Legacies in Organizations.

[摘要] Within some organizations, certain individuals seem to ;;live on” after they are gone.We often refer to these individuals as having a legacy, or a representation that endures in the collective memory of the group after their departure.In this dissertation, I examine the role of legacies in organizations, providing a deeper understanding of the selection mechanisms that determine who gets remembered in an organization’s collective memory, the mnemonics or memory aids that contribute to their endurance, and the important role they play in the life of the organization.I accomplish this goal through a qualitative study of two organizations in the early stages of merging together.My findings suggest that the selection mechanisms governing who gets remembered reflect evolutionary pressures facing the organization as a for-profit entity and as a community of members.Thus legacies are greatly influenced by one’s impact on the trajectory of the organization as well as one’s impact on relationships within the organizational community.My findings also suggest that these legacies endure in three domains within organizations: 1) cognitive space, in the form of first and second-hand memories, 2) social space in the form of communicative acts, and 3) material space in the form of material artifacts. Individual memories supply the content of legacies, and material artifacts give the legacy physical form, but the legacy is granted social life through communicative acts.As communicative acts die off, so does the social life of the legacy.My findings also suggest that legacies influence social identity processes in organizations, giving clarity to the organizational identity, providing continuity to the organizational identity, enhancing the stability of the organizational identity, and enhancing the attractiveness of the organizational identity.Finally, my findings suggest that certain legacies become institutionalized as they come to embody the identity of the organization, infusing the legacy with moral power, and enabling the legacy to have an enduring influence on the attitudes and behaviors of current members.As a whole, this study illuminates the importance of collective memory processes for organizational studies and opens new avenues for the study of organizational memory, identity and culture.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] Organizational Identity

[关键词] Legacy;Organizational Identity;Organizational Culture;Organizational Memory;Collective Memory;Identity Work;Business (General);Management;Economics;Social Sciences;Business;Business Administration