Measuring organizational identity via LinkedIn: The role played by employees’ tenure, type of employment contract and age

Titolo Rivista STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Autori/Curatori Stefano Di Lauro, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, Gilda Antonelli, Marcello Martinez
Anno di pubblicazione 2019 Fascicolo 2018/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 16 P. 114-129 Dimensione file 243 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2018-002005
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

In the era of social media every single member of an organization has an equal opportunity to project their own perception of the organization externally via their personal social media accounts. However, the role of employees in organizational identity projection has been overlooked in academic research. The empirical case study presented in this paper addresses this gap by exploring how data from employees’ personal LinkedIn accounts can be used to measure how they manifest organizational identity, and the roles that their seniority of service, type of contract and age play in this. The selected Case Company is located in Italy. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were used to analyse the data that was manually collected from employees’ public LinkedIn profiles. Although our findings demonstrate that none of the selected variables affected the organizational identity that employees projected on their LinkedIn accounts, the paper nonetheless proposes a unique framework for measuring employee’s perception of organizational identity via LinkedIn, thus providing a framework for further research. Finally, the findings of this study, as well as follow-up practices implemented in the Case Company, can be of value to Human Resources and Social Media practitioners who are considering whether to introduce or already implementing social media use practices in organizations. .

Nell'era dei social media ogni singolo membro ha le stesse opportunità di proiettare esternamente la propria percezione dell'organizzazione a cui appartiene attraverso i propri account personali. Ciò consente alle organizzazioni di comunicare la propria immagine verso l’esterno attraverso molti più canali. Tuttavia, la letteratura esistente non ha preso in considerazione il ruolo dei dipendenti nella proiezione dell'identità organizzativa, di fatto lasciando inesplorata un’area in grande evoluzione. Lo studio empirico presentato in questo articolo affronta questa lacuna utilizzando un metodo quantitativo (regressione lineare) e propone un framework originale per misurare la percezione dell'identità organizzativa da parte di dipendenti tramite LinkedIn. In particolare la ricerca mira a comprendere come le informazioni contenute negli account personali LinkedIn dei dipendenti possano essere utilizzate per misurare l'identità organizzativa, considerando l’influenza sull’uso del social network giocata dal ruolo ricoperto, dall’anzianità di servizio, dal tipo di contratto e dall’età del lavoratore. Le ipotesi sono testate in una impresa italiana leader nel suo settore ed i risultati dimostrano che nessuna delle variabili prese in considerazione sembra avere influenzato l'identità organizzativa che i dipendenti proiettano sui loro account LinkedIn. I risultati della ricerca e le pratiche di follow-up implementate nella organizzazione oggetto di indagine possono essere utili ai professionisti delle risorse umane e dei social media che vogliano introdurre o implementare le pratiche di utilizzo dei social media nelle organizzazioni.

Keywords:Identità organizzativa; cambiamento organizzativo; social media; Linkedin; misurazione

