Performance effects of MNC headquarters-subsidiary conflict and the role of boundary spanners: The case of headquarter initiative rejection

Journal of International Management

Volumn 17, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 243-259

  Schotter, Andreas ^a   Beamish, Paul W ^b  

^a THUNDERBIRD SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO   (Canada)

Author keywords

Boundary spanners; Competing demands; Global integration versus local responsiveness; Headquarters subsidiary relationships; Intra organizational conflict; Power

Indexed keywords

EID: 80052080450     PISSN: 10754253     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2011.05.006     Document Type: Article

References (104)

1. Amason A., Sapienza H. The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict. Journal of Management 1997, 23(4):496-516.
2. Ancona D.G., Caldwell D.F. Bridging the boundary: external activity and performance in organizational teams. Administrative Science Quarterly 1992, 37(4):634-665.
3. Arino A. Measures of strategic alliance performance: an analysis of construct validity. Journal of International Business Studies 2003, 34(1):66-79.
4. Au K.Y., Fukuda J. Boundary spanning behaviors of expatriates. Journal of World Business 2002, 37(4):285-296.
5. Axelrod R. Conflict of Interest: A Theory of Divergent Goals with Applications to Politics 1970, Markham, Chicago, IL.
6. Bagozzi R.P., Phillips L.W. Representing and testing organizational theories: a holistic construal. Administrative Science Quarterly 1982, 27(3):459-489.
7. Bartlett C.A. Global Competition and MNC Managers 1985, ICCH Note 0-385-287, Harvard Business School, Boston.
8. Bartlett C.A. Building and managing the transnational firm: the new organizational challenge. Competition in Global Industries 1986, 367-399. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. M.E. Porter (Ed.).
9. Bartlett C.A., Ghoshal S. Organizing for worldwide effectiveness: the transnational solution. California Management Review 1988, 31(1):54-74.
10. Birkinshaw, J.M., 1995. Entrepreneurship in Multinational Corporations: The Initiative Process in Canadian Subsidiaries. Doctoral thesis, University of Western Ontario. London, Canada.
11. Birkinshaw J.M. Entrepreneurship in multinational corporations: the characteristics of subsidiary initiatives. Strategic Management Journal 1997, 18(3):207-229.
12. Birkinshaw J.M. Strategy and management in MNC subsidiaries. Oxford Handbook of International Business 2001, Oxford University Press, Oxford. A. Rugman, T. Brewer (Eds.).
13. Birkinshaw J.M., Hood N. Multinational subsidiary evolution: capability and charter change in foreign owned subsidiary companies. Academy of Management Review 1998, 23(4):773-795.
14. Birkinshaw J.M., Hood N., Jonsson S. Building firm-specific advantages in multinational corporations: the role of subsidiary initiative. Strategic Management 1998.
15. Birkinshaw J.M., Holm U., Thilenius P., Arvidsson N. Consequences of perception gaps in the headquarters-subsidiary relationship. International Business Review 2000, 9(3):321-344.
16. Blazejewski S., Becker-Ritterspach F. Conflict in headquarter-subsidiary relations: a critical literature review and new directions. Politics and Power in the Multinational Corporation: The Role of Institutions, Interests and Identities 2011, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. C. Dörrenbächer, M. Geppert (Eds.).
17. Boulding E.K. Conflict and Defense: A General Theory 1962, Harper and Row, New York, NY.
18. Bouquet C., Birkinshaw J.M. Managing power in the multinational corporation: how low-power actors gain influence. Journal of Management 2008, 34(3):477-508.
19. Brock D.M., Birkinshaw J.M. Multinational strategy and structure: a review and research agenda. Management International Review 2004, 44(Special issue 1):5-14.
20. Burgelman R.A. Corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management: insights from a process study. Management Science 1983, 12(12):1349-1365.
21. Burgelman R.A. A model of the interaction of strategic behavior, corporate context and the concept of strategy. Academy of Management Review 1983, 8(1):61-70.
22. Casson M.C., Cox H. International business networks: theory and history. Business and Economic History 1993, 22(1):42-53.
23. Choi C.B., Beamish P.W. Split management control and international joint venture performance. Journal of International Business Studies 2004, 35(3):201-219.
24. Corbin J.M., Strauss A. Basics of Qualitative Research 2008, 3/e, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
25. Cosier R., Rose G. Cognitive conflict and goal conflict effects on task performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 1977, 19(3):378-391.
26. Cross R., Parker A. The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations 2004, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
27. Dailey R., Morgan C. Personal characteristics and job involvement as antecedents of boundary spanning behavior: a path analysis. Journal of Management Studies 1978, 15(3):330-339.
28. Deutsch M. The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes 1973, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
29. DiMaggio P., Powell W. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociology Review 1983, 48(2):147-160.
30. Dörrenbächer C., Gammelgaard J. Subsidiary role development: the effect of micro-political headquarters-subsidiary negotiations on the product, market, and value-added scope of foreign-owned subsidiaries. Journal of International Management 2006, 12(3):266-283.
