Identity, knowledge and strategy in the UK subsidiary of an Anglo-German automobile manufacturer

This paper uses a qualitative case study of an Anglo-German automobile manufacturing plant to investigate the role played by the strategic self-presentation of national, class and ethnic identities by different groups within the organisation in knowledge management and power relations in multinational corporations (MNCs). I explore this using a ‘negotiated culture’ approach to cross-cultural management. My findings are, firstly, that knowledge management played a crucial part in strategic self-presentation and thus in power relations. Secondly, that an examination of knowledge management activities from this perspective provided a way of analysing the complexity of intergroup interaction in the organisation. Thirdly, that workers as well as managers engage in knowledge management and strategic action. I conclude that a qualitative analysis of knowledge management can help researchers and managers deal with the complexities of social behaviour in organisations, and suggest frameworks for understanding of the impact of identity on knowledge management.

► A case study of identity, culture and knowledge management among British managers, German managers, and workers at a BMW UK plant in the early to mid 2000s.
► Takes a Goffmanian approach to identity, and Brannen and Salk's “negotiated culture” approach to culture in organisations.
► Knowledge management is key to understanding the complexities of culture in the organisation.
► Understanding ‘culture’ in organisations is not only a matter of considering managers, but also workers, and the impact of outside identities.
► An identity-focused, flexible approach allows for better analysis of the complexity of organisations than a rigid, bounded approach to culture.