Betwixt and Between: National and Organizational Identification of Host Country Managers Working in MNE Subsidiaries

This study examines the national and organizational identities of host-country managers working in multinational enterprise subsidiaries. The authors distinguish four identity profiles: diffuse, national, organizational, and integrated. Compared with managers in domestic firms, host-country managers in multinational subsidiaries tend to identify more strongly with their nation and less strongly with their organization. This combination can increase identity conflict and acculturative stress within foreign-owned organizations. The findings are based on data from 843 Korean managers employed by domestic firms and multinational subsidiaries in Korea.