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

Hodges, J.; Martin, G.

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