Assumptions Regarding the Substantial and Formal Aspects of Labor Activity in the Context of Organizational Identity of Employee of the Fast Food Chain

This graduate research work is focusing on the analysis of the process of formation and development of employees’ organizational identity within the fast food chains. The research was aimed to reveal the following key elements: objects, stages, mechanisms and functions of organizational identity. The thorough analysis of the studied process (identification) and phenomena (identity) is provided by in-depth interviews as the main data source; the transition from the private experience to a shared one is analyzed through the method of grounded theory (open and axial coding). The theoretical analysis of existing approached to the study of social identity has allowed perceiving the organizational identity as a unique type of social identity. This result of this research project has allowed to obtain the most complete conceptual definition of the organizational identity. Analysis of the data has allowed the following conclusion: the development of the organizational identification of employees with a variety of objects is caused by the presence of different mechanisms (specific instruments within organizations that contribute to the formation of its employees’ identities). The identified functions (effects) underline the necessity of ‘inclusion’ by companies of the aforementioned mechanisms in the organizational field, because of the identification of such models of work behavior that is based on such functions, which allow the company development to gain the most. Overall, throughout the research it was found that organizational identity is a prerequisite of long-term employment of staff, although it does not have to form within the organization itself: identification can occur within the profession, the team or the managing partners