bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Market Segmentation and Positioning
Authors: Baines Paul , Rosengren Sara , Antonetti Paolo
Published: September 2023

This chapter notes the principles of market segmentation and the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) process. It defines marketing segmentation as the division of a mass market into distinct and identifiable groups or segments, each of which is defined by common characteristics and needs and displays similar responses to marketing actions. Marketers primarily use the STP process to identify which potential customers they should focus on. The chapter then details the similarity and differences between consumer and business-to-business market segmentation. It explains the concept and application of positioning while referencing the usage of perceptual mapping to determine how various brands are perceived according to the key attributes that customers value.
International Market Development
Authors: Paul Baines , Sara Rosengren , Paolo Antonetti
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the key drivers for international market development. Due to the increasing internationalization of world markets, international marketing is essential for the survival of many organizations. Thus, organizations need to be flexible and adapt to changing market conditions. The application of an international marketing environment analysis to identify and select international markets may help in determining the suited factors and strategy for the country or region. The chapter explains how countries leave specific impressions in consumers' minds which play a part in reactions to a foreign brand. It then details the international competitive strategy, referencing the notions of a multi-domestic competitive strategy and a global competitive strategy.
Product: New Proposition Development and Innovation
Authors: Baines Paul , Rosengren Sara , Antonetti Paolo
Published: September 2023

This chapter tackles the notion of proposition development and innovation. A proposition encompasses all the tangible and intangible attributes related to physical goods, services, ideas, people, places, experiences, and a mix of those elements. Due to the high risk of developing new physical propositions, organizations typically adopt a procedural approach. However, processes of adoption and diffusion allow people to adopt new propositions and the at which a market adopts an innovation. The chapter details the life cycle of products that represent different sets of market circumstances and customer expectations that must be met with different strategies. It clarifies the spectrum of product-service combinations as many products merge physical goods with services.
Price and Customer Value
Authors: Paul Baines , Sara Rosengren , Paolo Antonetti
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the correlation between price and customer value. It details the notion of price elasticity by elaborating on the interrelation of price, quality, costs, and value. Different pricing policies can be used depending on whether we are considering pricing a consumer, service, or business-to-business (B2B) offering. The chapter then considers the two principal means by which to price a new proposition, based on skim pricing and market penetration pricing. It explains how pricing operates in the B2B setting, wherein buyers are frequently expert in purchasing for their organizations. Price wars occur when competitors' pricing policies are overly focused on competitors, rather than customers.
Promotion I: Principles of Marketing Communications
Authors: Paul Baines , Sara Rosengren , Paolo Antonetti
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into the principles of marketing communications. It highlights how marketing communication is about developing messages that target audiences can understand and act on. The success of marketing communication depends on the extent to which messages engage their audiences: customers, channel members, and general stakeholders. Meanwhile, organizations practising marketing communication are aware of the influence of culture within the market. The chapter then explains the large impact of digitalization on marketing communication, which coincides with the strategic marketing communication planning process to formulate and implement a communications strategy that blends the right mix of tools and media to deliver the message appropriately.
Promotion II: Configuring the Marketing Communications Mix
Authors: Paul Baines , Sara Rosengren , Paolo Antonetti
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the concept of the marketing communications mix. It acknowledges the struggle of organizations to find the right mix of tools, messages, and media that allows them to engage with their target audiences effectively and economically. Many organizations apply a range of different tools, messages, and media while also redistributing their investments in favour of digital or interactive media. Moreover, due to the dramatic influence of technology on the communication industry, organizations have to configure the communications mix considerably. The chapter also highlights the role of creativity in marketing communications, referencing the dimensions of originality and appropriateness.
Digital and Social Media Marketing
Authors: Baines Paul , Rosengren Sara , Antonetti Paolo
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the impact of digital marketing. It covers the digital transformation of marketing while referencing new digital technologies, digital competition, and changing customer behaviours as the key drivers of the transformation. Digital marketing primarily refers to the management and execution of marketing using digital technologies, channels, and digital data about consumer characteristics and behaviour. Meanwhile, social media marketing promotes business products or services and comprises the use of social media as purchased, owned, and earned media, as well as for marketing research purposes. The shift in power and control through digital and social media has also allowed consumers to take on new roles concerning marketers and brands.
