How do organisations that belong to a stigmatised industry manage negative perceptions? We contribute to answering this question by highlighting how organisational members turn external negative evaluations into positive self-idealisations. Our research offers a unique perspective on how stigmatised actors navigate their tarnished image, as well as how they remain attached to a group and its attributes despite its stigmatisation. The study reports findings from two French fruit and vegetable wholesalers, who are commonly perceived as thieves, bandits and unwanted intermediaries. We explain how organisational members were able to neutralise negative perceptions by mobilising and maintaining an idealised perception of their centrality. This structuring fantasy formed a powerful defence against stigmatised perceptions, transforming the stigma into self-idealisation that supported organisational stability. The organisations studied developed idealisation strategies based on members’ attachment to or distancing from nostalgic fantasies of the past. We suggest that awareness of the idealised construct that underpins a particular attachment to a stigmatised attribute may help organisations and their members free themselves from stigma.

中文翻译：

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坏苹果和酸葡萄：水果和蔬菜批发商的幻想如何调解经历过的耻辱

属于被污名化行业的组织如何管理负面看法？我们通过强调组​​织成员如何将外部负面评价转化为积极的自我理想化来帮助回答这个问题。我们的研究提供了一个独特的视角，了解被污名化的行为者如何应对自己受损的形象，以及他们如何在受到污名化的情况下仍然依附于一个群体及其属性。该研究报告了两家法国水果和蔬菜批发商的调查结果，他们通常被视为小偷、土匪和不受欢迎的中间人。我们解释了组织成员如何通过动员和维持对其中心地位的理想化看法来消除负面看法。这种结构性幻想形成了对污名化观念的强大防御，将污名化为支持组织稳定的自我理​​想化。这些组织根据成员对过去的怀旧幻想的依恋或远离，制定了理想化策略。我们认为，对支撑对污名属性的特定依恋的理想化结构的认识可能有助于组织及其成员摆脱污名。