Managing the Multiple Identities of the Corporation

TLDR

In the wake of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and spin‑offs, senior management has focused on corporate identity and its communication to key stakeholders. This article provides a framework to help management achieve clearer understanding and better management of their corporation's identities. The authors delineate five kinds of identity—actual, communicated, conceived, ideal, and desired—within the AC²ID Test™ framework, describing each as the current attributes, communicated self‑image, stakeholder perceptions, optimal positioning, and CEO vision, respectively. The study shows that firms often assume a single monolithic identity, but in reality they possess multiple identities, and misalignments among these can seriously weaken a company.

Abstract

In the wake of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and spin-offs, considerable senior management attention has been devoted to corporate identity and its communication to key stakeholder groups. This article provides a framework to help management achieve clearer understanding and better management of their corporation's identities. Many firms operate with a belief in a single monolithic corporate identity. Our research leads to a different view: organizations have multiple identities. We delineate five kinds of identity, within a framework termed the AC²ID Test™(ACCID), namely, the actual, communicated, conceived, ideal, and desired identities. These reflect respectively: the current, distinct attributes of the organization; what the organization communicates about itself; the perceptions of the corporation by stakeholders; the optimum positioning for the organization; and corporate vision from the perspective of the CEO or management board. Not only should management understand its multiple identities, it also should be alert to critical misalignments among them, as these can seriously weaken a company.