Marketing, Society, Sustainability, and Ethics
Authors: Baines Paul , Rosengren Sara , Antonetti Paolo
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the interrelation between marketing, society, sustainability, and ethics, and introduces the concept of sustainability under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Companies must follow strict guidelines on product quality. Moreover, marketing ethics is concerned with the application of moral principles to decision-making and its subsequent outcomes. On the other hand, ethical breaches occur in all aspects of an organization's marketing activity, including pricing, promotion, product, and place (distribution) policies. The chapter notes that fairness is the main ethical concern in pricing, especially with issues like price gouging and price discrimination. It also considers universalism or cultural relativism in marketing ethics.
Organizational Behaviour
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

Organizational Behaviour looks at the following questions: What motivates some people to work for free? What the future of work will look like in a post-pandemic world? Why organizational values and culture are so critical to success? Chapters explore the answers and more in this introduction to organizational behaviour. This edition also includes a new chapter on equality, diversity, and inclusion, plus material on wellbeing in the workplace, the climate crisis, ethics in leadership and much more, reflect the importance of these issues to people and organizations today. The book is made up of five parts. The first looks at rational organization. The second is about social organization and considers organizational culture. The next part is about managing the individual and looks into personality and individual difference. The fourth part is about leadership, equality, diversity, and inclusion. The last part is about the organizational environment so looks at work, emotion, aesthetics, and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Rational work design
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines how the techniques of rational work design can be traced back to the Second Industrial Revolution and the beginnings of the factory system. Indeed, industrialists such as Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford are most closely associated with the early days of rational work design. Rational work design makes workers more efficient, but this comes at a cost. Workers are subject to increased managerial control and given monotonous, simple work, leaving their hard-earned skills surplus to requirements. The chapter then looks at critiques of rational work design from Karl Marx and Harry Braverman, discussing the considerable resistance encountered when implementing such techniques. It also shows how post-Fordism and neo-Fordism allow organizations to be more flexible, but neo-Fordism in particular still retains a focus on controlling workers to work efficiently while delivering precision.
Developments in rational organization
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins by tracing how rationalization developed in the Third Industrial Revolution, drawing on the development of computerization. More recently, commentators have suggested that we are entering a Fourth Industrial Revolution. While this brings new forms of organization, it is also an evolution and development of the computerization of the Third Industrial Revolution, and the Taylorist and bureaucratic systems of the Second Industrial Revolution. The chapter then looks at two current and ongoing examples of the trends of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. First, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are natural extensions of the desire in both the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions to replace human with machine labour; the chapter considers which jobs are in danger of being automated in the near future. Second, the chapter examines the recent rise of the gig economy, where workers take on one short-term job after another, the whole process managed by computer algorithms.
Organizational culture
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter assesses organizational culture and why it has become a popular term in management practice and academic theory. Organizational culture encompasses the common practices, attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, and values that are shared between organizational members, central to shaping how people think and behave, and key for organizational success. Management consultants' interest in organizational culture hangs on one central claim: having the right culture increases productivity, by creating a shared sense of purpose. The chapter then describes some of the classic typologies used to present organizational culture; analyses to what extent it is possible to change organizational culture; and explains how organizational culture shapes the behaviour of organizational members. It also looks at how the Fourth Industrial Revolution and changes accelerated by Covid-19 have changed our ideas of organizational culture, before considering whether managing through culture represents greater freedom or increased control.
