Conceptualization Of Authenticity Research Articles

The different ways of being true to self at work: A review of divergence among authenticity constructs

As the number of publications demonstrating the benefits and risks of being authentic at work grows, so does the variety of interpretations of what it means to be authentic—and with it increasing inconsistencies and contradictions in conceptualizations of authenticity and its outcomes. We propose that the reasons for these inconsistencies stem from differing underlying assumptions on what authenticity is and thus what it means to be “true to self”. To better understand these differences, we conducted a systematic review of authenticity constructs in organization science, concentrating on the divergence among definitions and underlying theoretical assumptions of authenticity constructs. We identified two dimensions underlying authenticity constructs’ assumptions. First, constructs differed in whether the self was oriented more toward independence (emphasis on the self as distinct from others) or toward interdependence (self as relationally oriented). Second, constructs ranged in their perspectives on the self as fixed (self as stable) to more malleable (self as changing). In this review, we delineate the different ways of “staying true to one’s self” at work and show the inherent complexities in the process of being authentic in the workplace, explaining how these differences may lead to seemingly contradictory work-related outcomes of authenticity.

University leadership within the neoliberal agenda: Reframing the landscape through a principled leadership approach

This article emerged from a doctoral study that explored Nova Scotia university leaders’ leadership beliefs and values, and change agency approaches. “Principled leadership” was conceptualized as an expansion of authentic leadership theory and involved – authenticity (identity), spirituality, and love (an ethic of care). Principled leadership was examined as a possible approach which could facilitate successful change agency. The leader-participants included university presidents, vice-presidents, directors, and deans. A key finding was that leaders were operating within a conceptualization of authenticity. They held honesty, integrity, and trust as critical to their change agency. Another finding was that principled leadership offered an antidote to the depredations on positive leadership resulting from neoliberalism that has seriously impacted Canadian higher education. This study raised questions surrounding the nature of authentic leadership and identity; that is, the core of authenticity is knowing oneself and being true to one’s own values, but what if a leader has “drunk the Kool-Aid of neoliberalism” thereby truly believes that their top-down, autocratic (or destructive leadership) approach was ‘efficient’ (a neoliberal tenet) and crucial to organizational effectiveness and change agency. Can they still be considered authentic leaders? Thus, this study indicated that principled leadership was a useful expansion of Avolio and his colleagues’ authentic leadership theory.

관광에서의 진정성 연구에 기여한 주요 학자들

The concept of authenticity has played a crucial and unique role in the history of tourism studies, resulting in theoretical advancements through vigorous debates. Focusing on the fundamental mechanism of tourism, the normative characteristics of the authenticity concept have facilitated diverse academic perspectives and traditions to interact with one another. The current study aims to introduce four prominent scholars who significantly influenced the authenticity discussion in tourism studies and their conceptualization of authenticity. Daniel Boorstin pointed out mass tourism as a symbolic phenomenon of American society, which is full of fakes that seem to be real, and asserted that tourists only seek pleasure without interest in authenticity. Dean McCannell argued that tourists pursue authenticity, which is believed to exist behind commercialized tourist attractions, by using the concept of ‘staged authenticity’. Erik Cohen suggested that each tourist pursues authenticity to various degrees and that authenticity is not a fixed value but a negotiable value that continuously changes. Ning Wang proposed the concept of existential authenticity, arguing that the concept of authenticity can be applied to the subjective experiences of tourists. Each scholar's concept of authenticity reflects not only the scholar's view on tourism but also his/her academic trajectory, worldview, and historical context. This study provides an opportunity to reflect on how humans have established the normative value of ‘real’ in the behavioral context of tourism amid the progress of human civilization.

Examining the structure of authenticity: A factor analytic study of the Authenticity Scale and Authenticity Inventory Subscales.

Authenticity has received much empirical research attention in recent years. It is currently often measured using one of two psychometric tools - The Authenticity Scale (AS) and The Authenticity Inventory (AI). Although the development of both was influenced by similar theoretical ideas, their operational definitions are different. The AS consists of three subscales of authentic living, self-alienation, and accepting external influence, whereas the AI consists of four subscales of awareness, unbiased processing, behavior, and relational orientation. In order to understand the overall construct of authenticity, including all its varied aspects, two studies were conducted. In study 1 (N=1049), the three AS and four AI subscales were subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis. Results showed that the subscales from these two instruments all loaded highly on a two-component model, which we represented as a distinction between outer and inner expressions of authenticity. In study 2 (N=527) Confirmatory Factor Analysis found the two factor model to be a good fit. In addition, in study 2 we also investigated the association of these two factors with social desirability, showing that greater authenticity was associated with lower social desirability. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the conceptualization of authenticity and suggest that both authenticity tools measure aspects of this two-factor model. These results provide a new framework to synthesize previous data on authenticity more effectively, and to develop new tools for the understanding and assessment of authenticity.

