Family business is a vital form of business with high representation across the world, yet the majority do not make it past the second generation. This study explores how organizational identity affects the decision-making process in family businesses. By looking at how family values affect decision-making in internal processes specifically seeks to uncover how family businesses can benefit from understanding and utilizing their organizational identity. The study thereby addresses a gap within existing business literature on how organizational identity affects internal processes in family businesses. This study was based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with six managers from three Swedish family businesses. The collected data were analyzed through a thematic analysis. The findings showed four justifications as to how organizational identity impacts decision-making in a family business. Findings revealed that organizational identity does have a presence in decision-making and that the owning family plays a big role in shaping the organizational identity.

Background: For the last decade, the Swedish audit industry has experienced a turnover problem as there is a steady decline in authorized auditors. Furthermore, studies shows that more than half of the entry-level auditors leave the profession within the first three years of employment.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact professional identity and organizational identity has on job satisfaction among entry-level auditors. In addition to that, to investigate the impact job satisfaction has on job performance.  Methodology: This study adopts a positivistic perspective of research philosophy and employs a deductive approach, using a quantitative method. A survey was distributed to Swedish entry-level auditors who have worked within the profession for a maximum of three years. The collected data were analyzed through a Pearson Correlation matrix and multiple regression analysis. Findings: When studying the combined effect of organizational identity and professional identity on job satisfaction, the findings show that organizational identity has a positive impact on job satisfaction while professional identity do not. Furthermore, the findings show that job satisfaction has a positive impact on job performance.

This study aimed at filling in the gap in the literature by examining the organizational identity (OI) of a group of private not-for-profit liberal arts colleges (LACs) and their change and/or stability over time. The OIs were investigated by employing a qualitative content analysis for the strategic plans of eleven LACs over time. The selected colleges represented the distinctive characteristics of a LAC though they have made a critical organizational change by adding vocational programs to their curriculum. Findings indicated that the colleges have developed more complex dynamic OIs over time where both change and stability were interacting. Internal and external pressures shaped the organizational identities of the colleges. The colleges could remain some of their distinctive features while other markers of distinctiveness were less pronounced. OI, as a means to combine insights from the classic and new versions of institutional theory, could offer a fruitful link between the normative and the intraorganizational elements of this theory.

Cette thèse est composée de trois essais empiriques issus d’une enquête ethnographique conduite dans une entreprise innovante en Inde, et étudie les processus permettant l'innovation durable. Cette recherche aborde le rôle du jeu dans les processus de travail innovant, ainsi que le rôle de l'identité organisationnelle comme une réponse de l'organisation aux menaces extérieures. Cette thèse montre comment le jeu se déroule dans les organisations, sa nature et son rôle dans les processus de travail créatifs. Les résultats indiquent que le jeu a plusieurs effets sur les tâches et les relations qui affectent les processus collectifs de travail créatif qui soutiennent l'innovation durable. Je montre aussi les transitions entre le travail intense et jeu intense et expose un modèle incluant des conditions initiales, des mécanismes et des signaux qui facilitent les transitions. Ce faisant, cette thèse construit les bases d'une théorie du travail et du jeu. Cette recherche décrit un nouveau genre de jeu dans les organisations, différent de ceux observés et étudiés précédemment. Elle contribue aux théories du jeu et au travail créatif dans l'organisation. Prenant en compte le fait que l'innovation durable dépend aussi de la capacité de l'organisation à faire face aux menaces extérieures, cette recherche montre également comment l'identité organisationnelle joue un rôle crucial dans l'élaboration des méthodes de travail pour faire face aux menaces extérieures. Ainsi, cette étude contribue à la littérature sur la formation de l'identité organisationnelle, et son rôle dans les pratiques organisationnelles, la survie et l'innovation durable / This dissertation consists of three empirical essays based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in an innovation-based firm in India, and investigates the processes enabling sustained innovation. More specifically, it addresses the role of play in innovative work and its processes, as well as the role of organizational identity in organization’s response to external threats. I show how playfulness unfolds in work organizations, its nature, and its role in the creative work processes. Results indicate that play has several task and relationship related effects on group creative work processes on which sustained innovation rests. It also show how people transition between intense work and intense play – and explicate a model of initial conditions, mechanisms and cues for such transitions. By doing so, this study starts to lay the grounds for a theory of work and play, and provides an answer to how innovative work gets accomplished amidst playfulness in organizations. This study describes a new kind of play in work organizations, different to those observed and investigated in previous organizational studies and contributes to theories of play and creative work in organization. Mindful of the fact that sustaining innovation also depends on organization’s ability to cope with external threats, this study also shows how organizational identity play a crucial role in shaping its work practices for responding to external threats, and how threat can even lead to the formation of an organization’s initial identity. Thus, this study also contributes to the literature on organizational identity, and its role in organizational practices, survival, growth and sustained innovation

