Conflict in headquarters–subsidiary relations: a critical literature review and new directions

Blazejewski, Susanne; Becker-Ritterspach, Florian

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511973352.006

Cited by 45 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 102 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We thus make the case, as have others (see especially Welch et al's (2011) andEdwards' (2005)), for a context-sensitive mode of explanation to be combined with a more actor-centered approach (Blazejewski & Becker-Ritterspach, 2001;Geppert & Dörrenbächer, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 82%

Miners, politics and institutional caryatids: Accounting for the transfer of HRM practices in the Brazilian multinational enterprise

Geary

Aguzzoli

2016

J Int Bus Stud

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 82%

Miners, politics and institutional caryatids: Accounting for the transfer of HRM practices in the Brazilian multinational enterprise

Geary

Aguzzoli

2016

J Int Bus Stud

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While extant research on MNC conflicts has mostly taken a structural perspective and more recently, to a lesser extent, a process perspective (Blazejewski & Becker-Ritterspach, 2012), the practice approach elucidates the 'internal life of process' (Brown & Duguid, 2000, p. 94). A practice lens focuses our attention on the differentiated forms of agency (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998) in actively stabilizing, enacting or challenging the organizational practices and structures within which actors operate in the course of everyday work of organizing and strategizing.…”

Section: Conceptual Background: Multiple Actor Groups In Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is aligned with emergent developments linking micro-strategizing to broader social formations in the strategy-as-practice literature (Whittington & Seidl, 2014). Conflict has been conceptualized as the presence of opposed or incompatible interests that may motivate conflict-handling actions when the incapability is perceived and acted upon by at least one party or that otherwise remains a latent conflict when the incompatibility is, for instance, not noticed or is suppressed (Blazejewski & Becker-Ritterspach, 2012). We draw inspiration from Bourdieu who considers conflict as an ontological premise, thus allowing for researching many kinds of conflicts in organizations.…”

Section: Conceptual Background: Multiple Actor Groups In Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This article provides a theoretically relevant contribution to understanding the conflictual dynamics that occur in sharing practices in MNCs on a global basis by mobilizing novel organizational theorizations of micro-politics grounded in practice theoretic research. While recent reviews of the literature on conflicts in MNCs refer to a range of theoretical perspectives, practice theory is not similarly articulated as a distinct perspective for research on the MNC (Blazejewski & Becker-Ritterspach, 2012). Different reasons for this may be given.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conflictual Practice Sharing in the MNC: A Theory of Practice Approach

Bjerregaard

Klitmøller

2016

Organization Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article advances a theory of practice approach to the study of conflictual practice sharing in the multinational corporation (MNC). The article demonstrates distinct opportunities offered by practice theory in researching the multiple lines of conflict and cooperation over local organizational practices, policies and strategies that emerge in the face of global HQ demands. Extant literature concentrates on how transfer outcomes are shaped by institutional or cultural distance at the national level and inter-unit relationships, often taking the subsidiary as a unit of analysis. Therefore, intra-unit conflicts over global practice sharing are under-researched, particularly how such conflicts are shaped by actors' differential situatedness in the immediate societal context of the subsidiary. In explicating a practice theory agenda for the study of MNCs, we contribute to an understanding of how actors' social positioning within and outside the firm, combined with their career opportunities, shape both the character and dynamics of intra-unit conflicts over the local configuration of organizational practices mandated by HQ. Building on an extended case study of an MNC in a Mexican special economic zone (SEZ), we thus examine how subsidiary actors accommodate, actively support and resist various parts of an HQ-mandated management control system.

show abstract

“…For an exhaustive overview on the literature of conflict in management, organization and international business studies, refer to the recent contribution fromBlazejewksi and Becker-Ritterspach (2011). 4. Myopia can be defined as the inability to be affected by the future consequences of present behavior in a situation of intertemporal uncertainty.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An institutional‐cognitive perspective on headquarters‐subsidiary conflicts

Piotti

2012

Critical Perspectives on International Business

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an institutional‐cognitive explanation for headquarters‐subsidiary conflicts based on institutionalism and social psychological studies on rationality.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an empirical qualitative study of German SMEs with subsidiaries in China and on the analysis of the German press on China.FindingsThe study shows that headquarters take decisions on internationalization under legitimation pressure, which pushes companies to reorganize in accordance with what is considered successful, appropriate, and common practice in the field. However, apparently very profitable and hence strongly legitimated options can lead to the creation of expectations based more on wishful thinking than on the reality that subsidiary managers have to address. This can foster conflicts between headquarters and a subsidiary.Research limitations/implicationsBeing based on a qualitative empirical study, the paper cannot provide a precise measure of the relationship between legitimation and cognition in headquarter‐subsidiary conflicts but instead identifies theoretical relationships between the two dimensions that can be investigated further in future research.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study highlight the necessity for research to devote more critical attention to decision‐making processes about internationalization and for companies to reflect on the driving forces for their decision making as well as the consequences in terms of potential conflicts.Originality/valueBy investigating the relationship between cognitive mechanisms and social processes of legitimation, the paper goes beyond a purely macro or micro explanation of conflict which characterizes both mainstream and critical approaches.

show abstract

Conflict in headquarters–subsidiary relations: a critical literature review and new directions

Cited by 45 publications

References 102 publications

Miners, politics and institutional caryatids: Accounting for the transfer of HRM practices in the Brazilian multinational enterprise

Miners, politics and institutional caryatids: Accounting for the transfer of HRM practices in the Brazilian multinational enterprise

Conflictual Practice Sharing in the MNC: A Theory of Practice Approach

An institutional‐cognitive perspective on headquarters‐subsidiary conflicts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About