战略转型背景下组织身份构建与最优区分——基于企业“高端”再定位的多案例研究

Organizational Identity and Optimal Distinctiveness in Strategic Transformation:A Multiple-Case Study of Corporate Repositioning

组织身份作为组织核心、独特、持久的特征,其可塑性在战略转型中发挥着重要作用。本文以四家“高端”再定位的企业为研究对象,关注其在战略转型中如何通过新身份构建确立“最优区分”。研究表明,战略转型中的企业面临“双重最优区分压力”,从场域竞争的空间维度来看是与其他组织相比的相似性与差异性;从场域竞争的时间维度来看是与过去身份相比的相似性与差异性。企业继而采取两类身份工作开展身份构建:差异化集体类别宣称和合法化领导地位宣称。其中,新身份构建与场域环境密切相关,在高“双重最优区分”压力下,通过“空间维度属性增加”与“空间维度地位提升”的补偿协奏机制拓宽场域边界,实现最优区分;而在低“双重最优区分”压力下,利用“时间维度属性缩减”与“时间维度地位提升”的整合协奏机制重塑场域结构,实现最优区分。本文丰富了战略转型中企业利用身份构建来获取竞争优势的研究,拓宽了“最优区分”理论的适用范围,为企业在激烈竞争的市场环境下实现差异化定位、战略性延伸和创造新类别提供了指引。

Organizational identity is a core,unique and durable characteristic of organizations,and its malleability plays a vi-tal part in the process of strategic transformation.This paper investigates four incumbents’repositioning endeavors,focusing on how these firms in strategic transformation(re)constructed their identities to achieve optimal distinctiveness.The findings of this study shed light on the dual pressure faced by incumbents engaged in strategic transformation:The pressure to achieve“optimal distinctiveness”in both the temporal and spatial dimensions of field competition.Spatiality-wise,enterprises are compelled to navi-gate the delicate balance between similarity and differentiation when compared to other organizations within the same field.Mean-while,termporality-wise,enterprises encounter the challenge of maintaining continuity with past identities while simultaneously showcasing differentiation.To tackle these dual pressures,incumbents adopt two key strategies for identity construction:Differentia-ted collective categorization and industrial leadership legitimation.Under high-pressure situations,characterized by intense compe-tition and a need for differentiation,enterprises strategically focus on establishing an organizational identity that aligns with a new category identity.This is accomplished through a process known as“compensatory orchestration”,which involves enhancing the spatial dimension attributes and elevating the spatial dimension status.By expanding their field boundaries and actively engaging in collective categorization,enterprises achieve optimal distinctiveness within the competitive landscape.In contrast,under low-pres-sure situations where the need for differentiation is less urgent,enterprises aim to develop a unique organizational identity that sets them apart from existing categories.This is achieved through“integrative orchestration”,which involves reducing temporal dimen-sion attributes and elevating temporal dimension status.Overall,this study expands the applicability of“optimal distinctiveness”in the context of strategic transformation,and bears practical implications for managers and practitioners interested in better under-standing and managing strategic repositioning of established firms.