Syfte: Syftet är att visa för- och nackdelar för organisationskulturens påverkan på rekryteringen hos organisationer som är präglade av organisationskultur, samt hur en organisation avgör vilken individ som passar in. Vi ämnar beskriva eventuella risker, möjligheter och begränsningar med dessa metoder för både organisation och individ. Metodik: En flerfallsundersökning på fem organisationer inom den privata sektorn har tillämpats som undersökningsdesign med en induktiv ansats. Genom en kvalitativ metod där semi-strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts har data producerats fram. Slutsats: Organisationskulturen präglade vad organisationerna sökte hos en kandidat mer än hur rekryteringsprocessen utformades. För att finna rätt kandidat var en realistisk företagspresentation framträdande tillsammans med utformningen av intervjun. Organisationernas rekryterade efter sina värderingar, vilka presenterades i en företagspresentation och diskuterades kring under intervjun. Fördelarna för organisationen blev minskad risk för misstolkning tillsammans med större valfrihet bland kandidater och ett verktyg för organisationen att dämpa för höga förväntningar på arbetet. Nackdelarna blev fler moment att ta ställning till vilket är resurskrävande samtidigt som flera förutsättningar krävdes för att få önskad effekt. Fanns inte rätt förutsättningar för matchningen riskerades en resurskrävande process med oförutsedda resultat. / Purpose: The purpose is to present advantages and disadvantages of how organizational culture affects the recruitment in organizations that are incused by organizational culture, and how an organization decides which individual that fits the organization. We intend to describe certain ventures, possibilities and limitations with these methods for both organization and individual. Methodology: A more case study has been applied on five organizations within the private sector as a research design, with an inductive approach. A qualitative method has been used where semi-structured interviews have been implemented from where data has been established. Conclusion: Organizational culture incused the recruitment by what they were looking for in an applicant rather than how it affected the recruitment process. To find the right applicant a realistic organizational presentation was prominent together with how the interview was designed. The organization recruited applicants after their values, which were presented by the organization and discussed during the interviews. The advantages were reduced risk of misinterpretation by applicants along with a greater possibility of choice and a tool for organizations to reduce too high expectations on employment. The disadvantages were more elements to examine while the process became resource demanding, while several conditions had to be fulfilled. If the right conditions couldn’t be obtained the risk was a resource demanding recruiting with an unforeseen result.

This thesis investigates the impacts of introducing creative experiences in a rigid organization. Based on the methodology suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998) I have conducted a qualitative study through 8 semi-structured interviews of heterogeneous profiles in an organization where I worked for two years as an apprentice. Specific creative experiences were introduced in order to improve the internal communication, facilitate an organizational change transition and sustain a better social climate. I aimed at understanding the impacts resulting from experiencing such activities both at an individual and organizational level. My findings reveal three positive categories (well-being, corporate affiliation and organizational change facilitation) and three negative categories (individual irritations and a lack of coherence with the corporate identity). I conclude my work with the possible reasons justifying unexpected negative results, stating that trustworthy leadership and the corporate culture are essential when introducing such collaborative activities. My thesis might contribute to the discussions of creative problem solving for the sake of communication and values-added resulting from creative interventions in organizations.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Planned change and change-related communication are perceived very differently by the members of an organization. Strongly varying perceptions of new tasks, work processes and goals make joint action difficult and cause the failure of many change initiatives. The purpose of this study is to investigate how internal communication and sensemaking processes contribute to the perception of strategic change among the members of a public service organization. The following questions are answered: How does the management plan and perform internal communication during a strategic change of the Swedish public service television company Sveriges Television (SVT)? How do the members of the organization make sense of a strategic change and the internal communication related to the changes that are planned and carried out?</p><p>A social constructivist perspective combined with theories of sensemaking, communication, social identities, roles, groups, power and status constitutes the analytical framework. The investigation is designed as two case studies of the SVT production facilities in Malmö and Örebro. The empirical material consists mainly of personal interviews. Written documents and observations have also been used. The case studies took place between 2002 and 2004. Some main conclusions are as follows:</p><p>1) Internal communication is central for how members of an organization make sense of, and participate in, major change. Yet, not even in ideal communication situations do the employees experience that the information has been sufficient and that they have been included in the change process. There are thus reasons for more balanced expectations of what is possible to achieve with internal communication during strategic change. 2) The most influential factor determining how people make sense of change-related communication is the practical everyday reality that constitutes their frames of reference. The reluctance to consider, and act upon, how other individuals conceive of a situation leads to misdirected internal communication and gaps of understanding. 3) Organizational identities, group membership, roles and status function as frames of reference when employees make sense of changes. But irrespective of whether the changes take place on an organizational, departmental or group level, personal identities are the most influential frames of reference for interpreting organizational change. The investigation thus establishes an order of precedence for frames of reference that has important implications for internal communication during strategic change.</p><p>The thesis contributes to sensemaking theories by demonstrating their extensive ability to explain mutually related phenomena, such as attention, resistance and self-fulfilling prophecies. The apparent ability to explain basically all sensemaking-related issues in organizations, and thus leading to reductionism, is also concluded to be one of the weaknesses of the theories. By connecting sensemaking theories with roles, social identities and power, the study contributes to clarifying the frame concept.</p><p>Key words: internal communication, sensemaking, strategic change, public service, Sveriges Television, frames of reference, organizational identity, roles, status.</p><p>Kontakt: saradalfelt@yahoo.se</p>

