How Identity Structure Influences Identity Adoption: The Case of Hybrid Entrepreneurs

Scholars have theorized that individuals have an intrapersonal identity network comprised of multiple identities and the relationships between them. However, it remains unclear how individuals cognitively structure these networks and how such structures influence the adoption of a new identity. This matters because such adoptions facilitate growth and adaptation, and the literature hints that the structure will affect the adoption process. To explore these issues, we conducted an inductive, qualitative study of hybrid entrepreneurs (specifically, academic entrepreneurs). Our findings reveal that individuals combine four dimensions (depth, overlap, density, and range) to create one of three cognitive structures (hierarchical, integrative, or web), and that high levels of one dimension may preclude high levels of certain others. Further, we develop a model of how these structures impact the adoption of a new identity by focusing attention on some dimensions while limiting attention to others. In doing so, they guide individuals into a unique adoption path involving a certain need that identity adoption satisfies by serving a particular function in the network. This function influences the logic used in determining whether the new identity becomes stabilized in the network. Thus, our theory contributes to the literatures on multiple identities and hybrid entrepreneurs.