Motivation and the meaning of work
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter describes the differences between extrinsic, intrinsic, and social factors of motivation. Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor thought rewards and punishments were the key ways to motivate people. This approach sees all motivation as external, extrinsic to the individual. Yet Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, and many others, argue that we can redesign jobs to be more meaningful and interesting and to give room for autonomy and self-expression. At the heart of this debate are fundamental questions about human nature: what makes us tick, and how can we get the best out of people? These content theory approaches redesign work to motivate staff and look at what goes on around the individual. In contrast, process theories see motivation as more individual and changeable, focusing on how motivation changes over time. Meanwhile, sociological perspectives examine the meanings people attach to work and how this feeds into their identity in society.
Equality, diversity, and inclusion
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter highlights general issues around equality, diversity, and inclusion and how these are addressed in a workplace and organizational context. It begins with the equalities approach, based around legal protection from discrimination for particular categories of people in society. Equal opportunities policies are implemented to comply with these laws and organizations gather data which monitors whether different groups of people are being treated fairly. The diversity approach moves from sameness to highlighting the many differences that exist between people. Meanwhile, a critical approach to diversity suggests that both equality and diversity approaches fail to understand the complexity of individual identity, and that they ignore some of the power dynamics within organizations and society which contribute to discrimination and disadvantage. The chapter then considers inequality regimes, differentiating between institutional and structural discrimination. Finally, it looks at inclusion, which considers the actual experience that different people have in an organization.
Leadership and management
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter explains the differences between leadership and management, looking at various theories of leadership. It starts with the individualist great man and trait theories. These theories focus on the individual at the top of the organization and seek to work out what makes such an individual great and successful. The chapter then considers behavioural theories, which are broader in that they look at the interactions between leaders and followers. Yet these theories do not take into account the situation that a leader faces, which is what situational leadership explores. Meanwhile, transformational leadership offers workers a vision of the future. The chapter explains the key principles of distributive leadership and alternative forms of organizing, including democratic leadership.
Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and business ethics
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sustainability. Business ethics deals primarily with the principles that should be used to govern business conduct, how people should act, and the underlying philosophies behind ethical actions. CSR looks at the wider social and environmental responsibilities that businesses have and how they should meet them. Meanwhile, sustainability focuses on increasing concerns with the environment (particularly climate change), but it also has the wider meaning of the long-term sustainability of the firm itself. Should privately owned, profit-seeking companies be concerned with acting in a socially responsible, moral, and humane way? The response that one makes to this question depends, to a large degree, on one's beliefs as to the central purpose and responsibility of businesses, which can be summed up in the following five categories: shareholder capitalism, stakeholder capitalism, ethical capitalism, ethical within capitalism, and ethical against capitalism.
Bringing it all together
Authors: King Daniel , Lawley Scott
Published: September 2023

This chapter explains the importance of connecting organizational behaviour theories together. Organizational behaviour is often thought about, researched, and taught as a collection of separate topics. Issues such as motivation, culture, or teamwork often draw on different theorists and are presented as independent issues. Yet, to really understand how things work in practice, we need to see the connections between these elements. The chapter then examines the differences between the rational and social perspectives of organizing, before considering the differences between the formal and informal perspectives of understanding organizational behaviour. It then looks at the assumptions between mainstream perspectives that seek to produce greater control over workers and critical perspectives that search for freedom and emancipation. The chapter also assesses why from a critical perspective managers and workers have different interests.
Organization–environment relations
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: September 2023

This chapter recounts how organization theorists took note of the idea that an organization is embedded in a supersystem when the general systems theory introduced the notion of levels of analysis in the 1950s. It discusses the economic exchange and competition that had long been used to explain organizational behaviour and performance, broadening the idea in the 1950s and 1960s to include other factors that soon revolutionized organization theory. It also describes the basic models of economic exchange, organizational stakeholders, inter-organizational networks, and sectors of the environment. The chapter analyses preliminary conceptual work that leads to a discussion of globalization and consideration of different ways in which organizational boundaries have been conceptualized. It cites ambiguity involved in defining organizational boundaries in order to introduce transaction costs, resource-based power, and organizational identity wherein different theories of organization–environment relations have been built.
