Socio-political processes in international management in post-socialist contexts: Knowledge, learning and transnational institution building

Clark, Ed; Geppert, Mike

doi:10.1016/j.intman.2006.06.004

Cited by 55 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Similarly, in spite of an institutional incompatibility between the German MNE and the Polish subsidiary, the Polish operation also displayed passive agency. The subsidiary was only a 'peripheral participant' within the German MNE network structure (Clark and Geppert, 2006), and its functional and operational integration within the MNE group was weak. By contrast, we found that where there was a fit between MNE structures embedded in home institutional contexts and host context demands, there was active agency where the MNE coordination structure served as a means of mobilizing resources.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different Forms of Agency and Institutional Influences within Multinational Enterprises

Saka‐Helmhout

Geppert

2011

Manag Int Rev

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Given their exposure to diverse institutional settings, decision making in multinational enterprises (MNE) is marked by inconsistencies and conflict. Within the comparative institutional analysis (CIA) literature, such inconsistencies are seen as a source of experimentation or innovation. By contrast, in the international business (IB) literature, institutions are primarily understood as constraints on MNE activity. The latter focuses on 'institutional effects' taking institutions as stable and determining of social agency, and says very little about how institutions shape capabilities of organizations to pursue a variety of strategies or change in diverse institutional settings. As a way of addressing this limitation, we aim to understand the conditions that enable actors to engage in strategic action despite institutional pressures towards statis. We demonstrate, through comparative case studies of two large MNEs, headquartered in Germany and the UK, that agency within MNEs is influenced by a fit between MNE coordination structures shaped by home country institutions and host country institutions' demands for flexibility or collaboration. Institutional incompatibilities between home and host contexts are unlikely to trigger actors' reflective capacity to change if the actors cannot draw on supportive coordination structures in the MNE.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different Forms of Agency and Institutional Influences within Multinational Enterprises

Saka‐Helmhout

Geppert

2011

Manag Int Rev

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“…Nevertheless, this aspect of power has hitherto been picked up by only a handful of researchers (Vaara et al, 2005). We position our contribution in recent writings on intraorganizational power and politics in MNCs (Bouquet and Birkinshaw, 2008;Clark and Geppert, 2006;Dörrenbächer and Geppert, 2011) and the growing research stream of language in international business (Marschan et al, 1997;Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999a, 1999bPiekkari and Tietze, 2011). Firstly, we introduce acts of translation to the discussion of intraorganizational power, particularly power over meaning (Ferner et al, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Localize or local lies? The power of language and translation in the multinational corporation

Logemann

Piekkari

2015

Critical Perspectives on International Business

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to previous research on intraorganizational power in multinational corporations (MNCs). It shows that a subsidiary manager may use language and acts of translation to resist control from headquarters and to (re)define his and his unit’s power position in a headquarters-subsidiary relationship. It also uncovers the interplay between natural languages and “company speak” as a specialized language. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a single case study of a European MNC undergoing strategic change. The data were drawn from company documents, personal interviews and focus group discussions. Findings – The findings show that actors at both headquarters and in the focal subsidiary employed language and translation to exercise power over meanings; headquarters exerted control over “mindsets” and practices, while subsidiaries responded by resisting these meaning systems. The authors argue that the crossing of language boundaries offers a window onto shifting power positions and micro-politics in the MNC. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to a single translation act in a focal headquarters-subsidiary relationship. Practical implications – From the managerial perspective, any process of communication in a multilingual context needs to be sensitive to power (re)definitions associated with language and translation. Originality/value – This study sheds light on translation as a political act and hidden activity in the MNC.

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“…In their case, subsidiaries not only pursued their own agendas, as in our case, but also succeeded in making deals with the headquarters that at least partly reflected their own interests, adding to a much more dialectical picture of the MNC than our case study would suggest. Thus, more systematic comparative research is needed to generate a better understanding of the impact of distinct headquarters-subsidiary constellations as well as of different governance styles applied by headquarters (Clark/Geppert 2006). A second conclusion, which emerges from the longitudinal scope of the Siemens Telefongyár case study, is that environments and strategic situations, as well as the interpretation of these, change over time.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside the transnational social space: Cross-border management and owner relationship in a German subsidiary in Hungary

Dörrenbächer¹

2017

Management in CEE Countries Between 1996 and 2016

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Socio-political processes in international management in post-socialist contexts: Knowledge, learning and transnational institution building

Cited by 55 publications

References 47 publications

Different Forms of Agency and Institutional Influences within Multinational Enterprises

Different Forms of Agency and Institutional Influences within Multinational Enterprises

Localize or local lies? The power of language and translation in the multinational corporation

Inside the transnational social space: Cross-border management and owner relationship in a German subsidiary in Hungary

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