When Bank of Northern Minnesota (BNM) Acquired a Major Investment

Essay

When Bank of Northern Minnesota (BNM) acquired a major investment firm, senior executives noticed hostilities forming between the financial analysts in the investment company and the bank's marketing people who provide marketing expertise for the investment firm's mutual funds and other investment vehicles.The marketing staff say that the finance types wouldn't know a customer if they stepped on one.They partly attribute this to the poor marketing expertise in the investment firm before BNM bought it.The finance types, many of whom have graduate degrees from top universities, privately complain that the marketing types don't have enough brainpower to turn on a light switch.Use social identity theory to explain why these hostilities might exist.