Managing People at Work: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the challenges and opportunities an organization faces in managing people. It introduces the concept of evidence-based management, which relates to translating principles based on best evidence into organizational practices. It then explains challenges faced by management in using people as economic resources and how an organization's system functions. The chapter also shows that mental models and those of others influence the way people are managed and that unintentional outcomes can derive from human resources (HR) and managerial interventions. Finally, the chapter considers how critical the emotional and psychological dimensions of work are to the effective management of people.
The Evolution of the HR Function: A Critical Perspective
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the evolution of the human resources (HR) function. It explains that the definitions and meanings in human resource management (HRM), an approach to the management of employees which sees people as a key organizational resource that needs to be developed and utilized to support the organization's operational and strategic objectives, are socially constructed and are constantly being reconstructed. It tackles the origins and evolution of HRM and explains the reasons for the change in approach and emphasis from personnel management to HRM. In addition, the chapter explores the contribution that HR makes to individual and organizational performance. The role of the line manager, a critical function to the management of human resources, is also considered.
Ethics and Leadership in HRM
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the role and contribution of human resources (HR) in ensuring ethical standards and ethical behaviour at work. It begins by exploring the meaning of ethics and links ethical decisions to outcomes as well as criteria. The chapter considers that fairness is an essentially subjective concept and can be determined by reference to a range of criteria. Different ethical prisms to help manage ethical conflicts are also provided. Ultimately, HR might wish to claim to be the organization's conscience, but the evidence suggests that not all managers are convinced that this is a role it should or could take on. Furthermore, being perceived as primarily a policing and compliance function might undermine its influence and capacity to contribute to other aspects of HRM.
International HRM
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter aims to explore and explain the implications of globalization and the internationalization of business for the role and function of Human Resource Management (HRM). It presents the social and cultural differences between countries and discusses their effect on employment and management practices. The concept of a global organization and the implications for global employment and global human resources (HR) policy and practice are discussed. The chapter also elaborates on the role and responsibilities of the international HRM practitioner. HR is being shaped by the forces of internationalization and globalization, and so too is the profile of those who work in that function.
Recruitment and Selection
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers the recruitment and selection process. It begins by establishing the importance of the recruitment process to an organization. Then, it moves on to outline the processes involved in recruitment and selection. It also shows the ways to identify and develop different recruitment strategies for an organization. Professional and ethical standards that are appropriate in recruitment and selection are also considered. At the end of chapter, the relationship between recruitment and selection and other human resources (HR) activities is discussed.
Learning, Training, and Development
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores learning, training, and development. It aims to clarify the often-experienced confusion between training and learning. It shows how people learn and recognizes that training represents only one way in which people can learn at work. Training and development (T&D) are important to an organization and its employees, and there should be different approaches to delivering learning. In addition, this chapter looks at the relationship between learning, development, and performance. The importance of evaluating training and other approaches to work-based learning is also discussed.
A Strategic Perspective on HRM
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the strategic contributions of human resources management (HRM) to an organization. It explains what being strategic means and what human resources (HR), in its departmental and generalized forms, is meant to be and do to be seen as a ‘strategic player’. The chapter also shows how strategic HR can affect individual and organizational performance. Aside from this, the chapter examines the HR strategies espoused by business and corporate strategy theories and concepts. Lastly, it provides HR strategies that consistently add value and generate competitive advantage.
Managing Performance
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks at ways of managing performance. Performance is interpreted as expressing the relationship between a person's capabilities and what the person actually achieves, usually related to a person's job. Performance management is a set of practices through which work is defined and reviewed, capabilities are developed, and rewards are distributed. The chapter presents what managing performance involves and how performance can be conceptualized. It also tackles measurement in performance management as well as the arguments for and against the use of targets and objectives. The implementation of appropriate performance improvement strategies is also addressed in the chapter.
Managing Rewards
Authors: Banfield Paul , Kay Rebecca , Royles Dean
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the management of rewards. It explains that rewards can take different forms and serve different purposes. It considers the principles that underpin different types of payment systems and how these systems work. It illustrates how to link the use and management of rewards to employee behaviour, particularly that which relates to job performance. The chapter enumerates the factors that influence an organization's use of reward practices and considers the processes involved in changing the way rewards are managed and making them more effective.
