University of Twente Student Theses
Organizational Identification : How cultural background congruency with the organization and product determines tourism board’s employees’ organizational identification
Kuiperi, K.D.V. (2016) Organizational Identification : How cultural background congruency with the organization and product determines tourism board’s employees’ organizational identification.
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| Abstract: | Intercultural encounters are as old as humanity while multinational businesses are as old as organized states. Yet, little research has been performed on what fosters organizational identification, particularly within the context of multinational businesses. The proper functioning of multinational business organizations depends on intercultural communication and cooperation. So, how do individuals with different cultural backgrounds communicate and cooperate for the well-being of the entire organization? Specifically, when it comes to self- categorization, how do employees categorize themselves within a company with different cultural background then those of the employees? The current study addresses the cultural diversity amongst employees within a culture representative organization. The purpose is to determine how the culture mixture within an organization affects the employee self-identification. The cultural backgrounds explored in this study are Aruban, Latin American, North American and European. Method. Based on nineteen qualitative interviews conducted via Skype with various international representatives of the Aruba Tourism Authority, this study demonstrates how these international representatives categorize themselves within an “Aruban Organization”. Results. The results of the current study indicate that the participants make a distinction between the organization and the product they represent as it relates to the identification within the organization. It appears that the majority of the participants identified with the product, rather than with the organization. Majority of the participants reported that there are no in or out-groups within the organizations, and the need to be part of the in-group is not a necessity. The results demonstrate how non-demographic similarities such as social motives, perceived external prestige and goals shape the employees self-categorization within the organization. Conclusion. The current study demonstrates that cultural differences are not an obstacle to organizational identification. However, in the context of tourism bureaus the identification with the organization is not the priority goal of the international representatives. Tourism board employees categorize themselves as part of the organization based on the product they work for and the similarities they encounter with the cultural background of the organization. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71356 |
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