شبکه مدیریتی در شرکت های چند ملیتی و پرتفوی منابع شرکت های تابعه

This paper studies how the managerial network in a multinational enterprise (MNE) influences the resource profiles of its subsidiaries. The network view of the MNE and the recent literature on MNE subsidiaries provide bases for suggesting two distinct mechanisms through which the managerial network exercises an impact: isomorphism of resource allocation practices and horizontal specialization. The theoretical predictions are tested with data about the network of lateral ties among subsidiary managers in a private nonprofit MNE and the budget allocations in its subsidiaries. Results indicate qualified support for isomorphism and strong support for specialization. When managers interact in a network, their decisions for resource allocation within their subsidiaries may influence the MNE resource configuration across subsidiaries as well.

The contemporary multinational enterprise (MNE) is a complex entity that coordinates the actions of multiple organizational units (subsidiaries) operating in different country environments for competitive advantage. Recent international management thought suggests that this coordination may be carried out best when subsidiaries are organized in a differentiated network Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1990 and Nohria and Ghoshal, 1997. This point of view rests on two assumptions. First, the MNE can respond to the growing complexity in the global environment better by allowing a relatively high degree of decentralization for subsidiaries rather than by centralizing decision making at headquarters. Second, as the distinct role and autonomy of the different subsidiaries increase, effective mechanisms beyond simple hierarchy are needed to ensure learning and coordination. The MNE represents a complex resource configuration across the globe in which physical, financial, informational and managerial resources are distributed across different subsidiaries and activities Nohria and Ghoshal, 1997 and Porter, 1986. The effective management of this complex resource configuration can be a prime source of competitive advantage. This configuration presents an enormous puzzle, and to solve it, management needs to make sure that (a) there is a “picture” or a vision behind it and (b) the “pieces” fit with one another. The puzzle metaphor highlights a question about the “pieces” (the subsidiaries) and the linkages among them: How are these fairly autonomous subsidiaries aligned in the overall resource configuration? This paper argues that the resource profiles of subsidiaries in an MNE are influenced by the network ties that subsidiary managers maintain with one another. Further, I review the network view of the MNE to show the role of the managerial network for the management of subsidiaries. On this basis, hypotheses are developed next about two distinct ways in which the managerial network affects the resource profiles of subsidiaries: isomorphism of resource allocation practices and horizontal specialization.