The Internationalisation of PTT Telecom: A Cultural Perspective - Free

23ethnocentrism. This concept as well as the concepts of the global multi-centricstrategy (Adler and Ghadar), the utilising strategy (Schneider and Barsoux) andthe synergy strategy (Adler) are all based on the assumption that culturaldifferences can be overcome or constructively used for competitive advantage.Koot (1997: 332) stresses that strategies of tolerance, harmony, interdependenceand synergy are instruments of the dominant Western companies and states that‘harmony is the catchword of those who want to maintain the status quo’. Thepowerful company uses these strategies to ‘manage’ the cultural differences thatexist between the powerful and the‘inferior’ company. In contrast, the lesspowerful partner is more interested in balancing the differences in power anduses its ethnic identity as a source of power in the struggle against the dominantcompany. This concept is further elaborated upon in the next section.2.2.2 Strategic Use of Ethnicity in OrganisationsKoot and Hogema (1989) connect theories of ethnicity to the studies oforganisational culture and argue that organisations do have similarities withethnic groups. They use theories on social categorisation to support a criticalperspective on the static and limited perspective of organisational culture. Theirtheory also exerts influence on the perspective on cultural differences. Fromtheir perspective it is not so much the dichotomised cultural differences but theprocess of interaction that produces these cultural differences that must bestudied. Koot (1995, 1997) applies this perspective to two cases. He describesthe Carinthian employees of a Philips plant in Austria who were successful intheir competion with the Vianna Philips plant. They used their cultural identityas a source of power against the dominant Viennese. The second case is on thestrategic use of ethnicity in international management practices at the island ofCuraçao where the oil company Shell operated its refinery till 1985. Therefinery was then leased to a Venezuelan oil company. In the period under theDutch Shell management the Curaçaoan employees labelled themselves as‘Latinos’, stressing upon the cultural elements shared with the neighbouringcountry Venezuela. However, when the Venezuelan oil company took overpower, the attitude of the Curaçaoan employees on Venezuela changed. TheCuraçaoan employees then saw and highlighted important cultural differencesbetween themselves and the Venezuelans, the period under the Shellmanagement was praised to the skies and their identity as Dutch citizens andsimilarities with the Dutch were emphasised (McCreedy 1996).Theories on ethnicity can be helpful in providing a different perspective oncorporate identity and processes of social identification in organisations. To doso it is first necessary to introduce the concept of identity. The concept of socialidentity is defined as the self- and public image of a person constructed ininteraction with members of distinct social groups. Identity is always a result ofdefining similarities and difference with other individuals and groups (Jenkins1997). Identity also provides continuity, safety and stability for both individualsand groups. Interaction is seen as a prerequisite for identification (Barth 1969,Royce 1982, Jenkins 1997). The identity of a person is constructed of distinctsocial identities. Turner states that a person is ‘a basket of selves which come to