Sharing Values for Identity Construction: A Case Study on Partnerships' Contribution to Organizational Identity

Abstract

Organizations are to a higher degree experiencing demands concerning defining organizational purpose and positioning themselves in relation to social responsibility. To relate to these aspects, they are expected to relate their purpose to their values. A way to work with these aspects can be done through engaging in partnerships. To gain an understanding of these aspects, a case study of Nørrebro Bryghus was conducted. Through the collection of primary data in the form of interviews and documents as secondary data, this project sought to understand how external identity can be constructed through partnerships to ensure that this is embedded in internal values. With a basis on social constructionism and through an inductive research approach this project found answers to this based on a thematic analysis of the data. Through the findings, it was seen how organizations are experiencing external demands and institutional pressures on becoming more conscious of social and local aspects of sustainability. By creating commitments for themselves they can relate to these demands and align them with their internal values. When engaging in cross-sector partnerships with partners that they share values with they can translate their values into an external identity. They do this by gaining approval for their work from partners and communicating this. By doing this they gain benefits such as legitimacy, reputation, and authenticity. Engaging in partnerships also allows organizations to contribute to setting industry standards. This ensures that they are continuously able to align their identity with the demands being set for their industry. The connection of these findings is shown in a theoretical framework that shows the relationship between industry changes, internal values, and external identity. These aspects relate to each other through the processes of creating commitments, communicating values through partnerships, and collaborating to push boundaries. These findings were especially relevant for organizations within the brewing industry of Denmark. However, other practitioners that experience the same institutional pressures would also find the relevance of these findings. These findings also bridge the literature on partnership and identity by contributing with an understanding of how partners can be used for external identity construction.