The change from mere product supply to customer solutions, integrated and customized offerings (including e.g. products, software and services), has been argued to be a route to success in the 21st century. However, current literature offers little support for leaders who must manage the customer solutions business’ need for bridging the diverging business logics of products and consulting. The thesis addresses this organizational challenge and aims for an understanding of the phenomenon corporate consulting, consulting businesses in product-based organizations. More specifically, the author investigates whether, and if so how, corporate consulting can be a general way of providing customer solutions. The author was formerly a marketing director of just such a corporate consultancy, and has remained a part-time employee throughout the research project. An in-depth study from within the organization enabled the collection of a rich set of longitudinal empirical data through self-ethnography and insider action research. It also led to a marked emphasis on aspects relevant to both academy and industry. A subsequent broader study into other corporate consultancies helped to generalize the findings further. The thesis investigates corporate consulting using two levels of analysis. The subsequent findings indicate firstly that, within the consulting unit, the simultaneous existence of consulting logic and product logic can lead to dual organizational identities (a consultant- and a staff identity) in corporate consultancies. The importance of managing these identities through conscious rhetoric is emphasized. Secondly, on an overall company level, the relation between the product business and the consulting business is in focus. The main conclusion here is that, despite a consulting unit’s responsibility for customized offerings, customer-orientation cannot be delegated to corporate consultancies in order to enable the traditional product business to carry on with “business as usual.” In a customer solutions business, top management must, instead, infuse a general customer-orientation into the whole organization, and the corporate consultancy must be handled as an integral part, rather than a mere extension for customization. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2003</p>

According to a dominant discourse in contemporary writings and research, we are living in a Knowledge Economy where knowledge is seen as the pre-eminent resource and the key to success for individuals as well as organizations and nations. Consequently, much effort in management research has been dedicated to devising new concepts and theories such as the knowledge-based theory of the firm and the intellectual capital perspective, all premised on the assumption that knowledge work is somehow different from other forms of work. But what, actually, is knowledge work? And what is it that makes it so different? This dissertation represents an attempt to make some sense of this discourse. Research themes investigate the role of tangible and intangible dimensions of knowledge work and organizations. Particular attention is paid to organizational identity and the physical work environment. The notion of identity is central to the Knowledge Economy Rhetoric, while the physical setting is a neglected, but potentially important, aspect of knowledge work and identity construction. Various theoretical and methodological perspectives were applied throughout the research process to illuminate these themes. The thesis covers two empirical case studies; one of a small high-tech firm in the telecommunications sector as it developed a knowledge based strategy. The other study explored the relationship between the design of the office and identity construction in a large IT/management consulting firm. In addition, a study of the literature on the organizational category of knowledge-intensive firms was conducted to explore the dominant constructions of knowledge work within the research community. The results from these studies are presented in five papers. While addressing different questions, the papers all deal with some aspect of sensemaking of, or in, knowledge work. The first paper describes how the management team in the case company went through a process to make sense of the intangible dimensions of their organization. The second paper is a conceptual treatise outlining an alternative conceptualization of strategy for knowledge-intensive firms that emphasizes the importance of identity. Paper three provides an analysis of how the category of knowledge-intensive firms is used in the research literature and the consequences thereof. In paper four branding is analyzed as a management practice. The last paper discusses the role of emotion, ambivalence and embodied experience of the physical environment in identity construction. The exposition reflects further on the insights from this journey and what they entail for making sense of knowledge work. It is argued that a better understanding of knowledge work has to take the knowledge worker – the individual – as the starting point for theorizing. Taking this position requires us to scrutinize the theoretical perspectives that guide our conceptualizations of the knowledge worker. Theoretical perspectives are constructions that allow us to see certain things and not others. Current conceptualizations are, by necessity, extensions of earlier dominant perspectives or worldviews. Based on the findings from the empirical studies, an alternative perspective is proposed that takes the embodied experience of the knowledge worker as a point of departure. Implications of this perspective for conceptualizing and studying knowledge work are then discussed. / QC 20100917

The need to deal with accountability is fundamental in every organisation’s struggle to survive. When external demands must be fulfilled in order to receive necessary funding, the organization continuously has to adapt internal processes and outputs to meet those demands. This thesis seeks to explore such adaptations and their short and long term effects. Funding and Accountability: Studies of a Swedish and a British Chamber Orchestra examines two organizations with an unusually complex context of stakeholders with diverse and conflicting interests. Adding to the unusualness of an orchestra is the nature of the orchestra’s basic output: autonomous music cannot be measured in quantified terms, rendering accountability a more difficult and elusive idea than ever. In addition, the orchestra is characterized by the performance of highly specialised skills executed collectively and with exceptional simultaneity, requiring particularly stable and predictable working frames. With two intriguing cases and with an innovative combination of theoretical perspectives, this thesis illustrates how external accountabilities influence an organisation’s core through internal adaptations over time, and highlights issues of organisational identity and future possible directions. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009