Reconstructing organisational strategy through managerial identities

Purpose This study aims to examine how managers’ identity work enables strategic change in resource-constrained organisational settings. It addresses the limited attention within strategy-as-practice (SAP) research to the embodied and socio-cultural dimensions of strategising in Global South contexts. The paper explores how “rule-bending” practices during Lean Management transformation reconstruct managerial identity and contribute to organisational adaptation. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative single-case design based on a Sri Lankan manufacturing firm undergoing Lean transformation. Data were generated through 25 semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Reflexive thematic analysis was used, informed by a hybrid theoretical lens combining identity work and Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. Findings The analysis identifies two interrelated forms of identity work – identity work for self and identity work for others – which together reveal how actors negotiate strategic change. Strategy reconstruction occurs through identity negotiation grounded in habitus, where managers legitimise adaptive practices by constructing themselves as credible strategists and change agents while reshaping subordinates’ identities to secure alignment. These processes unfolded within intersubjective spaces that enabled strategy reconstruction. Originality/value The study extends SAP by theorising identity regulation as a strategic practice embedded in habitus. It demonstrates that strategising is an embodied and relational process shaped by socio-cultural dispositions, particularly in resource-constrained contexts. By reconceptualising rule-bending as mediated strategic improvisation, the paper offers a Global South perspective that enriches understanding of how strategy is locally reconstructed through identity work.