Micro-political aspects of mandate development and learning in local subsidiaries of multinational corporations

Beyond functional-structuralist approaches this paper sheds some light on micro political aspects of mandate development and learning processes in multinational corporations (MNC). As classical micro-political studies have shown, management behaviour and learning are not only constrained or enabled by certain structural and (national) cultural patterns, but have its own political agendas and are shaped by individual interests which leads to game playing, active or passive resistance and (re)negotiation of the 'rules of the game'. Based on the assumption that actors are neither the organs of given structures nor acting fully autonomous, the paper focuses on how subsidiary managers interpret and integrate individual, organisational as well as home and host country institutional factors into certain strategies of action. By discussing critical events in mini case studies on mandate development and learning in German subsidiaries in France we will highlight the interactive dynamics between key-actors micro-political strategies and particular institutional settings. Here we, firstly, discuss institutionalist approaches and investigate how different forms of home and host country embeddedness do influence the development of distinct managerial competences and decision making strategies at the subsidiary level. The paper refers then to the question how the overall strategy and multinational organisational design and policies relate to individual interests of key subsidiary actors. These can to higher or lower degrees be influenced by e.g. differences in nationalities, professional backgrounds as well as career stages, orientations and aspirations. By integrating these diverse relational layers, the paper will provide a more dynamic actor centred approach stressing both, the micro-political aspects and interactive construction of intra and intersubsidiary power relations, a key variable to explain mandate development and learning processes in MNCs. -- Über funktional-strukturalistische Ansätze hinausgehend, beschäftigt sich dieser Beitrag mit den mikropolitischen Aspekten von Mandatsentwicklungsprozessen in multinationalen Unternehmen. Im Zentrum der Betrachtung stehen die Strategien und Handlungsrationalitäten von Tochtergesellschaftsmanagern im Ausland. Anhand von drei Fallbeispielen zeigt der Beitrag wie Manager deutscher Auslandsgesellschaften in Frankreich individuelle, organisationale und institutionelle Faktoren (Heimat- und Gastlandeffekte) interpretieren und zu einer Handlungsstrategie verbinden. Ausgangspunkt ist dabei zunächst eine Diskussion relevanter Ansätze des Internationalen Managements und der international vergleichenden Organisationsforschung. Diese Ansätze werden um einen mikropolitischen Ansatz erweitert, der auf die spezifische Bedeutung von Nationalzugehörigkeit, professionellem Background und individueller Karriereorientierung bei Tochtergesellschaftsmanagern im Ausland abstellt.

International Management

This material was originally published in The Oxford Handbook of Management, edited by Adrian Wilkinson, Steven J. Armstrong, and Michael Lounsbury, and has been reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198708612.013.29 For permission to re-use this material, please visit http://global.oup.com/academic/rightsThe focus of this chapter is on the multinational corporation (MNC) and, more specifically, on the structures, strategies and processes inherent in the management of the geographically dispersed concern. While more prescriptive thinking and literature in the field of international management (IM) may have assumed, for example, that managerial ‘best practice’ may be readily transposed across borders, the starting premise of the current chapter is that ‘context matters’. In exploring, therefore, the nature of multinational organization, the logics underlying the international dispersal of productive sites within the MNC, and the complex dynamics characterizing the strategic relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries, our point of departure is to offer a grounded and finely grained account of the realities of MNC management and organization. Such an approach highlights the pervasiveness of micro-political contestation between indigenous social actors, as well as expressions of unity.Peer reviewe

Micro-political aspects of mandate development and learning in local subsidiaries of multinational corporations

"Beyond functional-structuralist approaches this paper sheds some light on micro political aspects of mandate development and learning processes in multinational corporations (MNC). As classical micro-political studies have shown, management behaviour and learning are not only constrained or enabled by certain structural and (national) cultural patterns, but have its own political agendas and are shaped by individual interests which leads to game playing, active or passive resistance and (re)negotiation of the 'rules of the game'. Based on the assumption that actors are neither the organs of given structures nor acting fully autonomous, the paper focuses on how subsidiary managers interpret and integrate individual, organisational as well as home and host country institutional factors into certain strategies of action. By discussing critical events in mini case studies on mandate development and learning in German subsidiaries in France we will highlight the interactive dynamics between key-actors micro-political strategies and particular institutional settings. Here we, firstly, discuss institutionalist approaches and investigate how different forms of home and host country embeddedness do influence the development of distinct managerial competences and decision making strategies at the subsidiary level. The paper refers then to the question how the overall strategy and multinational organisational design and policies relate to individual interests of key subsidiary actors. These can to higher or lower degrees be influenced by e.g. differences in nationalities, professional backgrounds as well as career stages, orientations and aspirations. By integrating these diverse relational layers, the paper will provide a more dynamic actor centred approach stressing both, the micro-political aspects and interactive construction of intra and intersubsidiary power relations, a key variable to explain mandate development and learning processes in MNCs." (author's abstract)"Über funktional-strukturalistische Ansätze hinausgehend, beschäftigt sich dieser Beitrag mit den mikropolitischen Aspekten von Mandatsentwicklungsprozessen in multinationalen Unternehmen. Im Zentrum der Betrachtung stehen die Strategien und Handlungsrationalitäten von Tochtergesellschaftsmanagern im Ausland. Anhand von drei Fallbeispielen zeigt der Beitrag wie Manager deutscher Auslandsgesellschaften in Frankreich individuelle, organisationale und institutionelle Faktoren (Heimat- und Gastlandeffekte) interpretieren und zu einer Handlungsstrategie verbinden. Ausgangspunkt ist dabei zunächst eine Diskussion relevanter Ansätze des Internationalen Managements und der international vergleichenden Organisationsforschung. Diese Ansätze werden um einen mikropolitischen Ansatz erweitert, der auf die spezifische Bedeutung von Nationalzugehörigkeit, professionellem Background und individueller Karriereorientierung bei Tochtergesellschaftsmanagern im Ausland abstellt." (Autorenreferat

