Kevin G. Corley

Imperial College London | Imperial

We conducted a 10-year longitudinal study of the formation and change of an organization’s identity over its complete life-cycle, from birth to death. Over this time, the organization (“Rebelient”) went through several identity transitions wherein members of the organization came to understand that who they wanted to be as an organization was not p...

One of the raging debates in organization study concerns the use of “templates” in qualitative research. This curated debate brings together many of the players in that debate, who make statements of position relative to the issues involved and trade accusations and counter-accusations about statements they have made that in their view have been mi...

Research summary The question of what boards do, or should do, has remained a central focus in governance research. Much of this research is based on explicit theories or empirical models that impose assumed behaviors onto boards – such as monitoring – that are thought to define their roles and duties. While these explicit perspectives have offered...

As inductive research has moved from the fringe to the mainstream, it not only has come to look more like deductive research, but has started to look more formulaic as well (i.e. standards, templates, checklists). The very thing that makes inductive research unique is its ability to challenge what is known and to do so creatively. The question, thu...

How a firm is perceived has implications for strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and firm outcomes. However, strategic management researchers have traditionally devoted less attention to theories that address these perceptual implications. This special topic forum (STF) includes six articles that use a sociocognitive lens to help expand...

This article, together with a companion video, provides a synthesized summary of a Showcase Symposium held at the 2016 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in which prominent scholars—Denny Gioia, Kathy Eisenhardt, Ann Langley and Kevin Corley—discussed different approaches to theory building with qualitative research. Our goal for the symposium wa...

A growing methodological trend is emerging from the recognition that integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in the same study, that is, employing a mixed methods approach, can provide the necessary empirical intricacy and rigor to match the complexities of organizational phenomena. The authors describe opportunities and challenges of mixe...

This paper develops grounded theory on how receiving respect at work enables individuals to engage in positive identity transformation and the resulting personal and work-related outcomes. A company that employs inmates at a state prison to perform professional business-to-business marketing services provided a unique context for data collection. O...

The social sciences, including management, are at a crossroads. Globally, scholars are increasingly pressured to publish in top journals, compelling editorial boards to recruit more individuals - including those with less experience - to meet the demand. Furthermore, the validity of the social sciences is under scrutiny in light of ethical violatio...

This chapter outlines an argument for an adaptive relationship between organizational identity and learning. The nature of organizational learning is discussed and a more in-depth examination of how identity and learning are related at the organizational level is presented. A discussion of both the theoretical and practical implications of this int...

In my editorial and authorial experiences, Grounded Theory approaches to organizational research have proven to be some of the most powerful forms of inquiry we have into modern organizing and organizations. And part of that power comes from its ability to utilize both qualitative and quantitative data. But unlike Walsh et al., I do not believe Gro...

The literature on organizational identity has made great strides in recent decades in understanding what identity is, what it does, and how it affects individual and organizational outcomes. And while a literature exists on how organizational identity is constructed, maintained, or changed over time, much of its focus has been within-level, largely...

Based on a three-year inductive study of one organization's implementation of radical organizational change, we examine the critical role played by middle managers' judgments of the legitimacy of their top managers as change agents. Our analysis revealed middle managers' shifting judgments of the change agents' legitimacy that arose with their emot...

Academic misconduct seems to occur all around us: developing hypotheses after results were known (HARKing), intentionally withholding relevant data, fabricating results, or plagiarizing. Recently we have seen how increased attention to academic misconduct has resulted in stronger editorial policies by AOM journals and increased activity by the AOM...

Organizational crisis, scandals, and stigmas are not new. We continue to witness major ethical and moral shortcomings as scandals unfold in corporations, churches, and not-for-profit organizations. Despite the preponderance of these crises, however, most go unstudied by organizational scholars, in large part because access is so difficult. For thos...

This symposium is aimed at bringing together a panel of scholars to discuss the value of qualitative dissertations for students, faculty advisors, and the academy overall. The panel discussion will focus on the personal value that panelists have derived from their involvement with dissertations utilizing qualitative methods, including building and...

Theory and research concerning organizational identity (“who we are as an organization”) is a burgeoning domain within organization study. A great deal of conceptual and empirical work has been accomplished within the last three decades—especially concerning the phenomenon of organizational identity change. More recently, work has been devoted to s...

