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Oliver Böhm
Title
Dr.
Last Name
Böhm
First name
Oliver
Email
oliver.boehm@unisg.ch
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1 - 2 of 2
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PublicationResolving Identity Crises in Incumbent Firms: Strategy Making in the Digital AgeIn today’s turbulent business environment, strategy making in incumbent firms is increasingly about managing and resolving “identity crises”, i.e. about reinterpreting established understandings of “who we are as an organization”. Based on an in-depth case study of a large European car manufacturer, this paper extends research on incumbent adaptation in two ways: First, it is shown how identity-based approaches to strategy making can unlock untapped strategic potential for directing and leading transformative change. Second, by illuminating evolving processes and practices of strategy making, the goal is to develop an integrative framework for organizing constant adaptation and mobilizing key stakeholders’ support. In essence, the results nurture hopes that if carefully managed, having a proud, long-standing identity can play out as a blessing rather than a burden.Type: conference paper
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PublicationNavigating Organizational Identity Crises: How Digital Transformation Affects Strategy Practice in the Auto IndustryIn various industries, digital technologies increase pressures for incumbent firms to strategically renew their product offerings. This thesis explores the specific challenges that arise for strategy practice. Shifting the focus to the underlying identity dynamics of digital change, I ask: What does it mean and take to reinvent a proud legacy in response to socio-technological changes in the market? Based on a single case study of a leading European car manufacturer, the findings illuminate the challenges of driving digital change in organizations where members strongly identify with a cherished product legacy. Overall, this thesis makes four main contributions: First, I identify three paradoxical identity tensions that affect strategy practice at the product level. The study illustrates how these tensions emerge and critically affect focal actors cognition, choices, and cohesion throughout the strategy process. Second, I identify three identity barriers that impede change on an organizational level. My findings show how such barriers are grounded in members subjective evaluations of top managers behaviors and organizational boundary conditions. Third, I reveal how focal actors make use of four practices to nonetheless drive positive outcomes. Centering on managing emotions and interpersonal relationships, these emerging practices break with traditional ideas about strategy as a primarily analytical and rational endeavor. Finally, I develop a novel framework that conceptualizes strategy practice in the digital age as a continuous process of navigating organizational identity crises. The findings extend existing research on the interplay between strategic renewal and organizational identity change. They also speak to practitioners seeking to drive far- reaching changes in organizational contexts where strong legacies and the corresponding identity tensions are at play.Type: doctoral thesis