The changing context for strategic human resource management
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores a range of contextual factors that have implications for the strategies adopted by organizations in managing human resources. First, it examines population and demographic trends, changes in attitudes to work, and how people see work in the context of their lives. Second, it focuses on where people work and what that work entails. Third, it considers the growing phenomenon of flexibility, both from the point of view of organizations, which seek flexibility and greater agility with which to respond to their environments and improve their competitive position, and from the view of employees, who seek flexibility to help them to balance their work and non-work activities more effectively. Finally, it analyses the trend towards greater individualism and the concern for greater productivity in the ways in which human resources are managed.
Organizational social structure
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers organizational structure as the concept that made the greatest impression on organization theory of all the concepts used to explain, understand, and appreciate organization and its successes and failures. It refers to two types of structure that organization theorists are particularly interested in: physical and social. It also mentions an organization's physical structure that covers the spatial–temporal relationships between its material elements. The chapter details the historical development of theorizing about organizational social structure, which began with Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy. This theory produced the classic concepts of hierarchy, division of labour, and formalization. Modernists have developed Weber's theory further into measurable dimensions. The theories of structural change, including those based on evolutionary models taken from the modernist perspective, are highlighted.
The foundations of strategic human resource management
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter tackles the question that lies at the heart of this book: what is strategic human resource management (SHRM)? It reviews the historical development of the SHRM field and provides the definitions to commonly used terms. It also examines the three major approaches to the topic: universalist theories, which are predicated on the assumption that there is ‘one best way’ in which to manage people; contingency theories, which assume that approaches to SHRM will vary in different contexts; and configurational approaches, which argue that coherent bundles of practices are more likely to impact positively on performance than individual practices alone.
Strategic human resource development
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers important debates and issues within SHRD. First, it evaluates different theoretical approaches to understand the contribution of HRD to individuals and organizations. Second, it examines the claim that investment in HRD can impact organizational performance. Third, it discusses the characteristics and challenges inherent in different models of SHRD. Finally, it considers the different approaches that organizations can take to implement SHRD, including career development, organizational development, and informal approaches to SHRD. It also looks at the prescriptive model, the explanatory model, and the practical model.
Strategic human resource management and employee engagement
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the concept of employee engagement. It presents William Kahn's definition of ‘engagement’ in more detail, alongside definitions proposed by other researchers. It then explores the factors that have been described as the drivers of high levels of employee engagement and those that have been referred to as the outcomes, or consequences, of engagement. Finally, it considers some of the tensions and unresolved questions that persist around engagement, as well as the potential importance of work engagement for HR professionals.
Strategic human resource management, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the concepts of business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sustainability. First, it defines these concepts and discusses the key global trends driving these issues in organizations. Then, it critically evaluates organizational approaches to business ethics, CSR, and sustainability. The chapter examines both sustainable and green HRM and explores the role of HRM in embedding business ethics, CSR, and sustainability in organizations. It concludes with a discussion of the barriers to embedding these approaches in organizations.
New forms of strategic human resource management
Authors: Bailey Catherine , Mankin David , Kelliher Clare , Garavan Thomas
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers some of the more general changes that organizations will need to contend with in the future. It examines what the implications of these would be for strategic human resource management (SHRM) and for the role of the human resource (HR) function. Moreover, it analyses how these might influence the professional competencies required by those concerned with the HRM role and how these might change in the future. Lastly, it presents a number of more specific developments that may have consequences for strategic approaches to managing people in the future.
Global Strategic Management
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

Global Strategic Management is made up of five parts. The first part introduces the topic. The second part looks at global strategic analysis and includes examinations of the external macro environment, the industry environment, and the internal environment. Part III is about global strategic development and looks at various levels such as the subsidiary-level and headquarters-level in terms of strategy. Part IV is concerned with global strategic implementation. The last part, Part V, concentrates on global strategic innovation and includes an examination of the global management of innovation and knowledge and corporate social responsibility and innovation.