31. Dörrenbächer C., Geppert M. Micro-politics and conflicts in multinational corporations: current debates, re-framing, and contributions of this special issue. Journal of International Management 2006, 12(3):251-265.
32. Doz Y.L. The evolution of cooperation in strategic alliances: initial conditions or learning processes?. Strategic Management Journal 1996, 17(Special summer issue):55-84.
33. Doz Y.L., Prahalad C.K. Managing DMNCs: A Search for a New Paradigm. Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation 1993, 24-50. MacMillan, Basingstoke. S. Ghoshal, D.E. Westney (Eds.).
34. Eisenhardt K.M. Building theory from case study research. Academy of Management Review 1989, 14(4):532-550.
35. Eisenhardt K.M. Agency theory: an assessment and review. Academy of Management Review 1989, 14(1):57-74.
36. Eisenhardt K.M., Zbaracki M.J. Strategic decision making. Strategic Management Journal 1992, 13:17-37.
37. Eiteman D.K., Stonehill A.I., Moffett M.H. Multinational Business Finance 2009, 12/e, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
38. Floyd S.W., Wooldridge B. Dinosaurs or dynamos? Recognizing middle management's strategic role. Academy of Management Executive 1994, 8(4):47-57.
39. Floyd S.W., Wooldridge B. Middle management's strategic influence and organizational performance. Journal of Management Studies 1997, 34(3):523-549.
40. Forsgren M., Holm U., Johanson J. Managing the Embedded Multinational: A Business Network View 2005, Edward Elger, Cheltenham, UK.
41. French J., Raven B. The bases of social power. Studies in Social Power 1959, 150-167. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI. D. Cartwright (Ed.).
42. Friedman R.A., Podolny J. Differentiation of boundary spanning roles: labor negotiations and implications for role conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly 1992, 37(1):28-47.
43. Giddens A. The Constitution of Society 1984, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
44. Glaser B.G., Strauss A.L. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research 1967, Aldine, New York, NY.
45. Goold M. Parenting strategies for the mature business. Long Range Planning 1996, 29(3):358-369.
46. Guba E.G. The Alternative Paradigm Dialog 1990, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
47. Harzing A.W. Managing the Multinationals: An International Study of Control Mechanisms 1999, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
48. Hedlund G. The hypermodern MNC: a heterarchy?. Human Resource Management 1986, 25(1):9-35.
49. Jehn K.A. Enhancing effectiveness: an investigation of advantages and disadvantages of value-based intra-group conflict. International Journal of Conflict Management 1994, 5(3):223-238.
50. Jehn K.A. A multi-method examination of the benefits and detriments of intra-group conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly 1995, 40(2):256-282.
51. Jehn K.A., Mannix E.A. The dynamic nature of conflict: a longitudinal study of intra-group conflict and group performance. The Academy of Management Journal 2001, 44(2):238-251.
52. Jehn K.A., Shah P. Interpersonal relationships and task performance: an examination of mediating processes in friendship and acquaintance groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1997, 72(4):775-790.
53. Jehn K.A., Northcraft G.B., Neale M.A. Why differences make a difference: a field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly 1999, 44(4):741-763.
54. Kaufmann L., Roessing S. Managing conflict of interests between headquarters and their subsidiaries regarding technology transfer to emerging markets: a framework. Journal of World Business 2005, 40(3):235-253.
55. Kriesberg L. The Sociology of Social Conflict 1973, Prentice Hall, Engelwood Cliff, NJ.
56. Kristensen P.H., Zeitlin J. The making of a global firm: local pathways to multinational enterprise. The Multinational Firm. Organizing Across Institutional and National Divides 2001, 172-195. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. G. Morgan, P.H. Kristensen, R. Whitley (Eds.).
57. Kristensen P.H., Zeitlin J. Local Players in Global Games: The Strategic Constitution 2005.
58. Langley A. Strategies for theorizing from process data. Academy of Management Review 1999, 24(4):691-710.
59. Lewicki R., Weiss S., Lewin D. Models of conflict, negotiation and third party intervention: a review and synthesis. Journal of Organizational Behavior 1992, 13(2):209-252.
60. Madura J. International Financial Management 2009, 10/e, South-Western College Pub., Stamford, CT.
61. Mahoney J.T. Strategies of causal inference in small-N analysis. Sociological Methods & Research 2000, 28(4):387-424.
62. Malnight T.W. The transition from decentralized to network-based MNC structures: an evolutionary perspective. Journal of International Business Studies 1996, 27(1):43-65.
63. McShane S.L. Canadian Organizational Behavior 2006, 6/e, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Whitby, ON.
64. Menon A., Bharadwaj S.G., Howell R. The quality and effectiveness of marketing strategy: effects of functional and dysfunctional conflict in intraorganizational relationships. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 1996, 24(4):299-313.
65. Meredith J. Building operations management theory through case and field research. Journal of Operations Management 1998, 16(4):441-454.
66. Meyer J.W., Rowan B. Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology 1977, 82(2):340-363.
67. Mudambi R. Location, control and innovation in knowledge-intensive industries. Journal of Economic Geography 2008, 8(5):699-725.
