Understanding Organizational-Identity Development Across the Lifecycle in an Emerging Faith-Based Organization: A Case Analysis

ABSTRACT

Despite the growth of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the nonprofit sector, our understanding about their organizational development process still lags. Given the connection between faith and identity, an investigation of organizational identity of FBOs would provide a deeper understanding of issues related to FBO management. With a focus on the communication processes of multiple stakeholders, this article reports an in-depth qualitative case analysis of an emerging FBO in a Midwestern Metropolitan area in the United States. The findings revealed a stage model of identity development and the dialectical tensions that become salient in different stages. The study contributes to the understanding of the communication process and organizational identity development of FBOs.

KEYWORDS:

• Faith-based organization
• organizational identity
• religious organization
• volunteer

Notes

^1. Pseudonyms are used in this case to protect the confidentiality of the organizations and communities involved in the study and their members.