Die Implementierung wertefundierter nordamerikanischer Verhaltenskodices in deutschen und französischen Tochtergesellschaften. Eine vergleichende Fallstudie

Abstract

The Implementation of US American Value Infused Codes of Conducts in French and German Subsidiaries: A Comparative Case StudyMany American multinational companies are trying to implement systematically standardized codes of conduct in their European subsidiaries in order to control employee behavior and to develop a homogeneous corporate culture. Due to a contextual US-American influence, the implementation of this strong value-infused management tool can lead to resistance which can be explained by institutional, cultural or strategic contexts. The goal of this contribution is to analyze the divergent perceptions and reactions of the managers within the European subsidiaries and to identify different context factors which play a role in the resistance. Based on a comparative institutionalist framework, an exemplary case study underlines these context factors within the German and French subsidiaries of a US-American multinational company.

Review and shortcomings of literature on corruption in organizations in offering a multi-faceted and integrative understanding of the phenomenon.

“…Moreover, these mainstream western notions of corrupt and/or unethical behavior (which are usually taken for granted as "generally accepted" in large parts of the Behavioral Ethics, Organizational Behavior and Management Studies literature, for example) are not at all representative for other than the present-time western context and are therefore not very helpful for dealing with corruption in many of those other contexts (see also Barmeyer & Davoine, 2011), at least according to our preliminary estimate. In this regard, it has to be asked to what extent and how these mainstream notions can and/or have to be contextualized -or at least to be made more explicit -in order to be able to make more generally valid claims about the phenomena in question (for answers see Fein & Weibler, this issue).…”

“…Similarly, Werner Plumpe (2009), referring to James Cameron Scott's classic Comparative Political Corruption (1972) claims that “corruption and modernity are co-evolving” phenomena, since only modernity has set up extensive judicial rules governing economic life, while common behavior was not regulated before (no rule, no crime). In fact, Engels explains the scandalization and criminalization of corruption as opposed to civilization as a result of the intellectual quest for clear evaluations and categorizations which he sees as a typical feature of modern ambitions to “clean” public thinking, as well as social life, from ambiguities.…”

“…While calling for a critical, refreshing reorientation of the field, the call also includes the tacit methodological presupposition of an “individual behavior that is subject to or judged according to generally accepted moral norms or social prescriptions”. Yet, what is “generally accepted” differs largely between contexts, amongst others between different organizations, as well as between different actors within the same organization, as has been shown, amongst others, by studies from the fields of ob/be/ms (Treviño, Weaver & Reynolds, 2006, Barmeyer & Davoine, 2011). Moreover, “general acceptability” appears to be a rather vage, if not questionable category, at least within a scientific context where the acceptability of corrupt behavior is one of the variables to be analyzed.…”

Cross-cultural management and women pioneers

“…In addition to the many publications on culture(s), common topics in CCM that have gained prominence in recent years (Brannen & Mughan 2017;Brannen et al 2014;Horn et al 2020) are intercultural communication (Adler & Gunderson 2008;Gudykunst 1984;Szkudlarek et al 2020b), language (Brannen 2004;Beeler et al 2017;Piekkari & Zander 2005;Piekkari & Tietze 2011), and intercultural transfer (Barmeyer & Davoine 2011;Bausch 2022;Brannen 2004;d'Iribarne 2012;. Other recent topics include negotiated meanings and identities (Primecz et al 2011;Yagi & Kleinberg 2011) and negotiated work cultures Brannen & Salk 2000;Maletzky 2010).…”