For all its richness and potential for discovery, qualitative research has been critiqued as too often lacking in scholarly rigor. The authors summarize a systematic approach to new concept development and grounded theory articulation that is designed to bring “qualitative rigor” to the conduct and presentation of inductive research.

Can ambiguous vision statements help to initiate strategic change? We draw on organizational and political concepts to make the case that ambiguity in the expression of future aspirations enables a sense of alignment between local and larger organizational goals that eases the political path to successful change. We also explore the paradox that, o...

Directors may play their most important role during organizational crisis; however, extant research suggests that they are often more willing to exit than remain on the board of a firm facing a crisis. We develop theory regarding directors' voluntary exit by integrating insights from identity theories with the organizational crises literature. Spec...

Most research on organization-based identities focuses on a single level of analysis, typically the individual, group, or organization. As a spur to more cross-level identity research, we offer speculative discussions on two issues concerning nested identities. First, regarding the processes through which identities become linked across levels, we...

In this inductive study, we explore the dynamics between Alpinista (a pseudonym), a company that designs and manufactures rock climbing and skiing gear, and the broader cultures within which the company is embedded. Our data pushed us toward the notion of “culture as toolkit,” a perspective that focuses on culture as a set of means or resources use...

Most research on organization-based identities focuses on a single level of analysis, typically the individual, group, or organization. As a spur to more cross-level identity research, we offer speculative discussions on two issues concerning nested identities. First, regarding the processes through which identities become linked across levels, we...

We distill existing literature on theoretical contribution into two dimensions, originality (incremental or revelatory) and utility (scientific or practical). We argue for a revision in the way scholars approach the utility dimension by calling for a view of theorizing that would enable theories with more "scope" (both scientific and practical util...

The drive for tenure can be all consuming. And yet, actually attaining that goal often leads to just as great a challenge-successfully transitioning from “junior” to “senior” faculty member. Hambrick (2005) warns that recently tenured professors should not take their new status for granted by taking advantage of the system that granted their tenure...

We examine the influence exiles have on the cultures left behind. As people break from the familiar routines of country or organization, they look forward to their intended destinations, but also backward to the homes they are leaving. It is that backward glance that we suggest may have powerful reverberations. Today, about 100 million people live...

Organizations may commit deeds that are perceived by stakeholders and institutional actors as particularly heinous because they directly contradict sacred ideals, values, beliefs, and so on espoused by the organization. We refer to these deeds as sacrilege. To explain how sacrilege occurs, we develop a multi-level model of sacralization that argues...

The article discusses sensegiving in Hong Kong, China during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. Organizational life and leadership activities count sensegiving as an important activity which can include social and outgoing properties. Sensegiving spirals include circles and feedback loops which can impact both an individual's self...

Any organizational environment is filled with many different types of organizational images, some sent by a focal organization, some sent by outside arbiters, and others formed by interested stakeholders. As organizations attempt to communicate directly to segmented audiences by using tailored images, they also indirectly, and sometimes unwittingly...

The literature on identification in organizations is surprisingly diverse and large. This article reviews the literature in terms of four fundamental questions. First, under “What is identification?,” it outlines a continuum from narrow to broad formulations and differentiates situated identification from deep identification and organizational iden...

We investigated the attempt of a high-technology R&D organization to transform into a market-oriented organization by ©grafting© new, nontechnological knowledge. The intended strategic transformation did not succeed for reasons with wide implications for theory and research. Our findings suggest that the intersection of organizational identity, kno...

With computer network access nearly ubiquitous in much of the world, alternative means of data collection are being made available to researchers. Recent studies have explored various computer-based techniques (e.g., electronic mail and Internet surveys). However, exploitation of these techniques requires careful consideration of conceptual and met...

Qualitative methods for data collection and analysis are not mystical, but they are powerful, particularly when used to build new or refine existing theories. This article provides an introduction to qualitative methods and an overview of tactics for ensuring rigor in qualitative research useful for the novice researcher, as well as more experience...

In this article, the authors reflect on the past two decades of research on organizational identity, looking to its history and to its future. They do not provide a review of the literature, nor do they promote a particular perspective on the concept. Instead, they advocate pluralism in studying organizational identity while encouraging clarity and...

