Managerial coordination challenges in the alignment of capabilities and new subsidiary charters in MNEs

Subsidiary-level change requires the alignment of subsidiary charters and capabilities. Yet, the mechanisms through which the alignment of charters and capabilities unfolds are not yet well understood. In this paper, we investigate alignment from the perspective of managerial coordination. Drawing on a longitudinal study of a global IT firm, we identify three coordination mechanisms (charter-, experience-, and interaction-based coordination). By tracing the shifts in these coordination mechanisms over time and by specifying the implications of each mechanism for capability level change, we explain how managerial coordination influences alignment via subsidiary level capability change as well as alignment via the potential renegotiation of charters. This also allows us to provide new insights into situations of misalignment by explaining that particular mechanisms of coordination may become a source of decoupling between subsidiary actions and HQ mandates and may also result in capability level inertia. Moreover, while prior research has already acknowledged the role of interaction-based coordination for capability level change we show how and why such a mechanism of coordination emerges

An exploratory study of how a Korean chaebol’s learning culture facilitates customer service

This paper explains how the organizational learning concept is used by managers in a global Korean company to promote group work, information sharing and an open communication style in order to produce a high level of customer service. Previously collected data from a set of in-depth personal interviews undertaken with three senior managers in a Korean electronics company were analyzed and interpreted using the grounded theory approach, and a number of propositions are put forward. The research findings show that managers in a chaebol deploy organizational learning to identify skilled and knowledgeable staff, and improve the organization’s capability by placing emphasis on developing harmonious, mutually oriented relationships that permeate throughout the organization. Top management demand that staff identify with government economic objectives and align the organization’s strategy accordingly so that the products produced are marketable. To achieve this, the organization fosters continual interaction among managers throughout the organization’s hierarchy. The chaebol’s organizational learning model encapsulates a “corollary” (continual communication) and “tools” (cultural influence and relationship management), and manifests in a unique strategy that allows management systems to evolve naturally

Replication of Routines and Capabilities: From Knowledge Transfer to Replication as a Social Practice

Replication of routines and capabilities has been largely neglected in recent research. In this paper we present the current state of research on replication and suggest conceptualizing replication as a social practice. Replication as a social practice goes beyond knowledge transfer between a replicator and a replicatee and involves how routines and capabilities as well as the process of replication itself are constructed and shaped by multiple actors in the organization. Moreover, this perspective acknowledges the role of artefacts in the process of replication. Based on recent literature on routines and organizational rules we differentiate replication into three interrelated sub-practices: rule (re-) creation, rule translation and rule performance. The theoretical framework suggested in this paper has several significant theoretical implications for research on replication. In addition, we point out important research design implications for future empirical research

Pulled in all directions : Open strategy participation as an attention contest

In this article, we investigate a crucial factor in open strategy research: participation. By drawing on the attention-based view, we argue that the degree of participation in both analog and digital practices of open strategy is the result of “attention contests.” These attention contests arise as the attention structure of Open Strategy initiatives (as quasi-temporary organizations) and the attention structure of the main organization compete for actors’ limited attention. As these attention structures collide, four tensions emerge (process ambiguity, status transitions, time constraints, and identity shifts). We argue that the impact of these tensions is contingent on the type of Open Strategy practice; digital or analog forms of Open Strategy-making. Therefore, we offer a new theoretical understanding of why and how actors participate in Open Strategy initiatives. Based on this, we offer various mechanisms of how firms can facilitate meaningful participation in these different practices. This essay opens up promising avenues for future Open Strategy and participation research

Managerial coordination challenges in the alignment of capabilities and new subsidiary charters in MNEs

Subsidiary-level change requires the alignment of subsidiary charters and capabilities. Yet, the mechanisms through which the alignment of charters and capabilities unfolds are not yet well understood. In this paper, we investigate alignment from the perspective of managerial coordination. Drawing on a longitudinal study of a global IT firm, we identify three coordination mechanisms (charter-, experience-, and interaction-based coordination). By tracing the shifts in these coordination mechanisms over time and by specifying the implications of each mechanism for capability level change, we explain how managerial coordination influences alignment via subsidiary level capability change as well as alignment via the potential renegotiation of charters. This also allows us to provide new insights into situations of misalignment by explaining that particular mechanisms of coordination may become a source of decoupling between subsidiary actions and HQ mandates and may also result in capability level inertia. Moreover, while prior research has already acknowledged the role of interaction-based coordination for capability level change we show how and why such a mechanism of coordination emerges. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHO

Analyse ambulanter und stationärer Katarakt-Operationen am Universitätsklinikum Regensburg: Auswertung des Patientenkollektivs von der Planung bis zur Durchführung der Operation

