Exploring organisational identity through historical research methods

Studies into organizational identity (OI) have proliferated significantly over the past 30 years. Despite the substantial theoretical development in this area, we still lack explicit reflection on historical research methods for exploring OI. In this chapter, we reflect on key methodological issues associated to researching OI and the implications for historical research methods in addressing those issues. We draw on prior studies that have explored and discussed the distinguished features of OI, from a ‘social actor’ and a ‘social constructionist’ perspective, as well as on some key examples from our experience as (accounting) history scholars, researching OI in different historical settings.