Can leadership identity reconstruction help resolve the integration-responsiveness problem in multinational enterprises? A case study of leadership branding

Abstract

Drawing on the precepts of identity theory, leadership branding has been proposed as a new approach to transforming the impact of leaders in organizations by developing a shared understanding of leadership. Recently, researchers have attempted to develop identity theory to explain how leadership is co-constructed in organizations through the process of making and granting legitimacy claims by leaders and followers over time. However, there has been no empirical evidence to-date to support this application of identity theory to leadership in an actual setting. In this paper, we provide such evidence by drawing on data from a longitudinal case study of leadership branding in a UK based multinational enterprise (MNE). Our findings support the claims that successful identity construction help explain this process and that a leadership-structure schema which emphasizes shared values can assist in resolving integration-responsiveness problems in MNEs.