Abstract

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Literature

۳٫ Methodology

۴٫ Case analysis: sensemaking and liminal identity work by management accountants

۵٫ Discussion

۶٫ Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Appendix A. Interviews and meetings

References

Abstract

     In response to calls for research on the ways in which management accountants make sense of their professional identities in organisational disruptions, this paper explores their identity work during a merger. Drawing on a case study of a merger between two Dutch banks, the paper examines their identity work as they found themselves in a liminal state – i.e. “betwixt and between” workplace identities. The paper identifies two types of identity work in a merger. Inside-out identity work was the process of identity negotiation through which each partnering group sought to make sense of their own distinctive liminal experiences. This type of identity work brought about intra- and inter-professional conflict. By contrast, outside-in identity work was founded on intergroup bases of identification, which were authenticated by credible role-models. This type of identity work gave rise to the construction of a superordinate workplace identity through which incoherent workplace identities could co-exist with shared intergroup identities. The paper contributes to the literature by highlighting the persistence of incoherent identity positions of management accountants in a merger and the intergroup struggles this generates. Moreover, it illuminates the processes through which these positions can ultimately be brought closer together.

Introduction

     In recent years, a considerable stream of research has emerged which focuses on understanding how management accountants attempt to transition into more desirable aspirational roles – often described as “business partner” (Byrne and Pierce, 2007; Seal and Mattimoe, 2014). These role transitions can be usefully conceptualised as identity projects (Goretzki and Messner, 2019; Morales and Lambert, 2013), in which management accountants are actively engaged in identity work – “forming, repairing, maintaining, strengthening or revising the constructions that are productive of a sense of coherence and distinctiveness” (Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003, p. 1165). Although various papers have documented successful transitions into aspirational professional identities (Ahrens and Chapman, 2000; Granlund and Lukka, 1998, 1997; Jarvenp ¨ a¨a, ¨ ۲۰۰۷; Lambert and Pezet, 2010), recent reports point to the complexities associated with management accountants’ identity work (Guo, 2018; Horton and Wanderley, 2018).

     Specifically, there is only a rudimentary understanding of how management accountants make sense of their identity in conditions of involuntary occupational change and organisational transitions (Empson, 2004). In these conditions, the attributes of workplace identity are likely to be subject to intense sensemaking efforts (B´evort and Suddaby, 2016; Gendron and Spira, 2010). Yet, the literature on management accountants’ identity sensemaking in ambiguous and unstructured organisational conditions has remained mostly grounded in either a positive ontology of the business partner as an undeniably desirable set of aspirational identity attributes (Morales and Lambert, 2013), or a highly structured and formalized process of identity work where the outcomes are largely prescribed (often through a “business partner” discourse). Ashforth notes that “identity is a product of social interaction grounded in specific contexts at specific times such that one’s sense of self-in-organization is emergent and somewhat fluid. Thus the process of identification is crucial” (۱۹۹۸, pp. 213–۲۱۴, emphasis in original). Therefore, there is a need for further refinement of our understanding of this process of identity work, especially in conditions of organisational transition. Goretzki and Messner recognise this need when they call for research in empirical settings “where identity work is performed in a more emergent and less orchestrated way” (۲۰۱۹, p. 19).

Conclusion

     This paper highlights management accountants’ sensemaking of workplace identities in a process of merging. Although this study contributes to an understanding of identity work in these unstructured and ambiguous conditions, there are some limitations, providing opportunities for further scholarly enquiry. First, this paper has not revealed how common identity attributes of management accountants are diffused throughout the profession and beyond the boundaries of an individual firm. In recent years, scholars have examined the reciprocal influence of institutions and institutional logics on the one hand, and identity work on the other (Goretzki et al., 2013; Lok, 2010; Meyer and Hammerschmid, 2006). These works suggest that identities and institutions are mutually constitutive in the ways that changed identity attributes propagate through and between professional fields. These research streams need further development, especially given the complexities of identity work under shifting organisational boundaries, as illustrated in this paper. Therefore, this paper calls for further research on inter-organisational identity work of management accountants, building on the conceptual richness of identity work to uncover how extra-organisational and institutional dynamics affect the construction and dissemination of workplace identities.