Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe our analysis of the organizational identity formation process at the Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI) excellence research centre. We embrace an ethnomethodological methodology that was informed by a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Studying this case, we argue that the joint use of both approaches allows us to systematically explore a central aspect of organizational identity, namely, the relationship between the normative prescriptions of Excellence Centres and the lived experiences of its members. Based on the observation and conversations with members that participate in a set of activities developed by a new Culture and Communication area (C&C) of the centre, we describe how members' moods, ‘disposedness’ and ‘openness’ are crucially related with the centre context. Furthermore, we found that those new spaces enacted by C&C area configure a third party that encourages productive organizational practices for those that work in the centre. It is through the very encounter between the organization and the lived experiences of the members that identity formation processes come about, which are required both for the scientists to feel part of the centre and for the research institution to accomplish its mission.