Unpacking Identity Work Mechanisms for a Person-Centered Approach to Business and Management Education

We explore identity work among undergraduate business students who resist the identity prevailing in traditional business schools. The study investigates an educational program that fosters identity work, allowing students to add facets to their emergent identity. Through in-depth interviews, the researchers uncovered a process in which students resist the hegemonic identity of business administrators, seeking alternative experiences that redefine their identity. Our research contribution is two-fold. First, we extend the concept of identity workspaces by introducing three mechanisms: autonomy, a psychological safe space, and group embeddedness. These mechanisms enable students to engage in an identity work process and reidentify with their business and management courses. Second, we show that the concept of a dichotomy between a real self and a fake self must be overcome in favor of a multifaceted conception of identity. The study also offers valuable insights for educators, practitioners, and policymakers, encouraging initiatives that support multifaceted identities in the educational context by adopting new learning and teaching methodologies.