Is the soul of a company important ?

According to the authors of the book The Soul of the Corporation, we have entered the 'Age of Identity' where questions concerning identity are increasingly relevant. However, when one starts to try to define identity, things become complicated. Is it really possible to define the identity of an individual, a company or a State ? Is identity stable or can it change ? Are there single or multiple identities ? What role does identity play in discussion, performance and conflict ? Lastly, does corporate identity really exist ? Hamid Bouchikhi and John Kimberly have been working on this subject for the past ten years, and have attempted to answer these and many other questions. They wrote this book in order to raise awareness among managers about the importance of identity, and to encourage them to change their corporate identity, especially where identity is seen to be a handicap rather than an asset to company performance. Their research is on-going, because, as far as identity is concerned, nothing can be taken for granted.