Organizational identity work as a dynamic capability: A tale of two subsidiaries, 1969 - 1991
Description
The literature on dynamic capabilities seeks to explain how firms purposefully reconfigure their resource base in response to environmental change. However, existing research in this domain has largely overlooked the deliberate reconfiguration of symbolic resources in dynamic contexts. In this paper, we address this gap by focusing on the articulation of national identity claims by top executives and conceptualizing organizational identity work as a dynamic capability. Through an interpretive analysis of historical data from two Indian subsidiaries of multinational enterprises during the socialist period in India (1969–1991), we examine how these organizations orchestrated national identity claims over a span of 23 years. Our findings reveal alternative, yet equifinal, modes of organizational identity work that enabled these firms to adapt effectively to a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
Copyright Date
January 2018
Publication Date
1-1-2018
DOI
10.5465/AMBPP.2018.13063abstract
Publisher
Academy of Management
Keywords
Organizational identity, Multinational enterprises
Conference
Academy of management Annual Meeting: 10-14 August, 2018, Chicago, USA
