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Article
Publication date: 19 August 2024

Danilo Felipe Silva de Lima, Cláudia Fabiana Gohr, Luciano Costa Santos and José Márcio de Castro

This study aims to analyze the knowledge transfer process for implementing a company-specific production system (XPS) from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) to its…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the knowledge transfer process for implementing a company-specific production system (XPS) from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) to its local suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study approach was adopted and applied in an automotive supply chain. Empirical data were collected from interviews, observations and internal documents.

Findings

The literature shows that the successful XPS implementation depends on the ability to transfer XPS knowledge; the motivation of the source unit to share XPS knowledge; the value and nature of knowledge embedded in XPS; the effectiveness of individual, social and organizational transfer mechanisms; the motivation and absorptive capacity of the target unit and, the organizational, social and relational contexts in which XPS is transferred. Based on the research findings, we develop 12 propositions and presented them in a framework.

Research limitations/implications

This paper expands and enriches the literature on the knowledge transfer process of XPS. The proposed framework establishes theoretical propositions and associations raised by qualitative analysis. However, these propositions are potentially testable on a larger scale for broader generalization.

Practical implications

Managers can recognize critical factors and relationships needed to improve the XPS implementation from an MNC subsidiary to its local suppliers.

Originality/value

The proposed framework provides a scheme to capture the essential critical factors affecting a successful XPS implementation between MNC subsidiaries and local suppliers. Moreover, we found relevant associations between pairs of critical factors that were not identified in the literature.

Details

International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-4166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 July 2023

Brajesh Mishra, Avanish Kumar and Ishaan Mishra

The study explores the evolution of Indian domestic electronics manufacturing post-economic reforms and also investigates the lack of natural growth stages among Indian…

Abstract

Purpose

The study explores the evolution of Indian domestic electronics manufacturing post-economic reforms and also investigates the lack of natural growth stages among Indian start-up/SME electronics manufactures.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical framework is inspired by Dawar and Frost's survival strategy theory that local companies may follow to overcome competitive threats from MNCs. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, more precisely, a phenomenological approach to walking through policy/regulatory reforms amid market distortions, technological gaps and colonial mindset from the perspective of Indian domestic electronics manufacturers. The study has adopted Gioia method of data analysis to inductively suggest a few research propositions.

Findings

The phenomenological approach revealed eight essential structure (essence) narratives to explore the complex issue that plague the industry: make in India, made in India, preferential market access strategy, equitable market access strategy, blue ocean strategy, competitive positioning strategy, technical capability and importance of policy/regulatory arbitrage.

Practical implications

The situation of Indian electronics manufacturing units is comparable to the bonsai tree situation, where natural evolution in business stages does not exist; they are born and die as start-ups/MSMEs. The study advocates for equitable market access by removing market distortions. The long-term solution may lie in making available locally manufactured products as a dependable alternative to the imported products or produced locally by MNC OEMs in terms of cost, quality, technology, volume, after-sale service and integrated supply chain.

Originality/value

While the favorable FDI policies, digital India and make-in India initiatives have strengthened domestic electronics production, it is yet to significantly impact India's position in global trade, including manufacturing and exports.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2024

Yu-Ching Chiao, Chun-Chien Lin and Yu-Chen Chang

This study explores the evolutionary relationship between multimarket contact (MMC) and competitive actions among multinational corporations (MNCs). It aims to enhance the…

21

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the evolutionary relationship between multimarket contact (MMC) and competitive actions among multinational corporations (MNCs). It aims to enhance the understanding of international market competition by incorporating insights into dynamic competition and parent–subsidiary relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured content analysis was used to identify the competitive actions of global shipping liners. The dataset includes 8,204 actions identified across nine global arenas. Data were collected from 6,553 monthly news articles on Alphaliner. The period covered is from January 1, 2015, to June 30, 2023.

Findings

The results indicate that a higher degree of MMC leads to greater competitive aggressiveness, supporting the combination of mutual forbearance and the Red Queen effect. Additionally, market importance triggers the mutual forbearance effect, whereas competitive rivalry is weaker for overlapping cross-market contacts. Furthermore, local competitive intensity increases MNCs' contact and echoes the Red Queen effect, especially for subsidiaries facing increasing pressure from local responsiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include reliance on Alphaliner, potential inaccuracies from proxy variables, and unmeasured headquarters–subsidiary interactions. Future research should explore other industries and extend the study period for broader applicability and generalization.

Practical implications

By interlacing mutual forbearance with the Red Queen effect within a coopetition framework, managers can devise strategies to balance competition and collaboration, thereby ensuring long-term viability and growth in global markets.