Die Studie analysiert die Patientenkohorte, die am Universitätsklinikum Regensburg eine Katarakt-Operation erhielt und untersucht deren Behandlung von der Planung bis zur Durchführung. Ziel war es, Unterschiede in der Art der Eingriffe und Komplikationsraten zwischen stationären und ambulanten Behandlungen zu identifizieren sowie die Risikoprofile der Patienten zu erfassen. Die Analyse umfasste insgesamt 900 Katarakt-Operationen, wobei 63,4% als reine Linsenoperationen und 36,6% im Rahmen kombinierter Eingriffe durchgeführt wurden. Der Großteil der Operationen (57,2%) fand ambulant statt und wurde in topischer Anästhesie durchgeführt, während stationäre Eingriffe meist unter Vollnarkose erfolgten. Ambulante Patienten wiesen häufig ein geringeres Risikoprofil auf, was sich auch in der geringeren Komplikationsrate widerspiegelte. Die Komplikationsrate für alle Eingriffe lag bei 19,7%, wobei postoperative Komplikationen mit 13% häufiger auftraten als intraoperative (6,7%). Besonders stationäre Eingriffe wiesen ein erhöhtes Risiko für Komplikationen auf, was auf das komplexere Risikoprofil der Patienten zurückzuführen ist. Typische ophthalmologische Risikofaktoren, wie enge Pupillen und harte Linsenkerne, waren häufiger bei stationären Patienten vertreten und wurden mit einem höheren Komplikationsrisiko in Verbindung gebracht. Ein bedeutender Aspekt der Untersuchung betraf die Zuweiserstruktur ambulanter Eingriffe. Ambulante Patienten, die von operativ tätigen Augenärzten überwiesen wurden, hatten im Vergleich zu Patienten, die von konservativ tätigen Augenärzten zugewiesen wurden, ein höheres Risiko für intra- und postoperative Komplikationen, was auf eine gezielte Vorauswahl in Abhängigkeit der Zuweiser hindeutet. Insgesamt deutet die Studie darauf hin, dass das Universitätsklinikum Regensburg eine vorselektionierte Patientengruppe mit erhöhtem Komplikationspotenzial behandelt. Die Ergebnisse betonen die Notwendigkeit einer detaillierten Planung und sorgfältigen Risikoeinschätzung bei der Aufnahme komplexer Fälle in das stationäre Setting

Deliberate Simple Rule Creation and Use : Activities and Challenges

Using ‘simple rules’ may enable managers to take organizational decisions more rapidly. While prior research presents advantages of simple rule use during strategy formation, we lack insights into how firms can deliberately create simple rules and mitigate the challenges during strategy implementation. This is particularly interesting for established firms struggling to leverage their wealth of experience. We explore how managers of a multinational corporation deliberately create and use simple rules to implement the firm's growth strategy. Drawing on interviews and secondary data, we reveal the activities through which managers ensure the relevance and legitimacy of codified simple rules, yet also establish causality between simple rules and outcomes. Simple rule creation is accomplished via bottom-up identification and lateral validation, its use via consistent top-down guiding and timely adaptation. Our findings contribute to the growing body of research on the evolution of simple rules and aspects of strategy implementation more generally

Sustainable change: long-term efforts toward developing a learning organization

Globalization and intensified competition require organizations to change and adapt to dynamic environments in order to stay competitive. This article describes a longitudinal action research study supporting the strategic change of a trading company. The strategic change was accompanied by planned changes in organizational structures and processes, management systems, emerging changes in leadership, and organization members’ attitudes and behaviors, and it was supported by management development activities. Longitudinal data over a 4-year period including participant observation and interviews reveal that a systemic approach, a learning and becoming perspective toward change, trust, an appropriate role perception, and the specific use of management instruments contribute to sustained change that resulted in performance improvements and a move toward a learning organization. We conclude with implications for strategic change and suggestions for further research in this area

Synergy Evaluation in Mergers and Acquisitions:An Attention-Based-View

A core objective of corporate development relates to scope decisions, which regularly involve Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). The dominant idea behind M&A is often captured by the umbrella term “synergy”. Yet, while performance is the key variable of most M&A studies, how firms arrive at a particular synergetic value for a target firm is not well understood. In this paper, we contribute to this body of research. We argue that understanding the determination of synergies in M&A, requires a look at the mechanisms that guide managerial attention to-wards specific valuation practices and synergy types. Specifically, by drawing on the attention-based view of the firm, we show that the evaluation of synergies cannot be divorced from the underlying attention structure in the M&A context and the various valuation practices that constitute different synergy types. Our analysis suggests that synergies often do not reflect the true potential of acquisitions. We reveal that this is due to an attentional crowding-out effect: The congruence of M&A attention structures with valuation practices for functional synergies crowd out the attention allocation to business models and strategic synergies. We describe the characteristics of this crowding-out effect as well as its implications