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Exercising Leadership on the Edge: A case study of identity ambiguity emerging in an organizational crisis

Niemeyer, Johanna Sophie LU and Holzwarth, Erika LU (2019) BUSN49 20191
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Exercising leadership on the edge - this is a condition that concerns managers at ComWire in Dalborg. Due to a persistent organizational crisis which is characterized by uncertainty, doubt, and frustration, ComWire Dalborg seems to have lost some of its identity appeal. This context constitutes the foundation for our qualitative study intending to comprehend leadership in an environment where a former strong source of identification disappears. Following the interpretative tradition and an abductive research approach, we conducted in-depth interviews aiming to develop a thorough understanding of how managers relate and respond to leadership in an identity ambiguous situation. Hence, we propose four positionings which reflect the manager’s... (More)
Exercising leadership on the edge - this is a condition that concerns managers at ComWire in Dalborg. Due to a persistent organizational crisis which is characterized by uncertainty, doubt, and frustration, ComWire Dalborg seems to have lost some of its identity appeal. This context constitutes the foundation for our qualitative study intending to comprehend leadership in an environment where a former strong source of identification disappears. Following the interpretative tradition and an abductive research approach, we conducted in-depth interviews aiming to develop a thorough understanding of how managers relate and respond to leadership in an identity ambiguous situation. Hence, we propose four positionings which reflect the manager’s interpretations of leadership within the context of identity ambiguity, namely ‘Interpersonal Caregiver’, ‘Team Cohesion Facilitator’, ‘Meaning Constructor’ as well as ‘Enduring Optimist’. As a result, the outlined positionings indicate leadership within identity ambiguity mainly as the facilitation of meaningful identities around teams. Additionally, our study aspires to illustrate the mundane managerial life by outlining a realistic representation of leadership within an identity ambiguous context. We believe this might provide valuable input for academics but also give inspiration to practitioners. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Niemeyer, Johanna Sophie LU and Holzwarth, Erika LU
supervisor
organization
course
BUSN49 20191
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Group Identity, Identity Ambiguity, Identity Work, Leadership, Organizational Crisis, Organizational Identity, Post-Heroic Leadership, Social Identity
language
English
id
8986705
date added to LUP
2019-07-04 16:34:38
date last changed
2019-07-04 16:34:38
@misc{8986705,
  abstract     = {{Exercising leadership on the edge - this is a condition that concerns managers at ComWire in Dalborg. Due to a persistent organizational crisis which is characterized by uncertainty, doubt, and frustration, ComWire Dalborg seems to have lost some of its identity appeal. This context constitutes the foundation for our qualitative study intending to comprehend leadership in an environment where a former strong source of identification disappears. Following the interpretative tradition and an abductive research approach, we conducted in-depth interviews aiming to develop a thorough understanding of how managers relate and respond to leadership in an identity ambiguous situation. Hence, we propose four positionings which reflect the manager’s interpretations of leadership within the context of identity ambiguity, namely ‘Interpersonal Caregiver’, ‘Team Cohesion Facilitator’, ‘Meaning Constructor’ as well as ‘Enduring Optimist’. As a result, the outlined positionings indicate leadership within identity ambiguity mainly as the facilitation of meaningful identities around teams. Additionally, our study aspires to illustrate the mundane managerial life by outlining a realistic representation of leadership within an identity ambiguous context. We believe this might provide valuable input for academics but also give inspiration to practitioners.}},
  author       = {{Niemeyer, Johanna Sophie and Holzwarth, Erika}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Exercising Leadership on the Edge: A case study of identity ambiguity emerging in an organizational crisis}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}