Social Identity Theory Case Study

Social identity theory

Social Identity theory (SIT) was founded by Tajfel and Turner in 1979, as a social-psychological perspective. Social identity theory explains that the identity of people is built out of perceived memberships to groups, like gender, age, religion and organizational membership, and self-image partly derives from the social categories which the person feels he belongs to. As people join several groups, one has different identities and behaviours to align with a specific group. The theory predicts that intergroup behaviours are explained by the perceived group statuses, legitimacy and stability of these differences and the possibility to change groups (Tajfel and Turner, 1979). Tajfel and Turner explain three assumptions

The quality of information, received by employees from management during the reorganization process, should consist of timely, accurate information and helpful (Kernan and Hanges, 2002). It has also been discussed that the quality of management communication and the allowance of participation in the decision making process has a positive impact on the way employees perceive the change (Bordia et al., 2004). This helps employees coping with the uncertainty and supports the psychological well-being (Bordia et al., 2004). Comparing research conducted within the field of mergers, the same results were found. Realistic communication during the merger process, by communication a realistic preview can help reduce the uncertainty and help employees get through the process and prevent destructive behavior (Schweiger et al., 1991). Markenout (2010) underlines the importance of managers tailoring communication to specific (sub)groups. These are all examples of vertical communication flows; communication from (Top) management towards the employee. Horizontal information flows, the communication between employees seems important as well. Besides the intentions and visions from top management, peers need to deal with each other on a day to day basis. Nardi et al (2002) found that personal networks become increasingly important at the individual level. For

It is important to differentiate physical distance from geographic distance. In literature, geographic distance is often used as an independent variable to cultural distance and related to cultural problems in the integration process following international M&A’s (Calori et al., 1994). Hypothesis 2: Physical distance has a negative effect on the speed of the post-merger integration phase.

When units are not fully integrated, the network does not exist. Different identities lead to in-group and outgroup comparison and slow down the establishment of a new or common identity. It furthermore is expected that physical distance makes it even more difficult to communicate with one another, and these two factors combined will lead to an even more negative effect on the speed of the post-merger integration phase. It is therefore proposed that:

Hypothesis 3: Physical distance leads to lower communication flows which in turn leads to an even more negative effect on the speed of the post-merger integration phase.

The outlined construct can be organized in the following conceptual