Aaltonen, Suvi
(2006)
The object of this study is organisational identity and the possibilities of changing it through changing the organisation's name. The purpose is, through different interpretations, to examine what organizational identity is and what it means to an organisation. This is farther examined in the case study of Varma-Sampo's name change to Mutual Pension Insurance Company Varma.
Theoretical frame work is studies made of organisations, which examine how identity is formed and what is its impact on the organisation. The work examines how organisational identity can be influenced or managed, and the importance of change communication and change management within a company in times of change. The study is divided to theoretical and empirical sections. Theoretical part examines different researchers' views on organisational identity and the empirical part concentrates on case study on the name change of Mutual Pension Company Varma.
Methods used are of course general literary study, examination of Varma's study of internal atmosphere, Intranet questionnaires to the personnel and theme (unformatted) interviews.
The most important conclusions refer to the flexible and changeable nature of organisational identity and to the importance of change communication to a successful execution of organisational change. Organisational identity is formed by for example image, history, organisations mission and nature. Thus it is highly susceptible to change. The work also concludes that changing a company's name can and probably does have an influence on the organisational identity. The empirical part demonstrates how management and personnel view name change and its relationship with the company.
Most significant sources are:
Albert, S. & Whetten, D. A. (1985) 'Organizational Identity' in Cummings, L. L. & Staw, B. M. eds., Research in Organizational Behavior, An Annual Series of Analytical Essays and Critical Reviews, vol. 7 (1985), Jai Press, UK.
Balmer, J. M. T. & Greyser, S. A. (2003) Revealing the corporation, Routledge, UK Ind, N. (1992) The Corporate Image: Strategies for effective identity programmes, revised edition, Kogan Page, UK.
Markkanen, T.-R. (1999) Yrityksen identiteetin Johtaminen, WSOY, Finland.