Positioning Acts and Identity Effects: Constructing Identities for Organizations in Partnership

Abstract

It is claimed that the concept of organizational identity is particularly relevant for researching and theorising inter-organizational relationships. This paper draws on a case study of partnership working in the field of refugee resettlement. It explores the discursive practices of the organizational actors involved to reveal the categories and schemas used to construct the identities of the different organizations involved and shows how these constructions tended to work against the espoused intention to change the distribution of resources and influence amongst them. It concludes by considering alternative schema and categories for constructing identities that might constitute a better basis for collaboration, and by highlighting the significance of the interplay of individual and organizational identities that is revealed in this study.