The lived experience of organizational disidentification: how soldiers feel betrayed, dissociate, and suffer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Organizational identification has received much scholarly attention, while disidentification remains understudied. Existing studies on disidentification examined people who never identified with an organization in the first place or rely on (cross-sectional) survey data. This means that there is little research on the lived experience of the disidentification process. Based on an analysis of ten fictional war novels by veterans who disidentified, this study offers insights into the antecedents, manifestations, and effects of their disidentification. Organizational members disidentify from their organization after feeling betrayed by it, because their expectations have been violated. They disidentify through dissociating from organizational leadership, practices, bureaucracy, mission, and values. As a result, they suffer from psychological distress, identity loss, and loneliness. The article contributes to the literature by offering a qualitative, processual account of the deeply personal experiences around disidentification.