Social Identity in a public hospital: sources, outcomes, and possible resolutions

The comprehensive, twofold goal of this paper is to investigate how social identities in a multilayered social platform of a public hospital are shaped, and to explain the impact of these identities on staff interrelations, patients, and the organization’s overall ability to meet challenges. We conducted a qualitative study, collecting data from 30 employees working in a medium-sized public hospital in Israel using a semi-structured interview guide. Using a thematic analysis approach and drawing on social identity theory, we found that departmental identity is the most prominent social identity associated with the hospital staff. This identity was strengthened by strong in-group management, but little influenced by senior out-group management; its importance also caused organizational goals to be overlooked. We discuss these findings and offer recommendations for addressing the adverse impacts of departmental identity on staff, patients, and the organization’s ability to meet challenges. This study has clarified sources and impacts of SI in a hospital context. It has also demonstrated the need for a more unified hospital identity to improve the hospital’s daily work and achieve the organization’s goals in a dynamic, competitive environment. Most literature on social identity has addressed personal- and group-level antecedents of social identity, neglecting the potential participation of in-group and out-group management in shaping these identities, as well as management’s contribution to the achievement or nonachievement of organizational goals. By adopting a qualitative approach, the current study provides a deeper understanding of how senior management and direct in-group management can shape social identities—a perspective heretofore missing from the research. Recognizing these identity-shaping forces is essential for understanding the challenges that hospitals face, and the various (at times, life-or-death) consequences of these forces. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-02729-4.