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Article
Publication date: 11 May 2015

Luigi De Bernardis and Luca Giustiniano

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible coexistence of single and multiple organizational identities (OIs) after mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In particular, it…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible coexistence of single and multiple organizational identities (OIs) after mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In particular, it describes how the sensemaking process leads the acquired and acquiring companies to maintain multiple identities, even after the formal conclusion of the integration process.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a grounded study based on a single case study (M&A between a German chemical multinational and an Italian/Swiss pharmaceutical firm).

Findings

While many previous studies suggest that the evolution of OI reduces ambiguity by providing multiple identities under a shared commonality, this paper shows that multiple identities might survive within the same “new entity.”

Research limitations/implications

Despite being based on a single case, the paper argues that the choice of maintaining multiple identities may be even more appropriate than the tendency to converge toward one of the old ones or toward a new one. The “sense” that employees and managers give to the same “words,” as well as the “sense” that they make for them, mirrors the perception they have of the OI.

Practical implications

The conclusions presented could help managers to facilitate sensemaking as a means of dealing with multiple OIs.

Originality/value

Differently from the extant literature, the paper concludes by stating that striking a balance between single and multiple identities might provide the ideal platform for building a new identity based on plurality. When the two (or more) organizational contexts present some complementarities, the existence of multiple identities, and its inner ambiguity, is not a problem per se.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 March 2003

Batia M Wiesenfeld and Patricia F Hewlin

Managers’ boundary spanning role is critical to the effectiveness of groups, teams and organizations. We explore the identity predicament of boundary spanning managers, who must…

Abstract

Managers’ boundary spanning role is critical to the effectiveness of groups, teams and organizations. We explore the identity predicament of boundary spanning managers, who must create synergies across multiple identities. In the context of identity threat, formerly synergistic identities may be brought into conflict – a phenomenon we label identity splintering. Our theory and empirical results suggest that identity splintering creates a discrepancy between the identities that boundary spanning managers claim and those they enact.

Details

Identity Issues in Groups
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-168-2

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2018

Hayley Cocker, Maria Piacentini and Emma Banister

This paper aims to understand how young people manage the dramaturgical dilemmas related to drinking alcohol and performing multiple identities.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to understand how young people manage the dramaturgical dilemmas related to drinking alcohol and performing multiple identities.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on qualitative data collected with 16-18-year olds, the authors adopt Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective to examine youth alcohol consumption in relation to multiple identities.

Findings

Young people continuously and skilfully juggle multiple identities across multiple contexts, where identities overflow and audiences and interactions overlap. Techniques of audience segregation, mystification and misrepresentation and justification are used to perform and manage multiple identities in a risky health behaviour context.

Research limitations/implications

The approach may facilitate some over- and under-claiming. Future studies could observe young people’s performances of self across multiple contexts, paying particular attention to how alcohol features in these performances.

Practical implications

Social marketing campaigns should demonstrate an understanding of how alcohol relates to the contexts of youth lives beyond the “night out” and engage more directly with young peoples’ navigation between different identities, contexts and audiences. Campaigns could tap into the secretive nature of youth alcohol consumption and discourage youth from prioritising audience segregation and mystification above their own safety.

Originality/value

Extant work has argued that consumers find multiplicity unmanageable or manage multiple identities through internal dialogue. Instead, this paper demonstrates how young people manage multiple identities through interaction and performance. This study challenges the neat compartmentalisation of identities identified in prior literature and Goffman’s clear-cut division of performances into front and back stage.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 52 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Sophie Hennekam

The purpose of this paper is to examine how artists deal with having multiple potentially incompatible work-related identities as a result of a career transition from making a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how artists deal with having multiple potentially incompatible work-related identities as a result of a career transition from making a living exclusively as artists to taking on additional work outside the creative industries.

Design/methodology/approach

In all, 40 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted by telephone with artists in the Netherlands. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the findings.

Findings

Four different strategies for dealing with multiple potentially incompatible identities were identified: integration, accumulation, separation and dis-identification. The findings suggest that the informal social context, the support of rejection of important others, influenced the strategy adopted by the artists. Invalidation from the environment often leads to stress and separation or dis-identification strategies, while validation seems to lead to integration and accumulation strategies that are less psychologically straining.

