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Business & Society, Vol. 45, No. 4, 441-463 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0007650306293393

Identities and Preferences in Corporate Political Strategizing

Arnold Wilts

Free University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

This conceptual article draws on structuration theory and social identity theory to isolate firm-internal institutionalization processes as antecedents and drivers of corporate political strategizing. Path dependencies in corporate routines and actors' knowledgeability about these path dependencies are singled out as primary factors structuring strategic decision making within the firm. The concepts of path dependency and knowledgeability, respectively, refer to the institutional and cognitive dimension of corporate political strategizing. These two dimensions come together in actors' identities. Identities on their turn shape managers' recognition of policy issues and the interpretation of issue salience relative to corporate interests. Thus, the article argues that institutional features of competitive environments precipitate in processes of identity building and preference formation and are reproduced through organizational routines and practices within the firm.

Key Words: corporate political action • social identity theory • strategy process

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