Originality/value

This study extends the concept of MMC to the context of global shipping liners, a previously underexplored sector. Unlike earlier research, this study empirically examines MMC dynamics globally and integrates mutual forbearance and the Red Queen effect.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2024

Geoff Ryan, Robert J. Emmerling, Lee Fergusson and Shayne Baker

This research investigates the types of critical business situations worked on by multinational corporations' senior managers and the competencies they employ to achieve desired…

Abstract

Purpose

This research investigates the types of critical business situations worked on by multinational corporations' senior managers and the competencies they employ to achieve desired outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a database of N = 440 critical success incidents obtained from semi-structured interviews with a sample of 143 senior managers during competency-based consulting projects over a 25-year period from 1995 to 2019. Content analysis was used to categorise critical success incidents, by similarity of business intent, into groups labelled as critical business situations. Behavioural coding was used to identify competencies.

Findings

Nine critical business situations were found, and 10 competencies identified, accounting for 79% of behaviours displayed by the senior managers. Five competencies were found to be used more universally and five were more dependent on the specific critical business situation.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides an overview of the initial stage of this topic. Further empirical validation including applicability in contemporary business contexts, testing of competency relationships with critical business situation criterion-referenced outcomes, and temporal and geographic usage will be presented in an accompanying study.

Practical implications

Knowledge of the specific competencies and their relative frequencies when displayed in different critical business situations provide the potential to give more targeted development suggestions to senior managers facing similar situations.

Originality/value

This study examines concurrently, both the business situations and associated competencies of senior managers, a group for whom extant research is significantly limited.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 43 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Katsutoshi Fushimi

Prior institutional duality research asserts that ceremonial implementation of organisational practice protects multinational corporations’ subsidiaries. However, the temporal…

Abstract

Purpose

Prior institutional duality research asserts that ceremonial implementation of organisational practice protects multinational corporations’ subsidiaries. However, the temporal dynamics of the safeguarding function has been under researched. Public sector organisations have also been ignored. This research aims to explore how the safeguarding function is created, maintained and disrupted using the overseas offices (OOs) of a bilateral development agency (BDA) as a case.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-case study, underpinned by neo-institutionalism, was conducted. Data obtained from in-depth remote interviews with 39 informants from the BDA OOs were analysed using the “asking small and large questions” technique, four analytical techniques, cross-case synthesis and theoretical propositions.

Findings

A three-phase process was identified. The first phase is the appearance of discrepancies due to institutional duality. The second is the emergence of ceremonial implementation as a solution. In the third phase, “the creation, maintenance and disruption of a safeguarding function” begins. When ceremonial implementation successfully protects the OOs, the safeguarding function is created. The OOs are likely to repeat ceremonial implementation, thus sustaining the function. Meanwhile, when conditions such as management staff change, ceremonial implementation may not take place, and the safeguarding function disappears.

Research limitations/implications

The BDA OOs may not face strong host country regulative pressures because they are donors to aid-recipient countries. Hence, the findings may not directly apply to other public sector organisations.

Practical implications

Development cooperation practitioners should understand that ceremonial implementation is not exclusively harmful.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first institutional duality research that explores the temporal dynamics of safeguarding functions targeting public sector organisations.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 32 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 May 2024

Nadima Hassan, Jordi Trullen and Mireia Valverde

HRM decentralization and devolution have been highlighted as key HRM processes in organizations’ quest for increased flexibility. Although they have been extensively studied in…

Abstract

Purpose

HRM decentralization and devolution have been highlighted as key HRM processes in organizations’ quest for increased flexibility. Although they have been extensively studied in the MNC and International HRM literature, they have mainly been examined on a separate basis, and their definition and operationalization have often been confused. Thus, we first clarify the difference between the two concepts by refining the definitions by Hoogendoorn and Brewster (1992), and then empirically examine how they are related.

Design/methodology/approach

The relationship between HRM decentralization and devolution is examined by means of a survey in a large multi-country sample of multi-unit organizations.

Findings

Regarding our clarification objective, we contend that devolution has to do with who takes responsibilities for HRM (i.e. line managers or HRM professionals) while decentralization refers to where HRM responsibilities are allocated (i.e. headquarters or increasingly local units). Regarding the relationship between the two concepts, the results show that higher levels of HRM decentralization are related to higher levels of devolution, but this association is attenuated in organizations with more powerful HRM departments.

Originality/value

The study contributes to theory and practice by disentangling, at the conceptual, operational, empirical and practical levels, two different but related HRM decisions (how much to devolve and how much to decentralize HRM) that organizations must make to efficiently cope with the characteristics of their own structure and competitive environment. It highlights the role of the relative power of HRM departments in how HRM responsibilities are ultimately distributed across the organization.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 46 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 August 2024

Marzena Stor

The main goal of the article is to identify, analyze and evaluate the mediating role of HRM outcomes in the relationships between employee retention (ER) and company performance…

63

Abstract

Purpose

The main goal of the article is to identify, analyze and evaluate the mediating role of HRM outcomes in the relationships between employee retention (ER) and company performance results, with a specific focus on discerning any shifts or differences in this mediation across non-crisis and crisis times in the foreign subsidiaries of MNCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical research covered 200 MNCs headquartered in Central Europe. A Computer-Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI) method was used for data collection. The raw data was adjusted using the Efficiency Index (EI) to accurately represent the relationships between the variables under study. The research hypotheses were examined, and the mediating effects were assessed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The research findings provide valuable insights by exploring the mediating role of HRM outcomes between ER and company performance results, highlighting HRM’s crucial role in enhancing results in finance, innovation and quality, particularly during crises. They underscore the strategic importance of HRM in fostering organizational resilience and innovation.