Kultur und Organisation: in international vergleichender Perspektive

"Der Vortrag diskutiert die Bedeutung unterschiedlicher kultureller and institutioneller Einflüsse auf Management und Organisation. Ausgehend von einer kritischen Rezeption kontingenztheoretisch orientierter Studien in der internationalen Managementforschung wird kurz auf die Bedeutung und Grenzen kulturalistischer Vergleichsstudien eingegangen, um dann ausgiebig auf die Bedeutung institutionalistischer Erklärungsansätze, für Verständnis organisatorischer Entwicklungstendenzen in international operierenden Unternehmen einzugehen. Ziel dieses Beitrages ist es, die jüngere und vorwiegend englischsprachige Diskussion über den Einfluss von Institutionen und unterschiedlichen lokalen Rationalitäten auf Organisations- und Managementprozesse in multinationalen Unternehmen (MNU) aufzuarbeiten. Es werden die Grundlagen, wesentliche Ansätze, Kernaussagen und Konsequenzen des 'europäischen' und 'amerikanischen' Institutionalismus dargestellt. Insbesondere wird dabei die Bedeutung aber auch Grenzen dieser beiden Ansätze für die Analyse von Veränderungsprozessen in MNU skizziert und evaluiert. Im Vergleich zum noch dominanten 'evolutionären Paradigma' in der internationalen Managementforschung werden die institutionellen Einflüsse auf Managementprozesse in MNU anhand von drei verschiedenen Aspekten diskutiert: dem Einfluss des Heimatlandes, der Macht und Autonomie von Tochtergesellschaften, sowie der Entstehung transnationaler sozialer Räume." (Autorenreferat

Signs of Dystopia and Demoralization in global academia: Reflections on the precarious and destructive effects of the colonization of the Lebenswelt

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Mike Geppert, Graham Hollinshead, (2017) "Signs of Dystopia and Demoralization in global academia: Reflections on the precarious and destructive effects of the colonization of the Lebenswelt", Critical perspectives on international business, Vol. 13(2): 136-150, May 2017, doi: 10.1108/cpoib-07-2016-0026. Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose Our paper has been written in the style of a provocative essay. It starts with the observation that neo-liberalism has become the leading “policy doctrine” in Higher Education (HE) systems across the globe. This has put increasing systemic political and economic pressure on many universities which not only undermine but also “colonize” the Lebenswelt or “lifeworld” (Habermas, 1987) of academics. Design/methodology/approach Our essay draws on concrete empirical examples based on our subjective experiences within the higher educational sector and secondary sources. Findings We are going to highlight and illustrate how the increasing dominance of “neo-liberal science” principles (Lave et al., 2010) severely damage the quality of knowledge production and working conditions of ordinary academics in both national and international academic communities. Practical implications Our essay provides insights into the practical implications of the spread of “neo-liberal science” principles on the work and employment of academics. Originality/value We aim to trigger critical discussion concerning how emancipatory principles of teaching and research can be brought back into the Lebenswelt of academics in order to reverse some of the destructive effects to which our essay refers to.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Industrial relations in European hypermarkets: Home and host country influences

YesIn this article we examine the industrial relations practices of three large European food retailers when they transfer the hypermarket format to other countries. We ask, first, how industrial relations in hypermarkets differ from those in other food retailing outlets. Second, we examine how far the approach characteristic of each company’s country-of-origin (Germany, France and the UK) shapes the practices adopted elsewhere. Third, we ask how they respond to the specific industrial relations systems of each host country (Turkey, Poland, Ireland and Spain)

Alterations in macrophage polarization in the craniofacial and extracranial skeleton after zoledronate application and surgical interventions – an in vivo experiment

PurposeMedication-related osteonecrosis occurs exclusively in the jaw bones. However, the exact pathogenesis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) and the unique predisposition of the jaw bones have not been elucidated, making its treatment a challenge. Recent evidence indicates that macrophages might play a pivotal role in MRONJ pathogenesis. The aim of the present study was to compare the macrophage populations between the craniofacial and extracranial skeleton and to investigate the changes induced by zoledronate (Zol) application and surgical interventions.Materials and methodsAn in vivo experiment was performed. 120 wistar rats were randomized to 4 groups (G1, G2, G3, G4). G1 served as an untreated control group. G2 and G4 received Zol injections for 8 weeks. Afterwards, the right lower molar of the animals from G3 and G4 was extracted and the right tibia osteotomized followed by osteosynthesis. Tissue samples were taken from the extraction socket and the tibia fracture at fixed time points. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to determine the labeling indexes of CD68+ and CD163+ macrophages.ResultsComparing the mandible and the tibia, we observed a significantly higher number of macrophages and a heightened pro-inflammatory environment in the mandible compared to the tibia. Tooth extraction caused an increase of the overall number of macrophages and a shift toward a more pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the mandible. Zol application amplified this effect.ConclusionOur results indicate fundamental immunological differences between the jaw bone and the tibia, which might be a reason for the unique predisposition for MRONJ in the jaw bones. The more pro-inflammatory environment after Zol application and tooth extraction might contribute to the pathogenesis of MRONJ. Targeting macrophages might represent an attractive strategy to prevent MRONJ and improve therapy. In addition, our results support the hypothesis of an anti-tumoral and anti-metastatic effect induced by BPs. However, further studies are needed to delineate the mechanisms and specify the contributions of the various macrophage phenotypes