Who “We” are matters: the influence of organizational identity orientation on public participation in government

ABSTRACTPublic participation in government remains far from ubiquitous despite calls for a modern administrative state defined by co-production. This research offers a new perspective on public participation by considering the relationship between organizational identity orientation (OIO) managerial views of the process and the frequency of engagement between local governments, citizens, and non-profits. Results show that in collectivistic public organizations, managers view participation as an important responsibility, even when it creates organizational inefficiencies. No direct link between OIO and frequency of participation is found. These findings point to a nuanced relationship between OIO, managerial beliefs, and organizational action.KEYWORDS: Public participationorganizational identity orientationcitizen engagement Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. While the discussion here centres on how organizational identity, one element of the organizational context, impacts the beliefs of internal organizational stakeholders, it’s important to note that organizational identity, ‘develop[s] over time in interaction with internal and external parties’ (Gioia Citation1998, 45)., This means that internal and external stakeholders, together, create, maintain, and are impacted by organizational identity. External stakeholders establish expectations which are incorporated by internal stakeholders based on whether they are in line what is considered to be most core, enduring, and distinctive about the organization (Whetten and Mackey, Citation2002). Individuals may seek out organizations that maintain a consistent identity in line with preferred values and organizations likely cater to external stakeholders aligned with their identity. Subsequent stakeholder expectations and perceptions about whether the organization is satisfying or violating identity codes lock the organization into distinct behavioural patterns (Brickson, Citation2002; Hsu and Hannan, Citation2005).