The level of organisational identification amongst students at a post-merged South African university

Orientation: Organisational identification (OI) refers to individuals perceiving that they belong to and are one with their organisation. Limited research has been conducted on university students’ levels of OI within the South African context.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the level of OI amongst students at a post-merged university in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.Motivation for the study: Levels of OI amongst students at a post-merged university could be low, as a result of students not yet adopting the values of the merged university. Yet, no such study has been undertaken at this university since the merger.Research design, approach and method: Mixed methods were used in this study, consisting of qualitative research (N = 16) for which focus group discussions were used, as well as quantitative research (N = 603) for which an online questionnaire was sent to the student sample.Main findings: The level of OI amongst the students was found to be high. Furthermore, students’ race, campus, university tenure and residence have a significant influence on students’ levels of OI. Black students identified more with the university than other races and students who studied longer at this university had lower levels of OI. Residence students had a greater level of OI than those who stayed off-campus.Practical/managerial implications: Students should be encouraged to adopt the core values of this university to ensure that OI levels increase. In order to improve OI, university management should implement action plans for those student segments who have exhibited low levels of OI.Contribution/value-add: This research contributes to the current body of knowledge concerning OI which is under-researched within a post-merged university context.