"We and they, and both of us:Investigating forms of dual identification in MNCs"

Organizational identification, and particularly dual organizational identification, has several benefits that may be particularly important in multinational corporations (MNCs). Drawing upon Vora and Kostova’s (2007) forms of dual organizational identification, we analyze interview data to empirically examine managers’ forms of identification in four Finnish MNCs. Specifically, we develop a method to quantify mentions of “we” and “they” to explore form of identification. Three different forms emerge: “single” denoting identification with only one entity - either the MNC or the subsidiary; “overlapping” denoting identification primarily with one entity, but having some identification with the other; and “dual” where the managers identify with both the MNC and subsidiary. We then examine antecedents of form in terms of why a certain individual has a certain form of identification. We first conduct explorative analysis on different characteristics of the individual employees and then examine three mechanisms through which dual identification develops- membership, values, and interdependence. Our findings suggest that identifying with both entities may be rare, and that at some point individuals may switch from only identifying with one entity to identifying with both.