Identity (re)-formation during transformative reorganisation processes: comparative analysis of three mergers in Norway

The article analyses identity (re-)formation during major transformative re-organisation processes, namely mergers that involve significant organisational restructuring. These processes bring into focus power asymmetries, latent tensions and taken-for-granted assumptions, thus potentially invoking substantial identity (re-)formation. The study takes a point of departure in classic and newer organisational theories that conceptualise identity and examines the aftermath of three higher education mergers in Norway. The analysis puts particular focus on the kind of identity claims that emerge, as well as the relationship between identity (re-)formation and characteristics of organisational merger processes. The empirical material builds on more than 60 interviews with various organisational members, as well as strategic documents of the merged institutions, analysing both explicit and implicit identity claims. The findings point to the role of slogans during times of organisational turbulence, how the specific environment in which the institutions are located acts as a resource for identity claims, and how nonspecific aspects such as size can nevertheless gain an important role as an identity marker. Moreover, while identities in the period after the immediate merger are indeed in a transitional stage, some of these transitional identities may also become entrenched over time and become embedded into the fabric of the organisation.