudinal case study, we take a social constructionist perspective to investigate the identity creation process of a group of librarians in charge of a new information commons library. We call attention to the dialectic forces underlying this process, emphasizing how the librarians' image, as reflected by the patrons, led the librarians to try multiple provisional identities, which were supported by liminal actions reminiscent of either ''who they were'' and/or ''who they could be.'' We also consider how technology was appropriated throughout this dynamic and suggest a technology identification process model that parallels the group identity creation process.