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CM_OS41 - Managing Organisational Identity (Q1)*

Faculty
Professor Majken Schultz, IOA; Visiting Professor Mary Jo Hatch
Course Coordinator
Professor Majken Schultz, IOA
Prerequisite/progression of the course
Co-requisite: This course must be take with CM_OS40, as the exams are combined.
Overlap with Business Strategy
This course of business strategy overlaps naturally with OI in three ways:
  1. In aiming to understand how organisational identity is explicated and used as an internal resource for management in order to develop certain policies and organisational architectures that stimulate local action
  2. In viewing identity as an asset and liability in terms of business renewal
  3. In that two of the three models of the OI course overlap with two of the schools of strategic management (Design Planning School, Cultural-Institutional School), while the third school has a minor overlap (post-modernism – Complex Responsive Processes).
Course content, structure and teaching
In the course Managing Organisational Identity students engage in the cross-disciplinary study of organisational identity and its implications for management practice with a special focus on corporate branding. The course provides a foundation for understanding identity as a phenomenon with relevance for both internal and external stakeholders, and the course invites students to explore how the conceptual complexity of organisational identity is translated into managerial practices in different organisations.
Identity is important to organisations, because it affects their competitiveness and ability to attract stakeholders. We will examine how organisations understand and define who they are and discuss why their identity is a source of belonging and differentiation for both internal and external stakeholders. The course will show how identity provides a foundation for strategy and why managing identities gives organisations a competitive advantage. The course draws on different perspectives of identity within organisation studies and includes examination of theories offered by other disciplines, such as marketing and communication. Organisational identity is related to other concepts, such as image, organisational culture and corporate branding and is best conceptualised as dynamic. Students will examine the implications of organisational identity theories for doing empirical research as well as for management practice, using case studies and student observations. In particular, the course will explore the importance of identity for corporate strategy and branding practices, encouraging students to debate the opportunities and limitations of organisational identity management.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
Joint exam with CM OS 40: Business Strategy
Oral exam based on a group project
Course literature
Selected Preliminary Readings
  • Albert, S., & Whetten, D. A. (1985). Organizational identity. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, vol. 7: 263-295. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. (printed in hand out)
  • Dutton, J., & Dukerich, J. (1991). Keeping an eye on the mirror: Image and identity in organizational adaptation. Academy of Management Journal , 34: 517-554
  • Gioia, D. A., and Chittipeddi, K. (1991). Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation. Strategic Management Journal, 12: 443-448
  • Hatch, M. J., & Schultz, M. 2008. Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture and Identity Through Corporate Branding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
  • Muniz, A.M. & O’Guinn, T.C. (2001) Brand Community. Journal of Consumer Research. Vol 27: 412 - 32
  • Lerpold, L. Ravasi, D., van Rekom, J. and Soenin, G. (eds) (2007) O rganizational Identity in Practice. London: Routledge.

Last updated by The International Office 19/08/2010