Same but Different: Meta-Organization and Collective Identity Dynamics

Eric Michael Laviolette; Sébastien  Arcand; L. Martin   Cloutier; Laurent   Renard

doi:10.37725/mgmt.v25.4228

Eric Michael Laviolette Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, TBS Education, Toulouse Cedex, France
Sébastien Arcand Department of Management, HEC Montréal, Montréal, Canada
L. Martin Cloutier Department of Analytics, Operation, and Information Technologies, Écoles des Sciences de la Gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
Laurent Renard Department of Analytics, Operation, and Information Technologies, Écoles des Sciences de la Gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.v25.4228

Keywords: Collective identity, Meta-organization, Identity dynamics, Legitimacy, In-depth case study

Abstract

This article analyzes how a meta-organization (M-O) can shape a coherent collective identity over time. Previous foundational work on identity formation in M-Os has provided fragmented but insightful ideas on several activities that this process entails. However, we currently lack a dynamic, integrative, and empirically supported model that demonstrates how these activities interrelate to shape a coherent collective identity over time. Using an in-depth case study of an association of cider producers in Québec (Canada) over a 23-year period, we develop a model of collective identity dynamics, in which an M-O plays an orchestrator role that is both dual and continuous. On the one hand, an M-O balances the internal identity claims of its organizational members through alignment and differentiation. On the other hand, an M-O builds an externally coherent identity by assembling and positioning legitimacy among institutional actors. Our paper provides new insights into activities performed by an M-O during identity creation by analyzing whether this process includes both organizational and institutional actors, thereby reinforcing the intermediary nature of an M-O. Furthermore, it contributes to the collective identity dynamics literature by elaborating the stabilizing role of a bounded organization in collective identity dynamics at the interorganizational level.

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