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Paper info: When in Rome, be(come) a Roman? Building organizational identities in networks

Title


When in Rome, be(come) a Roman? Building organizational identities in networks

Authors


Lars Huemer
Norwegian School of Management
Norway
Lars Huemer

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 28th IMP-conference in Rome, Italy in 2012.

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Abstract


Organizational identity scholars claim that how one acts depend on who one is, and consequently that an organization’s identity affects its strategy. From an industrial network perspective, a firm’s strategic network identity has traditionally been seen as depending on who others are: i.e. a focal firm’s relationships define its identity. This work builds on the notion of ‘identities in networks’ and provides a balanced account of how organizational identities and strategies co-evolve with emerging network relations. Particular attention is given to distinguishing between actions/doings, and the ‘being’ of organizations. This is achieved with help of a longitudinal narrative case study, focusing on the development of a multinational corporation and one of its subsidiaries