Research On Organizational Identity Management Models Of Overseas Subsidiary Of Multinational Enterprises And The Influence Factors

In recent years,Chinese multinational enterprises’(MNEs)international process has been accelerating,overseas subsidiaries play an important role and vehicle for Chinese MNEs to obtain resources from host countries and expand their corporate influence.When a multinational enterprise establishes an overseas subsidiary,the choice of the appropriate organizational identity management model is crucial for the subsidiary to gain legitimacy in the foreign market and fulfill the strategic goals of the parent company.Organizational identity is the organization’s perception of “who we are” and the core feature that determines the organization’s strategic decision,development direction,business purpose and structure.Organizational identity management of MNEs’ overseas subsidiaries refers to how MNEs(parent companies)orient their overseas subsidiaries.The identity determines the status of the overseas subsidiaries in the MNEs’ global network and also affect the subsidiaries’ interaction with the host country institutional environment.Inappropriate organizational identity management will lead to misunderstanding of the subsidiary by the host country stakeholders and make it more difficult for the subsidiary to gain legitimacy,as well as bring negative impact on the subsidiary’s business management.Therefore,it is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the organizational identity management model of overseas subsidiaries of multinational enterprises.Based on a systematic review of the literature related to organizational identity and institutional theory of multinational enterprises,this paper adopts an exploratory multi-case study approach to explore the organizational identity management model and its influencing factors of overseas subsidiaries of multinational enterprises,taking six Chinese multinational enterprises,namely Huawei,Mindray,Geely,Wanxiang,Haier,and Tasly as research subjects,and obtains the following research findings:(1)The organizational identity management models of overseas subsidiaries of multinational enterprises include "parent company transplantation","subsidiary new creation",and "dual hybrid".The parent company transplantation model means that the subsidiary transplants the identity of the parent company and maintains a unified identity with the parent company;the subsidiary new creation model means that a new organizational identity is created for the subsidiary,which is independent of the parent company and is separated from the identity of the parent company;the dual hybrid model means that the identity of the subsidiary combines the characteristics of the parent company and its own unique characteristics.(2)Different organizational identity management models differ significantly in terms of identity declaration,management,symbolic behaviors and other realization mechanisms.The parent company transplantation model is realized through unified identity declaration,management transplantation,and unified symbolic behaviors;the subsidiary new creation model is realized through independent identity declaration,independent management,and segregated symbolic behaviors;the dual hybrid model is realized through dual identity declaration,dual management,and dual symbolic behaviors.(3)Institutional duality and role orientation are important factors influencing the choice of identity management model of overseas subsidiary organizations.When the institutional logic of the parent company is dominant and the role of the subsidiary is an executor,the subsidiary prefers the parent company transplantation type model;when the institutional logic of the host country is dominant and the subsidiary’s role is a capability constructor,the subsidiary prefers the subsidiary new creation model;when the dual institutional logic is dominant and the role of the subsidiary is an innovation platform,the subsidiary prefers the dual hybrid model.At the same time,under the combined effect of institutional duality and role orientation,subsidiaries choose the appropriate identity management model based on the intensity of the influence of both and the strategic objectives of the subsidiary.The theoretical contribution of this paper is to focus on the organizational identity management of MNEs’ overseas subsidiaries,summarize three specific organizational identity management models,and elaborate the characteristics and realization mechanism of each management model.This paper also reveals the influencing factors of organizational identity management models from the perspectives of institutional theory and strategic roles of MNEs respectively,and explores the influence of institutional duality and role positioning on the organizational identity management models of MNEs’ overseas subsidiaries,so as to enrich the existing research on institutional theory and organizational identity.The paper also reveals the influencing factors of organizational identity management model from the perspective of institutional theory and strategic role of MNEs,and explores the influence of institutional duality and role positioning on the organizational identity management model of MNEs’ overseas subsidiaries to enrich the existing institutional theory and organizational identity research.In addition,this paper has implications for how Chinese multinational enterprises can effectively manage the organizational identity of their overseas subsidiaries.