• Relate various theories related to business strategy to each other, and apply them in order to analyze issues of business strategy
• Discuss, using theories relevant to business strategy, how and why business strategy facilitate assimilation and differentiation among internal and external stakeholders
• Relate various theories related to organizational identity to each other, and apply them in order to analyze issues of identity and corporate branding
• Discuss, using theories relevant to organizational identity, how and why organizational identity changes and involves internal and external stakeholders
• Discuss how identity provides a foundation for strategy and how it offers the opportunity for organizations to achieve competitive advantage

Aim of the course
In Organizational Identity students engage in the cross-disciplinary study of organizational identity and its implications for management practice with a special focus on corporate branding. The course provides a foundation for understanding identity as a phenomenon with relevance for both internal and external stakeholders and invites students to explore how the conceptual complexity of organizational identity is translated into managerial practices in different organizations.

In conjunction with the course Business Strategy (BS), the identity course will engage in practical case work through analysis as well as creative strategy making. The latter will be facilitated by learning techniques from art and design studios.

Contents
Identity is important to organizations because it affects their competitiveness and ability to attract stakeholders. We will examine how organizations understand and define who they are and discuss why their identity is a source of belonging and differentiation for both internal and external stakeholders. The course will show how identity provides a foundation for strategy and why managing identities gives organizations a competitive advantage. The course draws on different perspectives on identity within organization studies and includes examination of theories offered by other disciplines, such as marketing and communication. Organizational identity is related to other concepts, such as image, organizational culture and corporate branding and is best conceptualized as dynamic. Students will examine the implications of organizational identity theories for doing empirical research as well as for management practice, using case studies and student observations. In particular, the course will explore the importance of identity for corporate strategy and branding practices, encouraging students to debate the opportunities and limitations of organizational identity management.

Overlap with the course Business Strategy
This course of business strategy overlaps naturally with OI in three ways:
In aiming to understand how organizational identity is explicated and used as an internal resource for management to develop certain policies and organizational architectures that stimulate local action.
In viewing identity as a strategic asset. 
In that several theoretical frameworks (e.g. co-creation) are used in both courses.

The course readings will be about 650 pages, some of which are rather extensive. The readings include the following books:
 
 

Hatch, M.J, and Schultz, M. 2008. Taking Brand Initiative. How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture, and Identity Through Corporate Branding, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass., 288 p.

Kornberger, M, (2010) Brand Society, How Brands Transform Management and LifestyleCambridge University Press, London, 328 p