MIB Seminar by Johann Fortwengel (King's College London)

Constructing a politically charged organizational identity: The case of Huawei, 1987—2020

Abstract: Keyan Lai and Johann Fortwengel
In today’s multi-polar world order, politics and political ideology are important considerations for multinational enterprises (MNEs) as they navigate both domestic and international markets. In this paper, we conceive of political ideology as a building block or resource that can be utilized by MNEs to answer the critical question of ‘who we are’ – or their organizational identity. Studying longitudinally the case of Huawei, a Chinese MNE, we show how this organization appropriated the Communist ideology, translated it for the purpose of making it meaningful to foreign operations, and then repurposed it in the light of geopolitical tensions between China and the West. We contribute to an institutional perspective on organizational identity by developing process theory about how an MNE leverages ideology as a resource, and how this may imprint on an organization, with important implications for its ability to navigate the global landscape of multi-polarity.

Bio: Johann Fortwengel is a Reader in International Management at King's Business School. Johann holds a doctorate from Freie Universitat Berlin (awarded in 2014), a MA in Global Studies (awarded in 2011), and a BA in Sociology (awarded in 2009). Johann's research looks at how multinational enterprises navigate their operations across institutional and country differences. One current research interest revolves around how multinational enterprises develop answers to 'who we are'--or their organizational identity. Johann's work has appeared in the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Organization Science, and Strategic Organization, amongst other outlets. He serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Management Studies, and he currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, and Management International Review.