Does Culture Shape the Balance of Power in Multinational Companies ? The Case of the EADS Group

International audienceThis article examines the impact of culture on the evolution of power relationships in multinational companies. The empirical study is based on a longitudinal analysis of the EADS Group (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company), which resulted from the merger of French company Aérospatiale-Matra, German company DASA and Spanish company CASA. The findings show that the balance of power depends not only on contextual factors and individual strategies, but also on cultural factors. The analysis highlights the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation for the success of intercultural management

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

Viele nordamerikanische multinationale Unternehmen versuchen, standardisierte Verhaltenskodices in ihren europäischen Tochtergesellschaften zu implementieren, um Verhaltenweisen zu kontrollieren und um eine homogene Unternehmenskultur zu entwickeln. Durch die starke nordamerikanische Wertefundierung dieses Instruments kann die Implementierung auf Widerstände stoßen, die sich institutionell, kulturell oder mikropolitisch erklären lassen. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, die Akteurswahrnehmungen und -reaktionen in den Tochtergesellschaften zu analysieren, und die damit verbundenen Kontextfaktoren aufzuzeigen. Auf der Basis eines institutionalistischen Bezugsrahmens und anhand einer exemplarischen Fallstudie werden diese Einflussfaktoren in einem deutschen und in einem französischen Kontext vergleichend untersucht.Many 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

Genomics and epigenomics: new promises of personalized medicine for cancer patients

Recent years have brought about a marked extension of our understanding of the somatic basis of cancer. Parallel to the large-scale investigation of diverse tumor genomes the knowledge arose that cancer pathologies are most often not restricted to single genomic events. In contrast, a large number of different alterations in the genomes and epigenomes come together and promote the malignant transformation. The combination of mutations, structural variations and epigenetic alterations differs between each tumor, making individual diagnosis and treatment strategies necessary. This view is summarized in the new discipline of personalized medicine. To satisfy the ideas of this approach each tumor needs to be fully characterized and individual diagnostic and therapeutic strategies designed. Here, we will discuss the power of high-throughput sequencing technologies for genomic and epigenomic analyses. We will provide insight into the current status and how these technologies can be transferred to routine clinical usage

The Problem of Reallocation in a Regulated Riparian System: Examining the Law in Georgia

There has been considerable debate over creating a market for water withdrawal permits in Georgia. Water market proponents argue that Georgia currently lacks the tools to reallocate water efficiently and to sustain continued economic growth. Opponents argue that a market is an inappropriate way for Georgia to introduce economic incentives into water management. This Note rejects the dichotomous choice between market and non market institutions. Instead, it presents a range of water reallocation mechanisms and argues that water supply solutions should be tailored to meet specific problems and objectives. Such an approach emphasizes the need for regional planning and management in developing a comprehensive statewide water management plan. Georgia would be best served by moving cautiously in introducing any new system for water rights transfer

High-Throughput miRNA and mRNA Sequencing of Paired Colorectal Normal, Tumor and Metastasis Tissues and Bioinformatic Modeling of miRNA-1 Therapeutic Applications

MiRNAs are discussed as diagnostic and therapeutic molecules. However, effective miRNA drug treatments with miRNAs are, so far, hampered by the complexity of the miRNA networks. To identify potential miRNA drugs in colorectal cancer, we profiled miRNA and mRNA expression in matching normal, tumor and metastasis tissues of eight patients by Illumina sequencing. We validated six miRNAs in a large tissue screen containing 16 additional tumor entities and identified miRNA-1, miRNA-129, miRNA-497 and miRNA-215 as constantly de-regulated within the majority of cancers. Of these, we investigated miRNA-1 as representative in a systems-biology simulation of cellular cancer models implemented in PyBioS and assessed the effects of depletion as well as overexpression in terms of miRNA-1 as a potential treatment option. In this system, miRNA-1 treatment reverted the disease phenotype with different effectiveness among the patients. Scoring the gene expression changes obtained through mRNA-Seq from the same patients we show that the combination of deep sequencing and systems biological modeling can help to identify patient-specific responses to miRNA treatments. We present this data as guideline for future pre-clinical assessments of new and personalized therapeutic options

An Outsider’s Insights from the Inside: Implications of Emic Concepts on Qualitative International Management Research

Purpose: Recent calls in international management (IM) research ask scholars to conduct more context-sensitive research, however; little attention has been paid to the methodological particularities that inform such context sensitivity. This paper aims to addresses this shortcoming by exploring how emic concepts implicate IM research processes during qualitative field studies. Design/methodology/approach: We carried out ethnographic fieldwork in Brazilian subsidiaries of three German multinational enterprises. We relied on the researchers’ experiences and data from a larger research project including 63 semi-structured interviews, 7 focus groups, documents and field notes. Adopting a culturally sensitive and self-reflexive lens, we reflect on the researchers’ experiences in the Brazilian sociocultural context from an interpretive paradigm. Findings: Our findings reveal how seven identified emic concepts affect four prototypical phases of the research process: securing access, collecting data, analyzing data and presenting findings. We discuss how these seven emic concepts influenced the research process and impacted research outcomes, as experienced by the researchers. Research limitations/implications: Findings are limited by our self-reflexive capabilities as foreign researchers, the limited explanatory power of emic categories, our paradigmatic positioning and the research context. Practical implications: We contribute to research practice by providing eight suggestions for conducting international fieldwork and proposing avenues for future research. Originality/value: This research contributes to the epistemological and methodological debate on context-sensitive research by arguing that intercultural sensitivity needs to be managed as an integral dimension for any form of international fieldwork. Findings contribute to interpretive approaches showing how emic concepts affect research practices, with implications for critical management perspectives.acceptedVersio