Filling the void: the underlying processes of CEO post-retirement role identity reformation
| Date | 10 December 2024 |
| Pages | 371-388 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2024-0317 |
| Published date | 10 December 2024 |
| Author | Mark J. Lamberti,Charlene Lew |
Filling the void: the underlying
processes of CEO post-retirement role
identity reformation
Mark J. Lamberti and Charlene Lew
Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –Following identity theory from a symbolic-interactionist perspective, we explore the post-retirement
role identity reformation of public company CEOs to uncover the process elements through which role identities
reform after retirement from highly salient roles.
Design/methodology/approach –We applied a self-relevant qualitative exploration based on 30 in-depth
interviews and employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Findings –The findings reveal six interrelated, contemporaneous and contiguous underlying process elements
within post-retirement liminality and emergence clusters, which shape work and nonwork role identities that
contribute to retirement stability and well-being.
Practical implications –The research provides a basis for organizations and human resource specialists to
guide retiring senior executives on the psychological effects, cognitive processes and practical considerations of
the retirement transition.
Originality/value –The study provides a framework for understanding how the post-retirement void evokes
novel appraisals of self, others and context. These appraisals act as stimuli of an integrated cognitive, social and
behavioral work role identity reformation process.
Keywords Retirement, Role identity, CEO, Liminality,Emergence
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Retirement constitutes a life stage and a dynamic, long-lasting process of adaptation (Wang
and Shi, 2014), which brings about developmental and psychosocial transformations as
retirees work towards maintaining their well-being through this macro role transition
(Ashforth, 2001).
Current literature describes how role exits rouse the psychological motives for identity
(Ashforth, 2001), suggesting the salience of an identity theory perspective on retirement (Stets
and Burke, 2014a,b) when retirees embrace new behaviors and roles that signify the nature of
newly actuated identities (Bordia et al., 2020;Stets et al., 2020). These transitions include
withdrawal from some previous roles (Ashforth, 2001) and entry into meaningful new roles
and activities, sometimes including the prospects of employability after retirement (Sullivan
and Al Ariss, 2019). However, we still need to understand the integrated processes through
which role identities are reformed during retirement transitions.
This need was first highlighted by Amabile (2019, p. 207), who asked for a better
understanding of the “psychological, social, emotional, and relational processes” in
retirement. We respond to this need by considering how contextual and personal factors
come together to define role identities (Sullivan and Al Ariss, 2019), and how new behaviors
and role choices are forged to convey the shared meanings of individuals’ new retiree identities
(Bordia et al., 2020).
Personnel Review
371
We want to acknowledge the respondents for openly sharing their experiences of the post-retirement
period. We are also grateful to the reviewers for their input and guidance. We disclose that we used
ChatGPT to edit the language of three sentences in the document.
Funding: No funding or grants were obtained for this study.
Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest in submitting this paper.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0048-3486.htm
Received 8 April 2024
Revised 16 September 2024
13 November 2024
Accepted 19 November 2024
PersonnelReview
Vol.54 No. 1, 2025
pp.371-388
©Emerald Publishing Limited
e-ISSN:1758-6933
p-ISSN:0048-3486
DOI10.1108/PR-04-2024-0317
Retirement literature has offered many quantitative studies of the antecedents and
outcomes of retirement decisions to show the relevance thereof for life satisfaction and
outcomes such as health and wealth. Qualitative studies into the processes of the retirement
transition are few (Amabile, 2019) however, offering only preliminary analyses of the
antecedents, motives, pathways, and consequences of retirement from a symbolic-
interactionist perspective. We adopt this perspective to obtain an in-depth understanding of
the subjective interpretation of role experiences to define the process elements of role identity
reformation.
Second, even though different authors have described aspects of the retirement role
transition process, an integration of the elements is needed to provide a more holistic view of
retirement reformation. We know that identity changes during transitions are characterized by
a detachment from previous identities, a period of liminality that represents an often-protracted
time in which one’s identity is suspended (Wangand Shi, 2014), and ultimately an aggregation
of new identities (Sugiyama et al., 2024). In response, we unveil how the underlying process
elements that comprise retirement identity reformation are interrelated, contemporaneous, and
contiguous within two broad clusters of liminality and role identity emergence. In our
research, we sharpen the enquiry by focusing on individuals’ work and non-work role
identities, in addition to person identities derived from the distinctiveness of their unique
individuality, and group identities arising from their memberships of groups or categories
(Stets et al., 2020). Recent retirement literature also shows that contextual factors, such as the
nature of a job or an organization, interact with subjective factors, such as individuals’
cognitive, social, and emotional resources, to influence the retirement response (Amorim and
França, 2019). We use this insight to explore not only the psychosocial factors in retirement,
but also the influence of resources on the transition.
Finally, given that theoretical models of retirement differ based on the specific retirement
type (Beehr, 2014), we identified a need to study the retirement of CEOs, whose organizational
ties and social environment differ markedly from other employees (Priya, 2020). CEOs’
transitions from highly salient work roles to the unrevealed identities of retirement present a
unique opportunity to obtain insights into the underlying processes of role identity formation
of high-ranking retirees. Even though Priya (2020) theorized individual, affective, cognitive,
and social psychological factors to explain CEO transitions between and within organizations
rather than in retirement, such processes have not yet been explored through research.
Moreover, how the unique characteristics of CEOs influence their role identity reformation
upon retirement, rather than during employment, has not yet been described. Questions about
identity stability and change through retirement transitions also remain unanswered
(Amabile, 2019).
The study’s contribution thus includes an in-depth understanding of the integrated process
elements of CEOs’ role identity reformation in the years following retirement. The study
shows that liminal processes consisting of epiphanies, role identity cues and evaluation of
resources coincide with role identity emergence process of sensemaking, narratives and
identity enactment to reform identity in retirement. Moreover, the study describes how these
six closely-tied affective, cognitive, social, and resource-evaluating process elements
contribute to a deeper understanding of the path to retiree identity reformation. Specifically,
we contribute to theory by showing the psychosocial and resource-based elements that appear
in liminal and role identity emergence processes. This offers a new in-depth view relevant to
the symbolic interactionist perspective of lived experiences in retirement.
Retirement
Whether conceptualized as decision-making (Feldman and Beehr, 2011), an adjustment
process (Beck, 1982), or a career development stage (W€
ohrmann et al., 2016), the retirement
transition can lead to real and perceived costs or benefits. The passage to a new identity in
retirement spells an irreversible and frequently binding change in an individual’s connections
PR
54,1
372
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