Negotiating authenticity: Berlin’s Japanese food producers and the vegan/vegetarian consumer

ABSTRACT This paper introduces “feelings of authenticity” as an analytical category in the scholarship on culinary globalization and ethnic food producers to understand changes in cosmopolitan foodscapes by transcending economic conceptualizations of authenticity. It discusses how Japanese food entrepreneurs, chefs and food workers making and selling Japanese food in Berlin feel about and negotiate consumer demands for vegan and vegetarian variations of Japanese cuisine. Why are some Japanese food producers in Berlin more flexible in adjusting their menus to customer demands than others? This paper argues that different responses are related to food producers’ feelings of authenticity informed by different personal standards of what authentic Japanese food is and should be. These standards emerge from their personal biographies, professional backgrounds and values. Based on six years of fieldwork, this paper introduces three groups of Japanese food producers who perceive authentic Japanese food differently and shows how ethnic food producers’ perceptions and feelings of authenticity affect negotiations between food producers and consumers.

Authenticity Occurs More Often Than Inauthenticity in Everyday Life

Abstract. Researchers have assumed that people generally strive toward authenticity, yet have also argued that authenticity may often be impeded by social constraints. Against this backdrop, it is unclear whether people feel authentic or inauthentic more often in everyday life. To address this question, we examined the retrospective frequency of these feelings. As researchers have conceptualized authenticity and inauthenticity in various ways, we also tested for generalization of the results across different conceptualizations. Our results indicate that authenticity occurs more often than inauthenticity in everyday life. While the results largely generalized across different conceptualizations of authenticity and inauthenticity, there was nonetheless some variation. Future research, therefore, should take different conceptualizations of authenticity and inauthenticity more into account.

Indexing authenticity in visual political (social media) communication: a metapragmatics-based analysis of two visual registers of the authentic

AbstractIn this paper, I apply a metapragmatics-based approach to visual communication, combined with adapted concepts of Social Semiotics (“visual modality”) and CDA-oriented visual analysis (“canons of use”), to reconstruct two visual registers of authenticity which are prevailing within a social media photo sample of recent Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Facebook, Instagram; total of 84 photos), posted during the parliamentary elections in 2017. Triangulated with the discourse analysis of the marketing manager’s metapragmatic reflections on this social media campaign, the study shows how the partly intertwined registers of (1) “professional sensorism” (as a blended register comprising emblems of sensory modality and balanced composition, thereby drawing on the conceptualization of authenticity as sensory and affective experience of “now”) and (2) “voyeuristic fictionalization” (comprising indexicals associated with fiction genre, and based on the notion of authenticity as arising via “unnoticed observing”) are conceptualized and implemented as a—superior—visual stylization, acting as a social positioning, in mediatized political communication.

Reconstructie en verzet

Reconstructies van verdwenen gebouwen zijn nieuwe scheppingen, zonder eenheid van tijd, plaats en functie. Daarom zijn argumenten die voortkomen uit de theoretische grondbeginselen van de monumentenzorg – die het behoud van ouderdoms- en getuigeniswaarden en historische bouwsubstantie voorstaan – veelal niet op hun plaats. Toch schuilt er een gevaar in reconstructies, omdat ze de waarde van historische materialiteit relativeren. De ‘dissolution of the real monument’ (Glendinning 2013) is daarvan het gevolg.
 Het brede begrip en de waardering van materiële overblijfselen uit het verleden zijn sinds de Nara Conference on Authenticity in 1994 gedestabiliseerd. Het authenticiteitsbegrip dient volgens Nara te worden beoordeeld vanuit de culturele context waarop het betrekking heeft. Binnen die context kan een monument niet alleen authentiek zijn op basis van geloofwaardige historische bronnen en materiaal, maar ook op basis van bronnen die getuigen van authentieke aspecten als functie, ontwerp, traditie en geestelijke of maatschappelijke waarde.
 Deze conceptualisering van authenticiteit voert tot de verdringing van de materiële authenticiteit. Het prevaleren van conceptuele benaderingswijzen heeft een negatieve invloed op de manier waarop met het materiële erfgoed wordt omgegaan. Het devalueren van het wetenschappelijke, materiële bronnenmateriaal plaatst dat materiële erfgoed in een narratieve context, waarmee het kwetsbaar wordt voor ideologische beeldvorming.

