Identity dynamics in non-profit organizations: Ideological and methodological identity orientations

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Organizational identity, a social and relational process that is continuously happening, plays a key role in organizations’ performance and communication. Achieving a clear and shared organizational identity enables employees’ alignment and the projection of consistent images to external stakeholders. Non-profit organizations are an interesting group to study organizational identity dynamics. These organizations pay little or no money to their workers achieving often high levels of performance. Organizational identity processes can be a possible explanation for this. The present study analyzes four non-profit organizations that operate in the social field. Findings suggest that, besides several common traits, there are two kinds of identity orientations among non-profit organizations: ideological identity orientation and methodological identity orientation. These two orientations constrain the organizational identity and are reflected in the relationships established between organizational members and the stakeholders. In both cases, organizations might develop identity dysfunctions, i.e. organizational narcissism and hyper-adaptation.