Why people cooperate with organizations: An identity-based perspective

A core question in the study of organizations is why people cooperate with the organizations to which they belong. In this analysis I argue that cooperative behavior is linked to the role organizations play in defining and maintaining people's social identities. People define themselves and evaluate their self-worth, at least in part, through status judgments linked to the organizations to which they belong. When people receive favorable identity-relevant information from membership in an organization they respond behaviorally by cooperating with the organization-that is, following organizational rules, acting in ways which help the organization and showing loyalty to the organization. Further, people respond to favorable identity-relevant information by developing internal values that lead them to voluntarily engage in such cooperative behaviors. Two identity relevant judgments are distinguished: pride and respect. Pride reflects evaluations of the status of one's organization. Respect reflects assessments of how one is evaluated by others in that organization. Both identity-relevant judgments influence the extent to which:people engage in cooperative behavior.