Roles as Mediators in Identity Work
重新审视角色概念，通过纵向案例研究揭示角色如何作为中介影响组织中的身份工作，并分析个体在角色转换中的身份权衡与幻灭过程。
In this article, we aim to revitalize the concept of role for advancing theory on identity work in organizations. Our article makes three contributions. First, we offer a critical review of how roles have been conceptualized in studies on identities, and develop a theoretical frame for understanding how people in organizations engage in transitions within and between roles that emerge and evolve in relational interaction and mediate their identity work. Second, we operationalize this frame in a longitudinal study of an organizational change initiative focusing on strategic rebranding in an industrial firm. We elucidate how roles and identities co-evolve over time and how roles and role transitions figure in the organization-based identity work of individuals. Third, we consider the implications of viewing roles as mediators in identity work. We highlight identity-related trade-offs made by individuals when they become associated with particular roles and show how they become disillusioned as organizational change agents.