IT-driven identity work: Creating a group identity in a digital environment

•This longitudinal case study investigates the group identity creation process of librarians in charge of a new electronic library.•The dialectic forces of external image and group identity led the librarians to try multiple provisional identities reminiscent of either “who they were” and/or “who they could be.”•A technology identification process emerged that parallels the group identity creation process, revealing that the librarians internalized technology as a core part of their identity, initially seeing technology as a tool and eventually as a trademark.

While organizational scholars are increasingly interested in issues of identity, identity work, and identification, in-depth empirical studies analyzing the process of identity creation have lagged behind, particularly when such process is triggered by the digitization of a work environment. In this longitudinal case study, we take a social constructionist perspective to investigate the identity creation process of a group of librarians in charge of a new information commons library. We call attention to the dialectic forces underlying this process, emphasizing how the librarians' image, as reflected by the patrons, led the librarians to try multiple provisional identities, which were supported by liminal actions reminiscent of either “who they were” and/or “who they could be.” We also consider how technology was appropriated throughout this dynamic and suggest a technology identification process model that parallels the group identity creation process.