Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Identity-Image Interactions for the Sales Force in High Threat Situations CAREN RODRIGUES and ANUP KRISHNAMURTHY St. Joseph’s College of Business Administration, Bangalore, India During times of threat to organizational identity, managers often formulate strategies to regain the organization’ s original standing. Yet, they frequently ignore the identity-image interactions that occur for boundary-spanning members, despite such interactions having the potential to play a pivotal role in the organization’ s recovery. We propose that, in high-threat situations, customer-directed boundary-spanners, like the sales force, become aware of the discrepancy between the organizational image projected by the organization (Projected Image) and the organizational image perceived by customers (Perceived Image). Consequently, boundary-spanners restructure their perception of the organizational identity. This restructuring is moderated by several factors. The restructured organizational identity results in the boundary-spanner manifesting a new projected image, with its attendant assertions and behaviors. We thus synthesize and extend the literature on identity-image interactions and provide avenues for further research. We also discuss the beneficial managerial implications of closely monitoring the image-identity interactions of boundary-spanners in high threat situations. Keywords: organizational identity; organizational image; identity threat; boundary spanning; sales force; organizational change Introduction Recently, Nestlé’s well-known and high-selling instant noodle brand, Maggi, faced allegations in the Indian market about the presence of lead in their packaging (Agence France-Presse, 2015; Frizell, 2015; Rai, 2015). In 2007, Mattel, maker of the famous Barbie Dolls and Hot Wheel cars, recalled around one million toys in the US because they contained lead paint. The firm distanced itself from the problem by blaming its Chinese vendor, and even took a reporter on tour of its plants and safety laboratories (Story, 2007) to win back the trust of its consumers. In 2012, pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline, paid a settlement of $3 billion after pleading guilty to actively promoting antidepressant drugs for unapproved uses, which included the treatment of children and adolescents (BBC News, 2012). Around the same time, the family-friendly fast-food retailer, Burger King, found itself apologizing to the public after it was discovered that its burgers in UK and Ireland contained traces of horsemeat (King and Buckley, 2013). In all these examples, some of the core or distinctive elements of the organization’s identity were under attack – whether it was a children’s toy maker selling harmful toys or a drug company promoting medicines that could ruin a patient’s wellbeing. These examples bring to the forefront the urgent requirement for organizations to have appropriate responses to defuse such high threat situations. When doing so, organizations also have to try to keep customers’ perception of the organization intact (i.e., protect the organizational image), as well as preserve what organization members themselves feel that the organization stands for (i.e., preserve the organization’s identity). These issues related to identity and image run across levels of analysis. When Dutton and Dukerich (1991) attempted to conceptualize the process of how an organization and its environment are related to each other over time, they found that organizational members’ perceptions of the organizational identity and organizational image Correspondence: Caren Rodrigues, Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management, St. Joseph’s College of Business Administration, 18, Residency Road, Bangalore 560025, India, Tel: +91-934-287-8116. E-mail: carenrodrigues@yahoo.com European Management Review, (2016) DOI: 10.1111/emre.12077 © 2016 European Academy of Management