In this theoretical article, the authors revisit the concept of identity, proposing the better understanding of its complexity, as well as its broa der use in organizational analysis. While exploring the origins of the concept and the trends of its evolution through several fields of knowledge, the authors develop a conceptual framework, which differentiates the many existing perspectives on identity based on two key dimensions: the focal object dimension and the observation dimensiono The former distinguishes the object to which the concept is applied (e.g., an individual, a group, an organization etc.); the latter differentiates how identity is observed (from the innerly observed - self - to the externally observed - image). The combination of these two dimensions defines several quadrants, in which it is possible to portrait the different existing perspectives on identity. At last, the model is expanded with a third dimension (the identity definition), which debates the basic foundations of the concept: of this being something central, distinctive and enduring.
identity; organizational identity; organizational change; self; self-concept; virtual organization