Organizational identity challenges in a post-merger context: A case study of an information system implementation project

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis study examines the effects of the differences in organizational identities that emerged during a postmerger project that aimed at unifying the laboratory services of a large healthcare center that resulted from the merging of three hospitals by supporting them with a unique information system. We draw on the concepts of organizational identity and sensemaking to analyze the laboratory information system implementation project. Organizational identity is conceptualized as the mental representation that organizational members have of themselves as a social group in terms of practices, norms, and values and how they understand themselves to be different from members of other organizations. Data analysis suggests that divergent organizational identities and team members' alternative interpretations of others' practices, norms and organizational symbols, coexist during the post-merger integration phase. These interpretations are reflected in the final functionality of the information system that was different from the planned one.

Sourcing complexity in the Chinese manufacturing sector: An assessment of intangible factors and contractual relationship strategies

“…Similarly, global sourcing has been shown to create complexity in the supply chain leading to negative impacts on process, product and service quality (Harland et al, 2003;Marucheck et al, 2011;Steven et al, 2014). For example, global sourcing faces several challenges that include inconsistencies in quality control, standards leading to frequent product recall, multiple handling and channels across international boundaries, the loss of control over outsourced activities, cultural differences and potential for opportunism (Steven et al, 2014;Vieru and Rivard, 2014). With respect to low-cost countries, Lanza et al (2010) opines that not every component can be successfully outsourced from low-cost country suppliers.…”

“…Organizational culture. The criticality of organizational culture in determining successful business process integration has long been established (Weber and Pliskin, 1996;Nellore et al, 2001;Riad, 2005;Vieru and Rivard, 2014). Riad (2005) reported incompatible organizational culture as a major obstacle to the attainment of expected benefits in organizations.…”

“…The differences in perspective arise due to interpretation of contracts, intellectual property protection rights and how they should be used in society and in legal proceedings. Literature suggests that a lack of full cooperation results in organizational identity ambiguity (Van Dick et al, 2006) and distorted perspectives of the issues (Vieru and Rivard, 2014) which may ultimately lead to a negative impact on lead times and product quality (Vieru and Rivard, 2014).…”

The Pattern of M & A Integration: A Literature Review

“…Integration means changes of organizational identity, which affects the employees' perception of the integration process [61]. A new organizational identity is the result of the process of social construction and the intervention of leadership [62]. Identity work in an integration can take very different approaches, leading employees to an active or passive, aggressive or accepting attitudes, then affecting integration outcomes positively or negatively [63].…”

Sharing Knowledge in a Shared Services Center Context: An Explanatory Case Study of the Dialectics of Formal and Informal Practices

“…Because an SSC arrangement involves actors from different organizations, we posit that those organizations represent distinct fields of practice. Where practices are not shared, individuals have different assumptions and interpretations of the organizational context [20]. Thus, cross-boundary collaboration in an SSC context involves the negotiation of multiple domains of knowledge by actors who often understand only part of domains other than their own [35].…”