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| Verfasser | Schieban, Karin A. |
| Posten | Innovation in Multinational Companies. Organisational, International and Regional Dilemmas - Book review |
Mattes, J., Innovation in Multinational Companies: Organisational, International, and Regional Dilemmas, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang 2010
A Capsule Summary of the Book
Research on multinational companies (MNCs) has a long academic tradition. In recent years issues such as the application of an ethnocentric vs. geocentric strategy, metanational companies and foreign direct investments have been intensively discussed (e.g. Perlmutter 1965; Doz et al. 2001; Mundell 1957). The book at hand examines three main strategic dilemmas related to innovation that managers of MNCs are currently confronted with: whether to employ a formal or flexible structure, whether to use collocated or dispersed R&D teams, and whether or not to regionally embed the subsidiaries. The author explores how companies deal with these dilemmas in six key arenas of innovation, such as basic and applied research, quality control, and marketing. To investigate this research question, an exploratory study with a total of one hundred interviews was conducted among five enterprises from Germany and the US. The study provides valuable insights for organisational learning and the innovation processes in modern MNCs.
Objective and Target Audience
The objective of the book is to contribute to the discussion on organisational learning embedded in the regional context, while focussing on three innovation dilemmas identified for multinational companies. The empirical analysis is based on a profound theoretical basis and conducted through in-depth interviews.
The book addresses a highly complex strategic theme and provides a rich source of information and insights, particularly for PhD students, researchers and other scholars. In addition, the author provides some practical recommendations for corporate managers to help them make these strategic decisions successfully.
Structure and Contents
The book is structured in nine chapters on 282 pages. Chapter one introduces the topic in general and highlights its overall relevance. Chapters two and three conceptualize the theoretical framework and chapter four elaborates on the methodology of the conducted research. Chapters five to seven form the empirical part of the study and describe the three dilemmas MNCs are confronted with: formalisation vs. flexibilisation, concentration vs. dispersion of R&D teams, and regional embeddedness or disembeddedness. Chapter eight gives a general overview of the research findings. Chapter nine concludes the book, briefly summarising the previous chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces the multi-faceted research background on MNCs and describes some basic principles of innovation. The author identifies the research gap and the intended research contribution.
Chapter 2 is based on the literature review. It provides an in-depth look into how learning takes place in MNCs...
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