Feeling and Appearing Authentic: New Insights on Their Social Outcomes and Conceptual Clarity

Authenticity is the sense of alignment with one’s true self (Harter, 2002; Kernis, 2003; Sedikides, Slabu, Lenton, & Thomaes, 2017). When studying authenticity in organizations, three common understandings emerge from the literature: 1) authenticity can be considered a side effect of self-regulatory strivings in that it results from the consonance between one’s values and organizational goals (Hewlin, 2003; Markus, 1977; Ryan & Deci, 2017; Sheldon & Elliot, 1998, 1999), 2) authenticity can be inferred from behavioral expression of one’s values, attitudes, and emotions, while social and organizational influence largely erodes authenticity (Ekman & Friesen, 1975; Grandey, 2000; Hochschild, 2015; Schlenker, 2002), and 3) feeling authentic benefits psychological health (Gino, Kouchaki & Galinsky, 2015; Kifer, Heller, Qi, Perunovic, & Galinsky, 2013; Schlegel, Hicks, Arndt, & King, 2009) and may also positively affect job satisfaction (Cable, Gino, & Staats, 2013; Van den Bosch & Taris, 2013). Although largely corroborating the current workplace trend of “be yourself”, this literature offers little clarity on the conceptualization of authenticity and its social outcomes. To address this gap, employing a diverse mix of laboratory and field studies, the current symposium examines two previously overlooked social outcomes of authenticity, and offers some refreshing conceptual clarity regarding the experience vs appearance of authenticity and the role of others’ influence in the social construction of authenticity. First, Huang investigates how individuals’ sense of inauthenticity shapes the development of their social attitudes, showing that the sense of lacking control associated with inauthenticity encourages a unique attributional pattern conducive to cynical views and damaging to value-based organizational commitment. Next, Pillemer demonstrates that behaving authentically is not always beneficial and that, when encouraged to be authentic in interviews, men were rated worse than women as they decreased skilled emotional regulation, or deep acting. Then, Abi-Esber, Kouchaki, Jachimowicz, and Gino empirically develop the distinction between felt vs. displayed authenticity and examine their differential effects on objective vs. self-rated performance. Finally, Rees, Ramanujam, Victor, and Lehman offer a new perspective wherein they argue that authenticity might be less about being “true to oneself” and more about “remaining true to the authentic self one has created in conjunction with others.” By demonstrating a social attitudinal outcome of inauthenticity, a negative impression management implication of authenticity, and the different performance implications of felt vs. displayed authenticity, and by applying an social lens on the conceptualization of authenticity, we gain a better understanding of how inauthenticity affects individuals’ perception of others, how the perception of authenticity as deep vs. no acting affects others’ view of individuals, how felt vs. displayed authenticity are conceptually and empirically distinct, as well as how it is possible to incorporate others’ influence rather than seeing it as a form of erosion of the true self, and identify potential areas for future research and theory building. To Thine Own Self Be True, Or Others Would Seem False Too Presenter: Li Huang; INSEAD Bounded Authenticity: The Paradox of Being Genuine in Professional Interactions Presenter: Julianna Pillemer; New York U. What Are We Studying When We Study Authenticity? Presenter: Nicole Abi-Esber; Stanford GSB Presenter: Maryam Kouchaki; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Presenter: Jon Michael Jachimowicz; Harvard Business School Presenter: Francesca Gino; Harvard U. The Enactment of Authenticity as a Process of Sensemaking Presenter: Laura L. Rees; Queen's U. Presenter: Rangaraj Ramanujam; Vanderbilt U. Presenter: Bart Irwin Victor; Vanderbilt U. Presenter: David Lehman; U. of Virginia

The Legal Category of Authenticity. Current Perspectives

This overview focuses on the conceptualization of authenticity as a practical category that has always preoccupied those pondering the reality of the world as such, and aspiring to make sense of themselves and their purpose in this world. The problem of authenticity is examined from the perspectives of various fields of human knowledge. For instance, in legal philosophy and law enforcement the issue of authenticity is interpreted in strictly utilitarian terms. The subject comes up whenever physical evidence, documents or information need to be tested for authenticity. The current legal understanding of the problem is analyzed to show that it still lacks sophistication.

