Dual identification in multinational corporations: local managers and their psychological attachment to the subsidiary versus the global organization

Abstract

This article reports the results of an empirical case study conducted in India and Pakistan on dual identification in a multinational corporation (MNC). It is often stated in the management literature that it is vital for MNC managerial employees worldwide to share the organization's core values and goals, that is, to identify with the organization as a global entity. The underlying assumption is that it is possible, not to mention desirable, for the MNC as a global entity to be the main identification focus for its managers worldwide. Yet there appears to be a general preference for identification with relatively small social units, such as what the MNC subsidiary represents. This study investigates, with the aid of social identity theory, the patterns and strength of employee identification with the local subsidiary versus the global organization. The study also examines whether the type of MNC subsidiary might have an effect on local/global patterns of employee identification. The results reveal that respondents exhibit dual identification, and generally identify more strongly with their subsidiary. The type of MNC subsidiary appears to have an effect on local/global patterns of identification.