Control Mechanisms and Patterns of Reorganization in MNCs

The Social Construction of Contextual Rationalities in MNCs: An Anglo‐German Comparison of Subsidiary Choice*

“…All the key companies in the sector are also involved in acquisitions to extend their market reach (p. 12). There is also evidence of a shift towards the ‘Anglo‐Saxon model’ of business with an increased emphasis on ‘shareholder value’ (p. 9) and standardized financial reporting to meet the requirements of the US capital markets (Becker‐Ritterspach et al., 2002).…”

“…In terms of the standardization of business practices in our three MNCs, our research partners’ work points to an increase in indirect methods of coordination and control in all three MNCs, including the use of financial indicators to measure performance, radical sanctions if subsidiaries fail to perform well and share options for top management at all levels to lock them into the shareholder value perspective (Becker‐Ritterspach et al., 2002). Amy showed the greatest level of acceptance and operationalization of the shareholder value concept through individual company performance targets expressed in earnings per share and constant reference by all managers interviewed to shareholder value as the driving force behind company policies and practices.…”

“…This paper forms part of a wider research project to analyse change management processes in MNCs, which has been jointly developed with researchers from Germany. Elsewhere the focus has been on the (top‐down) application of new strategies by power holders at MNC HQ level (Becker‐Ritterspach et al., 2002). This paper considers the strategies from the subsidiary level perspective and investigates the emerging choices and constraints in the management practices of local managers in German and British subsidiaries of three MNCs in the same industrial sector as they interact with their wider social context within the host country and within the MNC itself.…”

Micro-politics and conflicts in multinational corporations: Current debates, re-framing, and contributions of this special issue

“…For example, the affiliation of expatriates to the HQ on the one hand and to the foreign subsidiary on the other is a situation that presents tactical and strategic alternatives otherwise unavailable in the national framework. Subsidiary managers can weaken, modify or ward off disagreeable and unreasonable requests from HQ by referring to the institutional structures in their country or to the political power of local actors in certain circumstances (for examples, see Becker-Ritterspach et al, 2002;Tempel, 2001). They can, for example, exploit existing differences in national work regulations.…”

Sensemaking and Politics in MNCs

“…(Marschan, Welch, & Welch, 1999: 429) Contrary to Jukka, in the Lift&Elevators divisions of the German as well as the US-American MNC, the main focus of the control discourse was on output control (Becker-Ritterspach, Lange, & Lohr, 2002).…”