Language Educators’ Understanding of Authenticity in Teaching and Its Impacts on Their Practices

This grounded theory study explored the conceptualization of authenticity in language education. The participants were 30 Iranian English language educators, who were studied as adult learners. The findings revealed that authenticity was conceptualized by language educators as a social and reflective practice under the influence of the instructions of Islam and the collectivist culture of Iran as a country in the Middle East. Three main themes were identified as follows: three-way pedagogical relationship, reflectivity, and context-appropriate adjustments. Three-way pedagogical relationship addressed educators’ learning experiences, subjects driven from the context, and the importance of learners. Also, reflectivity included reflection on content, process, and premise. Furthermore, context-appropriate adjustments referred to the disagreement with conformity to educational systems encouraging nativeness. Indeed, the participants conceptualized authenticity as finding one’s own voice in the midst of the dominant native voices, while reflecting on one’s own pedagogical practices and respecting one’s own religion and context.

Authenticity in teaching and teachers’ emotions: a hermeneutic phenomenological study of the classroom reality

ABSTRACTThis study probed the conceptualization of authenticity in teaching and its link to teachers’ emotional life through critical emotional praxis because emotions are integral to discovering who we really are (McCarthy, E. D. 2009. “Emotional Performances as Dramas of Authenticity.” In Authenticity in Culture, Self, and Society, edited by P. Vannini, and J. P. Williams, 241–255. London: Ashgate). The participants were 20 Iranian university teachers. Data were collected using interviews, field notes, and observation and were analyzed through the lens of hermeneutic phenomenology. The results revealed that authenticity in teaching consisted of themes of being one’s own self, horizon of significance, and contestation resulted from the sense of responsibility, authentic relations, and de-constructive thinking which confirmed the dialogical nature of authenticity. The emotions connected to authenticity in teaching were Transition-Anger, love, and caring indicating that authenticity in teaching was a practice toward socially just teaching.

Dressing up Tinderella: interrogating authenticity claims on the mobile dating app Tinder

ABSTRACTMobile dating applications (‘apps’) have increased in popularity over recent years, with Tinder among the first to break into the mainstream heterosexual market. Since mobile dating intensifies the need to confirm that potential dates are not misrepresenting themselves and are safe to meet in person, Tinder’s success indicates that it has allayed these concerns regarding the authenticity of its users. This article combines Giddens’ conceptualization of authenticity, as the ability to reference a coherent biographical narrative, with Callon’s sociology of translation to investigate Tinder’s framing of authenticity within mobile dating. Applying a walkthrough method that interrogates Tinder’s technological architecture, promotional materials, and related media, this hybrid theoretical framework is used to identify how Tinder configures an actor-network that establishes its app as the solution to users’ concerns, enrols individuals in using its features in authenticity claims, and popularizes Tinder’s framing across public discourse. This network of human and non-human actors frames authenticity as being established through one’s Facebook profile and adherence to normative standards relating to age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. However, user discourses on other social media identify and challenge negative outcomes of this framing, with normativity fostering discrimination and Facebook verification failing to prevent abusive behaviour. This case study of Tinder paves the way for future investigation into user responses to its framing. Furthermore, it demonstrates the efficacy and broader applicability of this theoretical approach for identifying both human and technological influences on the construction of authenticity with digital media.

The Authentic Worker's Well-Being and Performance: The Relationship Between Authenticity at Work, Well-Being, and Work Outcomes

ABSTRACTPrevious research on authenticity has mainly focused on trait conceptualizations of authenticity (e.g., Wood et al., 2008), whereas in specific environments (e.g., at work) state conceptualizations of authenticity (cf. Van den Bosch & Taris, 2013) are at least as relevant. For example, working conditions are subject to change, and this could well have consequences for employees’ perceived level of authenticity at work. The current study employs a work-specific, state-like conceptualization of authenticity to investigate the relations between authenticity at work, well-being, and work outcomes. A series of ten separate hierarchical regression analyses using data from 685 participants indicated that after controlling for selected work characteristics and demographic variables, authenticity at work accounted for on average 11% of the variance of various wellbeing and work outcomes. Of the three subscales of authenticity at work (i.e., authentic living, self-alienation, and accepting influence), self-alienation was the strongest predictor of outcomes, followed by authentic living and accepting external influence, respectively. These findings are discussed in the light of their practical and theoretical implications.

