Organizational Icons: Who Are They and Why Do They Matter?

The presence of organizational icons--defined as individuals who personify their organizations--is a phenomenon that is widely recognized in the media and general public as being highly impactful. The field of organizational studies has not yet addressed this distinctive concept, however. In this paper, we define and explore the concept of an organizational icon, including its antecedents and outcomes. We demonstrate that the organizational icon concept is related to more familiar concepts such as celebrity or hero, but is theoretically distinguished from those concepts, particularly because organizational icons not only represent the organization, but more importantly personify its values in a meaningful and influential way.