Exeter Centre of Leadership Research Seminar with Dr. Neela S. Muhlemann

Changes in our working lives, such as retirement or organisational changes like restructuring or mergers, pose a major psychological challenge. One reason for this is that these changes alter how we see ourselves and how we see ourselves in relation to others. Although the academic view of identity change may seem somewhat abstract, we all experience processes of identity change at some point in our work life. Therefore, it is important for us and organisations to understand how to manage change and the identity processes involved. For the study of organisational and life transitions in general, the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) and the more recently developed Social Identity Model of Organisational Change (SIMOC) provide a useful framework. The presented research builds on these two theoretical models to provide a deeper understanding of identity change processes and discusses theoretical and practical implications for identity management and leadership during change in the work context.

Reading:

Mühlemann, N. S., Steffens, N. K., Ullrich, J., Haslam, S. A., & Jonas, K. (2022). Understanding responses to an organizational takeover: Introducing the social identity model of organizational change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.