Authenticity in the Workplace: Highlighting Costs and Bridging Conceptualizations.

Organizational scholarship on authenticity reflects the study of what it means to remain true to oneself at work, its consequences and antecedents. In recent years, organizational scholars have produced high-quality research on authenticity in various domains relevant to organizations. These papers highlight the benefits of authenticity at work, using diverse conceptualizations. In this symposium, we not only have gathered what we believe is the next set of high-quality research on authenticity, but we contribute to the existing literature by shedding more light on potential costs to authenticity. Interestingly, in demonstrating the potential costs of certain conceptualizations of authenticity, this symposium highlights the potential benefits of other conceptualizations. In this way this symposium also starts to integrate literature on the topic of authenticity into a coherent whole, bridging across conceptualizations. This is important to advance the empirical and theoretical development of the topic of authenticity as a whole.

A Process-Focused Model of Perceived Authenticity in Cultural Heritage Tourism

This paper examines the conceptualization of authenticity, which is the central issue of cultural heritage management. A process-focused model of perceived authenticity is proposed, in which performative authenticity is a mediating construct between objective authenticity and existential authenticity. The model is well empirically confirmed by a survey conducted on a cultural landscape, Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, China. By using AMOS 18.0, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed to prove it. The results indicate that objective authenticity has a significantly positive impact on existential authenticity, and through performative authenticity in between, the significance is greatly enhanced. Further discussion about theoretical, managerial implications, and future research are put forward, which may be beneficial for the sustainable management of cultural heritage tourism.

An Ethics of Authenticity in the Client-Designer Relationship

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the value for design ethics with regard to the existentialist concept of authenticity by looking specifically at the relationship between client and designer. It shows that while this concept is valuable for design ethics it entails important issues for authentic relationship and ethical deliberation in design practice. Three models of interaction drawn from bioethics are used to analyse existentialist authenticity and its implications for the client-designer relationship and for the ethical decision-making process in design practice. Hence, a revised and more suitable conceptualization of authenticity is proposed, in which the client and the designer are able to interact on the ground of reciprocal recognition and valuation of individual subjectivity. Finally, the paper asserts that considering design practice and education through this conceptualization of authenticity can contribute to improve ethical deliberation and involvement between client and designer in design practice.

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Corporate and Regional Brands in the Creative Industries: The Case of Sustainable Architecture in Portland, Oregon, USA

While the creative industries have emerged as an increasingly important domain for research, very little is known about the organization-level elements that may drive firm success. Using a case study approach, this article provides evidence for a complex reciprocal relationship between the destination brand of Portland, Oregon, USA and the firms within the sector based on a distinctive “terroir” for sustainable architecture. Findings examine how architecture firms within the sector employ aspects of corporate identity, image, and reputation to endow their corporate brands with authenticity, which has been shown to be the essential feature of their appeal to customers. The article bolsters extant claims that the concept of authenticity offers significant marketing advantage to firms in the creative industries context. The article provides preliminary evidence for a new conceptualization of authenticity for creative and knowledge-intensive organizations based on seven aspects of corporate image and identity: 1) Appearing above commercial considerations, 2) Production methods as a craft, 3) Valuing internal satisfaction, 4) Formal and informal classifications, 5) Aura of place, 6) Corporate visual identity, and 7) Peer acclaim and awards/competitions.

Expressions of existential philosophy in different therapeutic schools

Therapeutic schools vary greatly in their conceptualization of authenticity, a concept that grew out of existential philosophy. On one end of the spectrum, the real person is seen as one living in harmony with his or her environment and achieving fulfillment through relationships. An opposite view regards the person who has successfully adapted to his or her social environment as inauthentic. A basic dilemma which characterizes the therapeutic process is whether to put the emphasis on the client self acceptance or on adaptation to society. This article discusses authenticity from a philosophical point of view and reviews the attitudes toward the concept from various schools of therapy. Although existential psychotherapy is the only school that uses the concept of authenticity, one can find clues to the conflict between encouraging the client's own individuality and motivating him or her toward social adaptation in almost every therapeutic school. Authenticity is therefore an important subject to be dealt with in therapy. Moreover, the attitude toward authenticity is often influenced by the therapist's personal values and therapeutic orientation.