Social Identities in an International Joint Venture: An Exploratory Case Study

Introduction
Overview: On one hand, the favorable market removed a shared threat in the first three years, making it relatively easy for the IJV to meet objectives without rationalizing production. On the other hand, the transfer pricing controversies,evidence of career immobility out of the IJV, and the upcoming market downturn might be expected to change the extent to which team members felt they shared a common fate and, hence, the social identities that dominate.

Research Methods
Method of data collection 40 formal interviews with team members, which were corroborated by archival and participant-observation data. Sampling technique Eight visits lasted four days on average, with intervals of several months. Ongoing contact between visits was maintained by mail and telephone. Team members were interviewed up to three times over the course of the study. Sample size 40 formal interviews Instrument of data collection Interviews, participant observation, and archival sources Statistical Technique The first author led in defining basic coding categories and performing the initial recoding, and the second author recoded eight interview scripts chosen at random.

Results
Conclusion Our empirical results shed light onunresolved debates in the IJV literature, e.g., the implications of cultural distance and shared management for IJV performance. This study also contributes to social identity theory by highlighting promising directions for development of contextual and longitudinal dimensions in that research stream.

Results
Suggestion:

The findings suggest that social identity enactments (using particular boundaries to define primary social identities) by team members mediate the relationship of contextual variables, both environmental and structural, with group and organizational outcomes (such as role investment and job satisfaction).

Results
Limitations and Potential Practical Implications Single-case studies are primarily generalizable to theory (Yin 1989, 1994). Observations in this study that social identities initially established mediate the association betweencontextual antecedents and enactment of the IJV working environment over time, require further study with larger and more diverse samples.

References
Salk, Jane E. & Shenkar, Oded (2001). Social Identities in an International Joint Venture: An Exploratory Case Study. Organization Science, 12(2), 161178.

Appendix