68. Mudambi R., Navarra P. Is knowledge power? Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rent-seeking within MNCs. Journal of International Business Studies 2004, 35:385-406.
69. Mudambi R., Pedersen T. Agency theory and resource dependency theory: complementary explanations for subsidiary power in multinational corporations. Bridging IB Theories, Constructs, and Methods Across Cultures and Social Science 2007, Basingstoke, UK, Palgave-Macmillan. T. Pedersen, H. Volberda (Eds.).
70. Mudambi R., Swift T. Professional guilds, tension and knowledge management. Research Policy 2009, 38(5):736-745.
71. Mudambi R., Swift T. Leveraging knowledge and competencies across space: the next frontier in international business. Journal of International Management 2011, 17(3):186-189. (this issue).
72. Nohria N., Ghoshal S. Differentiated fit and shared values: alternatives for managing headquarters-subsidiary relations. Strategic Management Journal 1994, 15(6):491-502.
73. Nohria N., Ghoshal S. The Differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational Corporations for Value Creation 1997, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
74. O'Donnell S.W. Managing foreign subsidiaries: agents of headquarters, or an interdependent network?. Strategic Management Journal 2000, 21(5):525-548.
75. Oliver C. Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review 1991, 16(1):145-179.
76. Osborne M.J., Rubinstein A. Bargaining and Markets 1990, Academic Press Inc., San Diego, CA.
77. Osterloh M., Frey B. Motivation, knowledge transfer, and organizational forms. Organization Science 2000, 11(4):538-550.
78. Pahl J.M., Roth K. Managing the headquarters-foreign subsidiary relationship: the roles of strategy, conflict, and integration. International Journal of Conflict Management 1993, 4(2):139-165.
79. Parkhe A. "Messy" research, methodological predispositions, and theory development in international joint ventures. Academy of Management Review 1993, 18(2):227-268.
80. Pawlowski S., Robey D. Bridging user organizations: knowledge brokering and the work of information technology professionals. MIS Quarterly 2004, 28(4):645-673.
81. Pelled L.H. Demographic diversity, conflict, and work group outcomes: an intervening process theory. Organization Science 1996, 7(6):615-631.
82. Pfeffer J. Power in Organizations 1981, Pitman Publications, Marshfield, MA.
83. Pfeffer J., Salancik G.R. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective 1978, Harper and Row, New York, NY.
84. Pinkley R. Dimensions of the conflict frame: disputant interpretations of conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology 1990, 75(2):117-128.
85. Pondy L.R. Reflections on organizational conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior 1992, 13(2):257-261.
86. Prahalad C.K., Doz Y.L. The Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision 1987, The Free Press, New York, NY.
87. Randall D.M., Fernandes M.F. The social desirability response bias in ethics research. Journal of Business Ethics 1991, 10(11):805-817.
88. Richter A.W., West M.A., van Dick R., Dawson J.F. Boundary spanners: identification, intergroup contact, and effective intergroup relations. Academy of Management Journal 2006, 49(6):1252-1269.
89. Schotter, A., 2009. MNC Headquarters Initiative Rejection by Foreign Subsidiaries: Intra-Organizational Conflict in Multinational Corporations. Doctoral thesis, University of Western Ontario. London, Canada.
90. Schotter A., Beamish P.W. Intra-organizational turbulences in multinational corporations. Politics and Power in the Multinational Corporation: The Role of Institutions, Interests and Identities 2011, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. C. Dörrenbächer, M. Geppert (Eds.).
91. Spradley J.P. Participant Observation 1980, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, NY.
92. Suddaby R. From the editors: what grounded theory is not. Academy of Management Journal 2006, 49(4):633-642.
93. Szulanski G. Exploring internal stickiness: impediments to the transfer of best practices within the firm. Strategic Management Journal 1996, 17(1):27-43.
94. Taplin I.M. Strategic change and organisational restructuring: how managers negotiate change initiatives. Journal of International Management 2006, 12(3):284-301.
95. Thompson J.D. Organizations in Action 1967, Mc Graw-Hill, New York, NY.
96. Tung R.L. Selection and training of personnel for overseas assignments. Columbia Journal of World Business 1981, 16(1):68-78.
97. Tung R.L. Strategic management of human resources in the multinational enterprise. Human Resource Management Journal 1984, 23(2):129-143.
98. Tung R.L. A contingency framework of selection and training of expatriates revisited. Human Resource Management Review 1998, 8(1):23-27.
99. Tushman M. Special boundary roles in the innovation process. Administrative Science Quarterly 1977, 22(4):587-606.
100. Venkatraman N., Ramanujam V. Measurement of business performance in strategy research: a comparison of approaches. Academy of Management Review 1986, 11(4):801-814.
101. Vora D., Kostova T., Roth K. Roles of subsidiary managers in multinational corporations: the effect of dual organizational identification. Management International Review 2007, 47(4):595-620.
102. Weick K.E. Sensemaking in Organizations 1995, Sage Publications, London, UK.
103. Wenger E.C. Communities of practice: learning as a social system. Systems Thinker 1998, 9(5):2-3.
104. Yin R.K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods 2003, 3/e, Sage Publications, London, UK.