  1. Albert, S., Whetten, D. A. (1985), “Organizational identity”, in Cummings, L.L., Staw, B. M. (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vols. 1–7, Greenwich, JAI Press: 263-295.
  2. Alroy, A. (2017), “Maximizing The Professional Identity On LinkedIn”, Brand Quarterly.
  3. Brumana, M., Decastri, M., Scarozza, D., Za, S. (2014), “Innovazione tecnologica e organizzazione: trend, aree di ricerca e prospettive”, Studi Organizzativi, 2: 42-75, DOI: 10.3280/SO2014-002002
  4. Çakinberk, A., Derin, N., Demirel, E. T. (2011), “Shaping of Organizational Identification by Organizational Commitment: Example of Private Education Institutions in Malatya and Tunceli”, İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 3(1): 89–121.
  5. Cattani, G., Ferriani, S., Allison, P. D. (2014), “Insiders, Outsiders, and the Struggle for Consecration in Cultural Fields: A Core-Periphery Perspective”, American Sociological Review, 79(2): 258–281.
  6. Censis (2015), Quarantanovesimo Rapporto sulla situazione sociale del Paese 2015, Milano, Franco Angeli.
  7. Dačiulytė, R., Aranauskaitė, A. (2012), “Temporary employees’ organizational commitment and its determinants: analysis of temporary agency workers”, Human resources management & ergonomics (HRM & E), 6(2):31-44.
  8. Dowling, G. R. (1986), “Managing your corporate image”, Industrial Marketing Management, 15:109–115, DOI: 10.1016/0019-8501(86)90051-9
  9. Dreher, S. (2014), “Social media and the world of work. A strategic approach to employees’ participation in social media”, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(4): 344–356, DOI: 10.1108/CCIJ-10-2013-0087
  10. Dutton, J. E., Dukerich, J. M., Harquail, C. V. (1994), “Organizational images and member identification”, Administrative Science Quarterly, 39: 239–263, DOI: 10.2307/2393235
  11. Fini, R., Jourdan, J., Perkmann, M. (2017), “Social valuation across multiple audiences: The interplay between ability and identity judgments”, Academy of Management Journal.
  12. Foreman, P. O., Whetten, D. A. (2014), “Operationalizing and Measuring Organizational Identity: A Comprehensive Review of Past Research”, Academy of Management Proceedings.
  13. Gioia, D. A., Patvardhan, S. D., Hamilton, A. L., Corley, K. G, (2013), “Organizational identity formation and change”, Academy of Management Annals, 7:123–193, DOI: 10.1080/19416520.2013.762225
  14. Goldwasser, C., Edwards, M. L. (2014), “Change 3.0: using social media to engage your workforce”, Performance, 6(1): 46-53.
  15. Greenwood, S., Perrin, A., Duggan, M. (2016), “Social Media Update 2016”, Pew Research Center, -- available online at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/.
  16. Hackshaw, A. (2008), “Small studies: strengths and limitations”, European Respiratory Journal, 32(5): 1141.
  17. Hatch, M. J., Schultz, M. (2002), “The Dynamics of Organizational Identity”, Human Relations, 55(8), 989–1018. DOI: 10.1177/0018726702055008181
  18. Jensen, M., Kim, B. K. (2014), “Great, Madama Butterfly again! How robust market identity shapes opera repertoires”, Organization Science, 25: 109-126.
  19. Kaplan, A. M., Haenlein, M. (2010), “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media”, Business Horizons, 53(1): 59–68,
  20. Lin, Y. (2004), “Organizational Identity and Its Implication on Organization Development”, Paper presented at the Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference (AHRD) (Austin, TX, Mar 3-7, 2004) p803-810 (Symp. 37-2).
  21. Linkedin Help (2017), Editing your headline, LinkedIn.
  22. Linkedin NewsRoom (2018), Linkedin.
  23. Madsen, V. T. (2016), “Constructing Organizational Identity On Internal Social Media: A Case Study Of Coworker Communication in Jyske Bank”, International Journal of Business Communication, 53: 220–223, DOI: 10.1177/2329488415627272
  24. Mael, F., Ashforth, B. E. (1992), “Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2): 103–123. DOI: 10.1002/job.4030130202
  25. March, J.G., Simon, H.A. (1958), Organizations, New York, Wiley.
  26. Nag, R, Corley, K.G., Gioia, D.A. (2007), “The intersection of organizational identity, knowledge and practice: attempting strategic change via knowledge grafting”, Academy of Management Journal, 50:821–847, DOI: 10.5465/AMJ.2007.26279173
  27. Oktug, Z. (2013), “The Moderating Effects of Age and Tenure on the Relationship between Organizational Identification and Job Satisfaction”, Management, 3(4): 218–222,
  28. Pezzillo Iacono, M., De Nito, E., Martinez, M., Mercurio, M. (2017), “Exploring the Hidden Aspects of Organizational Change: The Constellation of Controls at a Fiat-Chrysler Automotive Plant”, Studi Organizzativi, 2: 68-89.
  29. Price, K., Gioia, D. A. (2008), “The Self-Monitoring Organization: Minimizing Discrepancies among Differing Images of Organizational Identity”, Corporate Reputation Review, 11(3): 208–221.
  30. Rho, E., Yun, T., Lee, K. (2015), “Does Organizational Image Matter? Image, Identification, and Employee Behaviors in Public and Nonprofit Organizations”, Public Administration Review, 75(3): 421–431. DOI: 10.1111/puar.12338
  31. Stuart, H. (2002), “Employee Identification with the Corporate Identity”, International Studies of Management & Organization, 32(3): 28-44. Retrieved from -- http://www.jstor.org/stable/40397540
  32. Tursunbayeva A., Franco M., Pagliari C. (2017), “Use of social media for e-Government in the public health sector: A systematic review of published studies”, Government Information Quarterly, 34(2): 270-282,
  33. Van Rekom, J., van Rie, C. B. (2000), “Operational Measures of Organizational Identity: A Review of Existing Methods”, Corporate Reputation Review, 3(4): 334–350,
  34. Witting, M. (2006), “Relations between organizational identity, identification and organizational objectives: An empirical study in municipalities”.

  • Critical Issues on Changing Dynamics in Employee Relations and Workforce Diversity Francesca Di Virgilio, pp.121 (ISBN:9781799835158)
  • Exploring Innovation in a Digital World Stefano Di Lauro, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, Raluca Bunduchi, Gilda Antonelli, Marcello Martinez, pp.291 (ISBN:978-3-030-87841-2)

Stefano Di Lauro, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, Gilda Antonelli, Marcello Martinez, Measuring organizational identity via LinkedIn: The role played by employees’ tenure, type of employment contract and age in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 2/2018, pp 114-129, DOI: 10.3280/SO2018-002005