Defining Who You Are By What You're Not: Organizational Disidentification and The National Rifle Association

TLDR

Organizational disidentification is driven by individuals’ desire to affirm positive distinctiveness while avoiding negative distinctiveness by distancing themselves from incongruent values and negative stereotypes associated with an organization. The authors develop and test an introductory framework of organizational disidentification through two exploratory studies. The framework was examined via a qualitative investigation of cognitive relationships with the NRA and a large-scale survey of public attitudes toward the NRA. Organizational disidentification is defined by a cognitive separation between self and organization and a negative relational categorization, and it can motivate individuals to take action such as volunteering or voicing opinions; a large-scale survey of public attitudes about the NRA supports this framework.

Abstract

Through two exploratory studies, we develop and test an introductory framework of “organizational disidentification.” Our first study explores the concept of organizational disidentification through a qualitative investigation of cognitive relationships with the National Rifle Association (NRA). Findings suggest that organizational disidentification is a self-perception based on: (1) a cognitive separation between one's identity and the organization's identity, and (2) a negative relational categorization of oneself and the organization (e.g., categorizations such as “rivals” or “enemies”). Organizational disidentification appears to be motivated by individuals' desires to both affirm positive distinctiveness and avoid negative distinctiveness by distancing themselves from incongruent values and negative stereotypes attributed to an organization. Our findings also suggest that organizational disidentification can lead individuals to take action (either volunteer work or voicing their opinion) as a result of their perceived separation from the organization's identity. Results of our second study”a large-scale survey of public attitudes about the NRA”provide support for this framework.