Trapped in the MNE matrix
Liminal identity at the local–corporate–global nexus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21409909 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kieran M Conroy (0000-0002-7393-7465, Queen's University Belfast, corresponding author), David G Collings (0000-0003-1252-7080, Trinity College Dublin) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 84-101 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of International Business Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2506 • E-ISSN: 1478-6990 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41267-025-00817-8 |
| OpenAlex | W7125936339 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 64 |
Managers’ identities in large matrixed MNE structures are complex and pliable. While research has examined the identities of individual actors located in headquarters (HQ) or local subsidiaries, the unique identity challenges faced by those operating outside these conventional units are less predictable. Our study explores how managers experience and manage a ‘liminal identity’—feeling ‘betwixt and between’ multiple identity positions. Focusing on US MNEs in the life sciences sector, we interviewed managers who assumed global responsibilities from corporate HQ while remaining situated in their local (Irish) subsidiary. We find that operating between corporate HQ, a global network, and the local subsidiary forged a liminal identity. Straddling this local–corporate–global nexus was a profoundly ambiguous, precarious, and destabilizing experience. Yet, individuals also sought to leverage their liminal identity by adopting multiple identities, depending on the audience. This involved ‘switching’ between renouncing a local identity, assimilating a corporate identity and co-constructing a global identity. However, this produced an intense identity struggle, eroding a clear sense of self and belonging. Our study cautions firms to be attentive when supporting managers in these ‘in-between’ spaces to avoid the trap of ‘identity limbo’, where individuals risk becoming disconnected and isolated
Business studies · Identity (music) · Identity formation · International business · Leverage (statistics) · Liminality · Nexus (standard) · Situated · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Management and Organizational Studies
The Rites of Passage
Liminality in Management and Organization Studies
New Ways of Seeing through Qualitative Research
The interplay between theory and method
Achieving Rigor in Qualitative Analysis
Betwixt and between identities
The formation of an MNE identity over the course of internationalization
Capitalizing on the uniqueness of international business
Forgotten globalizing actors
Whither national subsidiaries? The need to refocus international management research on structures and processes that matter
Strategic leaders in multinational enterprises
Validity and generalization in future case study evaluations
Navigating identities in global work
Identities in and around organizations
Occupational limbo, transitional liminality and permanent liminality
Liminality, space and the importance of ‘transitory dwelling places’ at work
Managing Managerial Identities
Liminal roles as a source of creative agency in management
Liminality and the practices of identity reconstruction
Self-doubters, strugglers, storytellers, surfers and others
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
Transitional and perpetual liminality
| Highly cited | No |
|---|