With computer network access nearly ubiquitous in much of the world, alternative means of data col-lection are being made available to researchers. Recent studies have explored various computer-based techniques (e.g., electronic mail and Internet surveys). However, exploitation of these techniques requires careful consideration of conceptual and me...

No abstract available.

While theory and research have identified the possibility for multiple organizational identities to exist within an organization, there is little empirical evidence on how differentiation occurs or what its implications are for the organization. In the course of inductively studying an organizational spin-off, evidence of identity differentiation b...

We develop a conceptual model of the effects of advertising on an employee's organizational identification. Advertising is proposed to affect identification based on an employee's attention to the advertisement, the congruence between the advertisement and the employee's experience in the organization, the employee's self-concept, and the attributi...

We report on the findings of an inductive, interpretive case study of organizational identity change in the spin-off of a Fortune 100 company's top-performing organizational unit into an independent organization. We examined the processes by which the labels and meanings associated with the organization's identity underwent changes during and after...

: This chapter presents a framework for understanding the tensions that underlie an organization's ability to manage innovation effectively in the face of a turbulent competitive environment: (1) the fundamental tension between the desire for structure and need for creative chaos, and (2) the on-going tension between technology-push and market-pull...

We disagree strongly with Cornelissen's critique of the organizational identity metaphor on grounds that he: seriously underplays the generative strength of metaphor in the study of organizations; inappropriately applies the standards of assessment from one paradigm to the approaches of another; and raises false concerns about issues of self refere...

The full text of the dissertation is available as a Adobe Acrobat .pdf file (191 p.) ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file. Mode of access: World Wide Web. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2002.

Accounting for organizational history is essential to any change process. We argue, however, that the intentional revision of that history also can be important. We treat history as malleable, because events and actions from the past are susceptible to reinterpretation as organizations try to align with the way they see themselves in the present an...

We have no doubt that AMLE over the coming years will be an excellent forum for theory and research relevant to teaching, learning, and education more broadly. Our purpose in this inaugural issue, however, is to call attention to some metaforces that have dramatically affected the character of management education in the United States and now are s...

Three research theories used to explain firm boundaries are transaction cost economics, an options perspective, and a resource-based view of the firm. Our integrated model addresses the degree to which each of these three perspectives explains firm boundaries for technology sourcing is contingent on managerial risk taking, which is partly determine...

This paper examines both the direct and indirect effects of images of corporate social performance on internal stakeholders. The authors suggest that public affairs managers must be particularly concerned about the ways in which images that are intended for and projected at external stakeholders are reflected back to internal stakeholders. In this...

ABSTRACT In an attempt to expand the field's thinking beyond notions of organizational learning rooted in individual-level conceptualizations (i.e., behavior-based, performance- based, knowledge-based learning), we provide a theoretical argument for a form of learning unique to the collective level, which we term "meaning-based learning." Meaning -...

The environment of business education now resembles aspects of the competitive environment facing for-profit industries. A major contributor to the character of this environment in the USA are the published rankings of business school programs, which have risen in prominence over the last decade. We conducted interviews with top management team mem...

This study examines the outcomes of technology-sourcing partnerships from the sourcing firms' point of view. Using a knowledge-based perspective, we develop a contingency model suggesting how the imitability, uniqueness, and uncertainty associated with a technology interact with partner interdependence to influence sourcing outcomes. Ninety-five so...

Organizational identity usually is portrayed as that which is core, distinctive, and enduring about the character of an organization. We argue that because of the reciprocal interrelationships between identity and image, organizational identity, rather than enduring, is better viewed as a relatively fluid and unstable concept. We further argue that...

The article presents a commentary on this special edition of “Academy of Management Journal” by three of the authors of one of the articles. The authors take this opportunity to discuss the areas of identity theory that are seemingly closed by the conversations in this issue, and those that have begun. The authors think it essential to begin discus...

Contrary to recent portrayals, we argue that the relationship between organizational identity and organizational learning is not only a strong one, but also one that facilitates organizational adaptability to a constantly shifting competitive environment. The implications of this relationship are perhaps most powerful in the context of change becau...