Identification with Multiple Targets in a Geographically Dispersed Organization

Abstract

Organizations today are characterized by changing structures and shifting employee loyalty, both of which make research on identification especially timely. Based on social identity theory, this study of a geographically dispersed organization builds on past identification research by examining 4 viable targets of identification simultaneously, the compatibility and competition between those targets, and the influence of several types of tenure. A series of hypotheses and research questions addressing these concerns are analyzed on the basis of 153 surveys from county, area, and state personnel in Colorado's Cooperative Extension Service. Five general conclusions are drawn regarding the relevance of multiple identification targets for the most dispersed geographic levels, the importance of occupational identification across organizational levels, the compatibility between all identification targets, differences between short-and long-term employees, and the importance of occupational tenure in predicting identification.