Practical implications

The findings stress the importance of the external environment. While the workers had to deal with their own psychological stress and regret about not succeeding at working exclusively as artists, they also had to create a feasible story that allowed them to “sell” their transition to others.

Originality/value

Careers are becoming increasingly non-linear, and the number of workers who need to juggle multiple (potentially conflicting) work-related identities is rising. However, how workers deal with this has received only limited attention from researchers.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 46 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 July 2020

Anna Aleksandra Lupina-Wegener, Shuang Liang, Rolf van Dick and Johannes Ullrich

Building on social identity theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine how European managers construct their multiple identities after being acquired by a Chinese firm and to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Building on social identity theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine how European managers construct their multiple identities after being acquired by a Chinese firm and to determine the key factors contributing to the changing dynamics of multiple organizational identities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a qualitative, single case study of a Chinese acquisition of a European manufacturing firm at two points in time.

Findings

We find that multiple identities initially trigger ambivalence toward the acquisition, but over time, the ambivalence diminishes. The reduction of ambivalence results from concurrent integration and separation: a newly constructed boundary spanning the organization separates positive identities from negative ones, and integration interventions foster the development of a new, shared identity.

Originality/value

The findings reveal that organizational identity change is facilitated by the aligning of a post-merger identity with the acquired organization's historical identity and by creating an ambivalent boundary spanning identity.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Isidora Kourti

The purpose of this paper is to explore and incorporate personal narratives as a new methodological tool into the qualitative research of complex organisational issues such as…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and incorporate personal narratives as a new methodological tool into the qualitative research of complex organisational issues such as identity. Particularly, this study provides a fresh methodological perspective on organisational identity exploration by using personal narratives to examine multiple identities that occur in dynamic organisational contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to examine multiple identities, personal narratives found in the 43 semi-structured in-depth interviews collected were analysed. These narratives were examined following a textual and performative analysis.

Findings

The paper furthers methodological discussions in organisations in three ways. First, it responds to the need for a methodological approach that allows multiple identity exploration in organisations while it presents personal narratives as a valuable methodological perspective within organisational research. Second, it extends the methodological use of personal narratives for the in-depth qualitative study of complex organisational issues such as identity. Finally, the study stretches the boundaries of mainstream organisational research by illustrating that personal narratives can be used as a methodological approach to explore organisational identities.

Originality/value

This research integrates personal narratives as a methodological tool into the qualitative research of dynamic organisational issues. Employing personal narratives has allowed the exploration of multiple identities that take place in organisations in a manner not previously achieved in organisational studies. The study, therefore, challenges previous organisational research and expands the boundaries of organisational identity studies, offering a new qualitative methodological account for identity exploration in organisations.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Andre Anugerah Pekerti, Quan Hoang Vuong and Nancy K. Napier

The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the double edges faced by individuals who have international and multicultural experiences. The implication is that these…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the double edges faced by individuals who have international and multicultural experiences. The implication is that these individuals encounter acculturation challenges, and also gain from their multiculturality. The authors adopt Berry’s (2011) integration and multiculturalism framework to analyze the experiences and challenges that multi-culturals face. This paper suggests ways to glean the silver lining within organizations to help manage and master multicultural experiences in the workplace to benefit both individuals and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used empirical materials from expatriates who have worked across multiple cultural contexts. Based on these the authors present three examples to illustrate how expatriates and multicultural individuals place themselves in situations where they experience contact and challenges associated with adopting multiple cultures. The authors then analyze these examples to show how the experiences involve psychological-level integration challenges for Multi- and n-culturals.

Findings

The three multicultural expatriate examples suggest that individuals with international and multicultural experiences who are successful at managing their experiences develop cognitive and behavioral complexity. However, these individuals also face continuous acculturation including cognitive and ethno-cultural identity conflicts such as, rejection from multiple cultural perspectives because they continually cross-multiple cultural microcosms. Suggestions are presented to help maintain one’s sense of self-worth and minimizing ethno-cultural conflicts.