Originality/value

The study offers a new methodological contribution through introducing the EI for a precise quantitative evaluation of the relationships between ER, HRM and company performance results. However, the greatest added value of this article is the creation of the ER-HRM Mediation Theory of Organizational Resilience through Innovativeness in Crisis.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2024

Marian van Bakel, Mette Strange Noesgaard and Snejina Michailova

The expatriation literature (a substantial domain of the International HRM literature) has not paid sufficient attention to the phenomenon of work engagement, which is essential…

Abstract

Purpose

The expatriation literature (a substantial domain of the International HRM literature) has not paid sufficient attention to the phenomenon of work engagement, which is essential for expatriate success. Equally, research on work engagement in Organizational Behavior, although extensive and mature, has neglected the context of expatriation. Our study bridges the two literature streams to examine the antecedents of expatriates’ work engagement within the distinct context of international assignments.

Design/methodology/approach

Through e-interviews with 27 Nordic assigned expatriates in 16 host countries, we delineate and organize antecedents of assigned expatriates’ work engagement in a framework.

Findings

We identify two clusters of antecedents – general and specific – characteristic of expatriate settings (e.g. distance to headquarters, pride in being chosen, culture, fewer distractions, success in a foreign context, adjustment, location, and language). We decompose each cluster into contextual and job-related antecedents leading to absorption, dedication, and vigor as three components of work engagement. We depict and organize the relationships in a framework.

Originality/value

Our qualitative study connects two bodies of literature that have remained largely independent of each other. In doing this, we contribute to the expatriate literature by presenting a comprehensive picture of antecedents to work engagement and the engagement literature by exploring engagement in a new occupational work setting, namely international assignments.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 August 2024

Huiping Xian, Yingying He, Fanke Huang and Paul Latreille

This study aims to advance knowledge in international management research about how researchers’ cultural identity in fieldwork encounters may be grounded in the choice of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to advance knowledge in international management research about how researchers’ cultural identity in fieldwork encounters may be grounded in the choice of language in multicultural and multilingual projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on critical reflections on the experience of two co-authors as Chinese nationals conducting research in overseas Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing economies.

Findings

Drawing on social identity theory, the authors demonstrate that the cultural identity and cultural insider/outsider positionality of both the researcher and research participants can be shaped by language, translation and other artefacts in cross-cultural interviews, constantly being shifted, managed and renegotiated during qualitative interviewing. This study highlights the politics of language which, when combined with other forms of power relations, such as the researcher’s perceived status, economic development of the MNCs’ home country and the participants’ organisational hierarchy, affect power distribution between the researcher and participants. Researchers often need to move from being an “insider” to an “outsider” and often to an “in-betweener” at different stages in an interview interaction to balance power.

Originality/value

This study contributes to international debates about the complex interplay of languages, politics and identity in multilingual and multicultural qualitative research. In contributing to these literatures, the authors focus on the relatively under-researched Chinese MNCs in other developing countries including Mongolia and Tanzania. Recommendations for researcher training and reflexivity are proposed.

Details

Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Marzena Stor

The main goal of the article is to determine the mediating role of human resources management (HRM) outcomes in the relationships between shaping employee work engagement and job…

1190

Abstract

Purpose

The main goal of the article is to determine the mediating role of human resources management (HRM) outcomes in the relationships between shaping employee work engagement and job satisfaction (SEWE&JS) and company performance results and to establish whether there are any identifiable regularities in this scope in the pre-pandemic and pandemic period in the headquarters (HQs) and foreign subsidiaries of multinational companies (MNCs).

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical research included 200 MNCs headquartered in Central Europe. The raw data in the variables were adjusted with the efficiency index (EI) to capture the actual relations between the variables under study. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to verify the research hypotheses and assess the mediating effects.

Findings

The research findings show that the HRM outcomes positively mediate the relationships between SEWE&JS and the company performance results. HRM outcomes turned out to be a stronger mediator between SEWE&JS and company performance results in finance and quality in the HQs during the pandemic. By contrast, in the local subsidiaries, they were a stronger mediator of the relationships between the results in innovativeness and quality during the pandemic.

Originality/value

In addition to confirming the results of some other researchers, the research findings also provide new knowledge. They determine the mediating role of HRM outcomes in the relationship between SEWE&JS and the three categories of company performance results, namely finance, innovativeness and quality. In addition, they identify certain regularities in the four studied contexts, which is a novelty in this type of research. A novelty is also the use of employee key performance indicators (KPIs) in the data analysis as the efficiency index in analyzing the effect of the variables under study. The value of the research is also the fact that it covers HRM in MNCs established in Central Europe, which, compared to MNCs from the Western world, is not a frequent subject of research.

Details

Central European Management Journal, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2658-0845

Keywords

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