Location: TC.5.28
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019; 16.00-19.00

In this study, we investigate the process of organizational identity work and its implications for the continuity and change of the overall organizational identity. Barilla, the well-known Italian pasta firm with almost 150 years of history, offers us the opportunity to observe in-depth and longitudinally the phenomenon of interest. Through multimodal analysis, we examine the interplay of visual and written texts in Barilla house organs and suggest that organizational identity work has a role in managing organizational tensions. Our findings show that visual and written texts have a different role in the process and give voice to different actors within the organization. In particular, whereas written texts exhibit the tension in a polyphonic and comprehensive way, visuals express a single voice and thereby resolve such a tension. Theoretical and methodological contributions are offered to research on organizational identity.

Mara Brumana is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Italy. She is also a member of the Research Center for Young and Family Enterprise (CYFE). Her research interests lie at the intersection of organization theory and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on the organizational implications of entrepreneurial initiatives pursued by mature organizations, such as family firms. Mara's teaching is about international business and strategy.