The Organizational Identity Trap

Abstract

The article discusses the paper "Escaping the Identity Trap," by Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly. The paper's central argument is that certain companies are unable to adapt to shifts in the competitive environment, despite the efforts of their chief executive officers and management teams, because the required adaptive response is inconsistent with the company's identity. The authors' concept of corporate identity emerged from the research while conducting an investigation into consistent underperformance by a multinational company's subsidiary, and noted decision-making patterns in strategy, hiring and resource allocation, that rooted in beliefs about the company's identity. The authors conclude that managers who want their organizations to achieve a qualitative leap forward need to take on the job of anticipating identity obsolescence.