“Appreciate in moderation”: the organization’s identity as drama and act of performance

Abstract

The issue of what constitutes an organization’s identity has motivated productive dialogues in search of theory since the 1980s. In this study, the dialogue is between this literature and the concepts developed in the field of Anthropology of Performance. To illustrate a facilitating element of this dialogue, we present AmBev’s (a beverage company) identity construction process during a period when the rules of alcohol consumption were being challenged. Our analysis shows the relational nature of the organizational identity concept, a process with multiples and fluid interactions constructed in dramatic situations and by act of performance. Besides the issues that involve the essence of the concept – already present in the literature – we have added another one: ‘what or who are we becoming as an organization?’