Organizational Identification at a Multinational Company

Abstract Objective: The present case study investigates to what extent employees working at the Dutch site of an American multinational biotechnology organization identify with this company. According to prior research, organizational identification leads to higher commitment to the organization. Gaining more insight into which factors drive or impede organizational identification can help organizations increase their employees’ identification and thus, commitment. Two hypotheses were tested. First, organizational identification was expected to be higher among international employees than Dutch employees. Second, a correlation was expected between organizational identification and organizational commitment. Methodology: A questionnaire was conducted among 296 employees of the company site. The scale of Edwards and Peccei (2007) was used to measure the construct of organizational identification. Mowday et al.’s (1979) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire was used to measure the construct of organizational commitment. All data was statistically analyzed with the software SPSS; an independent samples t-test was performed to test the first hypothesis and a Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to test the second hypothesis. Findings: Both hypotheses were confirmed. A significant difference was found between international employees (M = 5.25, SD = 1.05, n = 81) and Dutch employees (M = 4.96, SD = 1.12, n = 215) regarding organizational identification (t(293) = -2.03, p =.04, d = 0.27). Moreover, a significant positive correlation exists between organizational identification and organizational commitment (r(295) = .81, p < .001). Value Added: Most prior research regarding organizational identification has focused on top-down processes, stressing the roles managers play in developing organizational identification among employees. Scholars have devoted little attention to what factors drive or impede organizational identification in cross-cultural workplaces. Taking on a bottom-up perspective, this study concentrates on the impact of employees’ social identities, mainly considering expatriate membership, on the extent of their organizational identification. Recommendations: In order to increase organizational identification, multinational organizations could: 1) facilitate identity synergy by acknowledging the full portfolio of identities employees seek to enact within organizations, and 2) increase peer identification among employees by initiating group activities that facilitate peer-to-peer interactions, create a sense of community and strongly bond individuals to the organization.