Abstract
This article explores the temporal processes through which firm identity
emerges over time, and how the becoming of a firm's identity orients
actors towards specific strategic pathways. Drawing on a historical case
study of Sony and its development of consumer music technologies from
the Walkman to digital music players (mp3), we present an alternative,
processual framing of network relations through the ever-extending
tangle of the meshwork. By introducing a meshwork-lens to the question
of identity in business networks we emphasise the importance of a
dynamic and complex identity multiplicity in shaping the action not only
of the firm itself, but also in giving rise to the conditions for
others to thrive. In doing so, we advance a processual approach to
business networks and address the relatively undertheorized
understanding of the temporal dynamics of identity in the IMP
literature.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 29-38 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Industrial Marketing Management |
Volume | 107 |
Early online date | 29 Sept 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2022 |
Keywords
- Business networks
- Identity
- Multiplicity
- Meshwork
- Process
- Technology