Research limitations/implications

Notwithstanding the value of analyzing the examples of expatriate acculturation experiences, the limitation to the examples is that it is limited to the experience of three individuals. However, the examples were effective in raising points to discuss relevant challenges and/or the double-edged reality faced by boundary spanners, multi-, and n-culturals.

Practical implications

The paper presents possible ways multi- and n-culturals navigate through their multiculturalism, including suggestions to help individuals who struggle with their multiculturalism through mentoring.

Social implications

The paper highlights the challenges of acculturation and suggests ways that individuals can overcome these challenges. It further suggests how organizations can take advantage of such individuals by utilizing existing personnel within the organization.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the few that acknowledge multiculturalism is highly challenging even for successful multi-culturals and n-culturals. Currently the literature is scant concerning how individuals can manage and master multicultural experiences in the workplace. The paper suggests a number of useful strategies for individuals and organizations to manage the challenges.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 March 2021

Francesca Maria Cesaroni, Annalisa Sentuti and Maria Gabriella Pediconi

This paper aims to further the understanding of women entrepreneurs' multiple identities by exploring how they interact throughout women's life cycles.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to further the understanding of women entrepreneurs' multiple identities by exploring how they interact throughout women's life cycles.

Design/methodology/approach

This article combines a case study and a narrative analysis to investigate the experience of a woman who founded a business and retired after passing it on to her son. Data were collected by combining two different methods: biographical interview and follow-up interviews or conversations.

Findings

Findings show that interactions between a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities may evolve through two main processes of change: transformation and fading. In the transformation process, adverse interactions between identities turn into synergistic and fruitful relationships. In the fading process, conflicts between identities gradually disappear, giving way to peaceful coexistence. Women's agency proves paramount in making these processes possible and helping her achieve personal and professional fulfillment.

Originality/value

In prior studies, women entrepreneurs have mostly been observed at a specific time or stage in their life and entrepreneurial experience. This paper responds to the call for the adoption of a dynamic perspective in the analysis of interactions among a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities so as to show how they may evolve during her entrepreneurial experience.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2020

Hyun-Woo Lee, Heetae Cho, Emily M. Newell and Woong Kwon

The purpose of this study was to investigate the complexity of how spectators' multiple identities influence their behavioral intention. Specifically, the authors examined the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the complexity of how spectators' multiple identities influence their behavioral intention. Specifically, the authors examined the effects of spectators' place identification, team identification and an interaction effect on attendance intention using social identity complexity framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from spectators attending professional baseball games in South Korea. While 550 questionnaires were returned, 475 (86.36%) were used in the analysis after excluding incomplete responses. The research model was tested using latent moderated structural equations modeling.

Findings

Results indicated place identification only influenced attendance intentions through an interaction effect, while team identity directly affects attendance intention. Highly identified sport consumers intended to attend future games regardless of place identification, while the sense of love for the team's home region motivated low-identified sport consumers more to attend future games.

Originality/value

The findings of this research led to understanding the relationships between multiple identities and behavioral intention and provided the spectator sport industry with valuable strategies to manage their sport consumers.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Antonella La Rocca and Ivan Snehota

The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate associations emerge in business networks focusing on mutually attributed identities in customer-supplier relationships. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate associations emerge in business networks focusing on mutually attributed identities in customer-supplier relationships. The role of the mutually perceived identities for interaction behaviours of the parties is examined and consequences of multiple emergent identities for management are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual one starting from an overview of prior research on corporate associations in marketing, findings on distinctive features of business markets and review of studies on identity in interaction processes.

Findings

Departing from various strands of research on the origin and role of corporate associations in the literature the authors argue that corporate associations, in business networks are relationship specific and continuously emergent, and that businesses acquire multiple identities in relation to main stakeholders as customers and suppliers. The relationship specificity, emergent nature and multiplicity of relationship-specific identities have consequences for management.

Originality/value

This study is among the few that explore the role of corporate associations in business-to-business context. It results in two propositions: first, that corporate associations are relationship specific and continuously emergent and, second, that businesses operating in business networks have to cope with multiple relationship-specific identities. Both propositions are original and contribute to the understanding of dynamics of business relationships and networks.

Details

IMP Journal, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-1403

Keywords

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