Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration
Department
Management
First Advisor
George S. Benson
Abstract
This dissertation explores the role that military service identity plays in the transition to civilian employment. While there is a large volume of research on both the servicemember transition out of the military and military service identity, this dissertation contributes to this literature by examining the intersection of military service identity and the transition to civilian employment. This dissertation is designed to examine the nature of the military identity as servicemembers separate from the military and transition to civilian employment using competing theoretical identity frameworks rooted in identity and social identity theories. First I conduct a survey study that examines how the strength of military identity in the preparation for military separation, job search behavior and the success of the transition process affects the success of the job search process. Finally, I conduct a survey study that examines whether and how the military identity persists in individuals who have successfully transitioned to civilian employment after their service career. This study will contrast three perspectives from identity theory and identity transition theory in competing hypotheses about the way in which identity evolves through career changes. Through these studies I contribute to our understanding of the military transition and to the literature on individual and organizational identity during career change.
Keywords
Identity, Identity transition, Military identity, Job search duration, Identity salience
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Organizational Behavior and Theory
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Beeson, Michael, "Warring Identities: The Transition from Servicemember to Civilian Employee" (2025). Business Administration Dissertations. 48.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/businessadmin_dissertations/48
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons