Can leadership branding work in theory and practice to resolve the integration-responsiveness problems facing multinational enterprises?

Hodges, J.; Martin, G.

doi:10.1080/09585192.2011.654235

Can leadership branding work in theory and practice to resolve the integration-responsiveness problems facing multinational enterprises?

Hodges, J.; Martin, G.

Authors

Professor Julie Hodges julie.hodges@durham.ac.uk
Professor

G. Martin

Abstract

Leadership branding has been proposed as a new approach for transforming the impact of leaders in organizations by developing a shared leadership identity. There has, however, been little empirical evidence to support the concept. In this paper, we combine new theories of leadership identity construction with dialogue theory to provide a more adequate explanation of why leadership branding might offer multinational enterprises (MNEs) with a useful conceptual framework and a set of practices to help resolve the integration-responsiveness problems they face. We do this by using data from a longitudinal case study of a UK-based MNE. Our findings support the claims that successful identity construction and dialogue help explain the process of leadership branding. They also show that a leadership-structure schema emphasizing shared values and dialogue can assist in resolving integration-responsiveness problems in MNEs, although strong corporate leadership brands are difficult to establish and may not be beneficial in the long term.

Citation

Hodges, J., & Martin, G. (2012). Can leadership branding work in theory and practice to resolve the integration-responsiveness problems facing multinational enterprises?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(18), 3794-3812. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.654235

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Feb 6, 2012
Deposit Date	May 28, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Oct 20, 2015
Journal	International Journal of Human Resource Management
Print ISSN	0958-5192
Electronic ISSN	1466-4399
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	23
Issue	18
Pages	3794-3812
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.654235
Keywords	Branding, Dialogue theory, Identity theory, Leadership, Multinationals.
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1498992

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in The International Journal of Human Resource Management on 06/02/2012, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09585192.2011.654235.