Organizational Identities and Their Economic Performance: An Analysis of U.S. Textile and Apparel Firms

Abstract

As the U.S. textile and apparel industries have globalized, firm activities within the industry have changed, impacting organizational identity. Given that organizational identity is a viable strategic element for organizational competitive advantages, this study explored how today’s U.S. textile and apparel firms describe themselves as organizations, compared the findings with business classification descriptions provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, and investigated the relationship between organizational identity congruence and performance. Results of content analysis of web-based communication data and multivariate statistical techniques suggested that the majority of U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers and wholesale merchants use self-descriptors such as product provider, service provider, or business partner, rather than Census Bureau terms such as manufacturers or wholesalers. The findings also showed that organizational identity congruence is positively associated with various organizational performance outcomes. The study concludes with the contributions and implications of the study findings, limitations, and future research opportunities.