The Performance of Global Business Teams within Multinational Corporations: The Test of an Intervening Process Model

Global business teams are a critical component of the strategic management process of multinational corporations. In the context of this dissertation, they are defined as teams of managers who are responsible for a business or a function across several countries. Given their multi-country charter, national diversity, and geographical dispersion, there are major questions as to the drivers of the performance of global business teams. Building on the growing literature, I propose an intervening process model of the performance of global business teams in relation to the following research question: In the context of global business teams, how do composition, governance, and organizational context affect: (a) team identity, (b) team cognitive comprehensiveness, and (c) team performance? The model links the variables of national diversity and geographical dispersion to the performance of global business teams through the mediating variables of team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. In addition, organizational policies and team governance are posited to moderate the relationships between team composition and emergent processes. The model is tested using a field data set of global business teams. By and large, the empirical results provide little support for the hypotheses. In particular, no effect is found, direct or indirect, of composition on emergent processes and team performance. In addition, there is only limited support for the moderating influence of team governance. However, several governance variables have a direct effect on team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. As a result, a post hoc model of the effect of team governance on the process and performance of global business teams is proposed and tested. The results are broadly supportive. Specifically, team-based rewards have a significant and positive impact on the performance of global business teams through the mediating variables of team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. The frequency of face-to-face meetings has an indirect effect through team identity. Finally, geographical dispersion moderates the relationship of team-based rewards and frequency of e-mail communication with team cognitive comprehensiveness

CEO succession and the CEO’s commitment to the status quo

Chief executive officer (CEO) commitment to the status quo (CSQ) is expected to play an important role in any firm’s strategic adaptation. CSQ is used often as an explanation for strategic change occurring after CEO succession: new CEOs are expected to reveal a lower CSQ than established CEOs. Although widely accepted in the literature, this relationship remains imputed but unobserved. We address this research gap and analyze whether new CEOs reveal lower CSQ than established CEOs. By analyzing the letters to the shareholders of German HDAX firms, we find empirical support for our hypothesis of a lower CSQ of newly appointed CEOs compared to established CEOs. However, our detailed analyses provide a differentiated picture. We find support for a lower CSQ of successors after a forced CEO turnover compared to successors after a voluntary turnover, which indicates an influence of the mandate for change on the CEO’s CSQ. However, against the widespread assumption, we do not find support for a lower CSQ of outside successors compared to inside successors, which calls for deeper analyses of the insiderness of new CEOs. Further, our supplementary analyses propose a revised tenure effect: the widely assumed relationship of an increase in CSQ when CEO tenure increases might be driven mainly by the event of CEO succession and may not universally and continuously increase over time, pointing to a “window of opportunity” to initiate strategic change shortly after the succession event. By analyzing the relationship between CEO succession and CEO CSQ, our results contribute to the CSQ literature and provide fruitful impulses for the CEO succession literature

Research Themes, Data Sources, and Methodological Refinements A Content Analysis of the Content Analysis Literature in Organization Studies: On behalf of: The Research Methods Division of The Academy of Management can be found at: Organizational Research

We use content analysis to examine the content analysis literature in organization studies. Given the benefits of content analysis, it is no surprise that its use in organization studies has been growing in the course of the past 25 years Keywords: content analysis; theoretical frameworks; methodologies; analytical techniques T he past two decades have seen an increasing scholarly interest in qualitative methodologies to study complex business phenomena, borrowing and adapting from more established disciplines Our interest centers on three major questions: (a) What have been the contributions of content analysis to management research? (b) What can be learned from the way the methodology has been implemented in organization studies? and (c) How has this literature evolved through time? We conclude our investigation with a discussion of the issues and opportunities of using content analysis for management research in the future. Principles of Content Analysis A wide range of theoretical frameworks, methods, and analytical techniques have been labeled content analysis Central to the value of content analysis as a research methodology is the recognition of the importance of language in human cognition Content analysis advocates have noted several advantages of this class of methods over competing choices. Foremost to management research, content analysis provides a replicable methodology to access deep individual or collective structures such as values, intentions, attitudes, and cognitions Another key strength is the analytical flexibility allowed. For instance, analysis of content can be conducted at two levels Third, longitudinal research designs can be implemented because of the availability of comparable corporate information through time, such as annual reports or trade magazines Several additional methodological and practical benefits have been noted in implementing content analysis Finally, costs can be kept low and the method easily can be used for small-scale studies with minimal requirements Content Analysis in Management Research Given these benefits, it is no surprise that the use of content analysis in organization studies has been growing in the course of the past 25 years Methods Sample. To survey articles comprehensively using content analysis in the management literature, we used a two-stage strategy. First, we searched the major academic and practitioner journals in the Proquest and Ebsco databases using the keywords content analysis and text analysis for the period from 1980 to the present (October 2005). This time frame was selected because it corresponds to the period during which content analysis gained its legitimacy as a methodology in the management fiel