Miriam Scherf

Action for the Sake of Others: Social Identification and Organizational Identity Inan Ngo and Its Implications for Volunteer Performanceand Leadership Behavior Miriam Scherf

The goal of this study was to transfer thetheoretical concepts of social identification andorganizational identity into practice and to discusstheir applicability and usefulness in a real-lifesetting. The setting chosen was a NongovernmentalDevelopment Organization. The self-definition in terms of group membershipleads to intrinsical motivation to enhance thegroup¿¿¿s aims. In terms of organizational science, theidentification with an organization¿¿¿s identity leadsto increased discretionary member commitment and hasspecific implications for leader behavior, resultingin the concept of prototypical leadership. NGDOs areparticularly interesting for these concepts sincetheir members¿¿¿ devotion is usually exclusivelyvoluntary and the moral motivation indicatethe need for a focused and unambiguous identity. Accordingly, leadership in this setting facesspecific difficulties. Based on an integrative theoretical model combiningthe core concepts, a qualitative case study wasimplemented. Interviews with leaders and followers ofa small NGDO were conducted in order to detect theirperceptions of the organizational identity andidentification as well as resulting behavior.