Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY
The challenges and opportunities of globalisation tempt firms to reconfigure their operations and relocate (or offshore) various activities to the most advantageous destinations. Such offshore operations tend to gradually become complex and intertwined, leading to the transition of organisations towards globally dispersed network structures.
For many such organisations, the home base (HB) has historically
served as the center of technological and organisational knowledge, as
well as the creator and manager of globally dispersed operations. However, little is known about how and when the HB develops such global network management capabilities, as well as the possible effects of the inherent network dynamism on such capabilities. Focusing, in particular, on the global
intra-organisational networks led by the HB, this PhD thesis investigates
how the network management capabilities of the HB change in the process of its global intra-organisational network evolution. In particular, the four papers constituting this thesis investigate how global intra-organisational networks evolve, how the types of network
management capabilities of the HB change along with such network evolution, and how such evolution impacts the effectiveness of the existing managerial capabilities of the HB. The research is built upon several theoretical foundations and research streams, including the internationalisation theory, networked MNE-related research, and the theory of organisational capabilities.
This investigation was conducted through a retrospective longitudinal case study of one Danish original equipment manufacturer and its three subsidiaries in China, Slovakia, and the US.
The findings, first of all, support, extend, and modify the revised Uppsala globalisation model with regard to the types of experiential knowledge enabling the intra-organisational network evolution process, its drivers, and relationships between the parts of the model. The findings also suggest
the existence of distinguishable evolutionary stages. Additionally, the resu
lts indicate that changes in particular network configuration elements require particular managerial capabilities from the HB. In relation to this, the thesis suggests a typology of intra-organisational network
configurations and corresponding HB network management capabilities.
Finally, the findings show that the contextual differences (spatial, cultural,
and technological distances) among the network resources, on which the HB managerial capabilities are based, impact the effectiveness of these capabilities through affecting the mechanism of their development and sustainment. Changes in the network make these differences a constantly reoccurring challenge.
The challenges and opportunities of globalisation tempt firms to reconfigure their operations and relocate (or offshore) various activities to the most advantageous destinations. Such offshore operations tend to gradually become complex and intertwined, leading to the transition of organisations towards globally dispersed network structures.
For many such organisations, the home base (HB) has historically
served as the center of technological and organisational knowledge, as
well as the creator and manager of globally dispersed operations. However, little is known about how and when the HB develops such global network management capabilities, as well as the possible effects of the inherent network dynamism on such capabilities. Focusing, in particular, on the global
intra-organisational networks led by the HB, this PhD thesis investigates
how the network management capabilities of the HB change in the process of its global intra-organisational network evolution. In particular, the four papers constituting this thesis investigate how global intra-organisational networks evolve, how the types of network
management capabilities of the HB change along with such network evolution, and how such evolution impacts the effectiveness of the existing managerial capabilities of the HB. The research is built upon several theoretical foundations and research streams, including the internationalisation theory, networked MNE-related research, and the theory of organisational capabilities.
This investigation was conducted through a retrospective longitudinal case study of one Danish original equipment manufacturer and its three subsidiaries in China, Slovakia, and the US.
The findings, first of all, support, extend, and modify the revised Uppsala globalisation model with regard to the types of experiential knowledge enabling the intra-organisational network evolution process, its drivers, and relationships between the parts of the model. The findings also suggest
the existence of distinguishable evolutionary stages. Additionally, the resu
lts indicate that changes in particular network configuration elements require particular managerial capabilities from the HB. In relation to this, the thesis suggests a typology of intra-organisational network
configurations and corresponding HB network management capabilities.
Finally, the findings show that the contextual differences (spatial, cultural,
and technological distances) among the network resources, on which the HB managerial capabilities are based, impact the effectiveness of these capabilities through affecting the mechanism of their development and sustainment. Changes in the network make these differences a constantly reoccurring challenge.
Original language | English |
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Electronic ISBNs | 978-87-7112-457-6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Bibliographical note
PhD supervisor: Prof. Brian Vejrum Wæhrens, Aalborg UniversityAssistant PhD supervisor: Prof. John Johansen, Aalborg University