Post by Sapphire Capital on Aug 11, 2008 21:10:40 GMT 4
The Development of Corporate Identity: A Political Perspective
Suzana B. Rodrigues
University of Birmingham - The Birmingham Business School
John Child
Chinese Management Centre; University of Birmingham - The Birmingham Business School
Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 45, Issue 5, pp. 885-911, July 2008
Abstract:
A corporate identity denotes a set of attributes that senior managers ascribe to their organization. It is therefore an organizational identity articulated by a powerful interest group. It can constitute a claim which serves inter alia to justify the authority vested in top managers and to further their interests. The academic literature on organizational identity, and on corporate identity in particular, pays little attention to these political considerations. It focuses in an apolitical manner on shared meanings when corporate identity works, or on cognitive dissonance when it breaks down. In response to this analytical void, we develop a political analysis of corporate identity and its development, using as illustration a longitudinal study of successive changes in the corporate identity of a Brazilian telecommunications company. This suggests a cyclical model in which corporate identity definition and redefinition involve power relations, resource mobilization and struggles for legitimacy.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1158756
Suzana B. Rodrigues
University of Birmingham - The Birmingham Business School
John Child
Chinese Management Centre; University of Birmingham - The Birmingham Business School
Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 45, Issue 5, pp. 885-911, July 2008
Abstract:
A corporate identity denotes a set of attributes that senior managers ascribe to their organization. It is therefore an organizational identity articulated by a powerful interest group. It can constitute a claim which serves inter alia to justify the authority vested in top managers and to further their interests. The academic literature on organizational identity, and on corporate identity in particular, pays little attention to these political considerations. It focuses in an apolitical manner on shared meanings when corporate identity works, or on cognitive dissonance when it breaks down. In response to this analytical void, we develop a political analysis of corporate identity and its development, using as illustration a longitudinal study of successive changes in the corporate identity of a Brazilian telecommunications company. This suggests a cyclical model in which corporate identity definition and redefinition involve power relations, resource mobilization and struggles for legitimacy.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1158756