The Potential Impact of Organizational Identity Transformation on Financial Performance

Master's Thesis from the year 2024 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1.0, Ruhr-University of Bochum (Centrum für Entrepreneurship, Innovation und Transformation), language: English, abstract: This thesis provides a compelling examination of how shifts in organizational identity among four leading automotive manufacturers—Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari—shape their financial performance from 2015 to 2023. By integrating Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for textual analysis of annual reports with robust financial metrics and a fixed-effects panel regression, the study offers an in-depth look at the strategic reorientation of these global players in response to sustainability, digital transformation, and evolving market demands. Beyond identifying key identity themes, the research quantifies their impact on market valuations, investor perceptions, and firm profitability, highlighting how organizational identity transitions—whether triggered by technological disruption or regulatory pressures—can enhance or undermine a company’s financial trajectory. With actionable insights for managers, investors, and policymakers, the thesis demonstrates the delicate balance between maintaining a stable corporate identity and the need for dynamic adaptation in a rapidly transforming industry. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the organizational, strategic, and financial intricacies driving today’s automotive sector will find this study both rigorous in its analysis and practical in its recommendations.