Introduction to global strategic management
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the general facets of global strategic management. It begins by discussing the characteristics of the strategic management process. It then goes on to enumerate and describe the key phases of global strategy. The differences between international strategy and global strategy are also explored. Finally, it examines the national-, sector-, and firm-level drivers for global strategy.
Global business environment:
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the industry environment, where customers, competitors, and suppliers are the main elements. It shows how significant the global industry environment is for strategies of multinational firms. It illustrates the application of market segmentation analysis and strategic group analysis. The Five Forces Model, an analytical tool to understanding the underlying rules of competition in an industry, is also tackled. Lastly, the chapter considered the importance of industry evolution and the International Product Life Cycle for an industry.
Global business environment:
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into the analysis of the internal environment. The chapter starts by contrasting the resource-based perspective and the positioning perspective. Then it distinguishes between resources, capabilities, and core competencies when analysing the internal firm environment. The VRIO framework is a practical tool in identifying core competencies. The concepts of value added, value chain analysis, and value system analysis can help strategic decision-makers in identifying where value is created in the firm. An integral part of an internal firm analysis must be a comparison with its competitors, which could be achieved through competitor intelligence and benchmarking.
International strategic alliances:
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on international strategic alliances: partnership and cooperation. International strategic alliances were prompted by a range of drivers, including fierce global competition, rapidly changing technologies, shorter product life cycles, and high R&D costs. Competitiveness can be enhanced by combining complementary capabilities and competencies of different organizations in close long-, medium-, or short-term relationships rather than opting for the ‘go it alone’ strategy. Strategic alliances can serve different objectives and can take different forms. The success of a strategic alliance is determined by good partner selection. As an alliance develops, partners need to carefully develop appropriate control mechanisms to oversee the alliance performance. Multinational firms engaged in international strategic alliances face two types of risk: relational risk and performance risk. Strategic alliances do and must end; if the alliance fulfils its strategic purpose, it is a success, even if it ends earlier than expected or planned.
Subsidiary-level strategy
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers subsidiary-level strategy. It focuses on the management of the relationship between the headquarters and the different subsidiaries and the role of subsidiaries in the pursuit of the multinational firm's global goals and objectives. It identifies the levels of global strategy and describes subsidiaries' strategic roles. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the different subsidiary roles. Finally, it presents appropriate strategies for a subsidiary of a multinational firm as well as other generic strategies.
Headquarters-level strategy
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter concentrates on headquarters-level strategy. Strategies for the whole multinational firm are formulated at the headquarters-level and are called headquarters-level or corporate-level strategies. Corporate-level strategy deals with the question of what business or businesses to compete in, and the overall game plan of the multinational firm. The corporate parent determines the overall strategic direction and structure of the firm as a whole and develops mechanisms to manage and coordinate the different activities of subsidiaries. The fundamental task of the headquarters is to manage the multinational's growth strategy. An effective strategic management at the corporate level of the multinational firm requires a clear understanding of the potential for strengthening the competitive position of the multinational through outsourcing and of the threats posed by outsourcing. The corporate parent must continuously review the performance of the existing mix of businesses and countries in which the multinational operates, and explore opportunities for growth.
Global structures and designs
Authors: Frynas Jędrzej George , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses how the structure and design of an organization is used as a way for an organization to work towards its overall goals. The chapter starts with a discussion of the concept of organizational structure and design of international firms. Next, the chapter turns to structures of domestic firms. Then, it provides a detailed discussion of the various structures of multinational firms. The chapter concludes with a summary of the key issues explored in the chapter.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)and innovation
Authors: George Frynas Jędrzej , Mellahi Kamel
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and innovation. It defines CSR as the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society; it encompasses the idea that firms should maximize value both for owners and for other stakeholders and that firms should identify, prevent, and mitigate any possible negative effects of their business operations. There are two major objections to international firms assuming new social and environmental roles: businesses only serve the sole purpose of making profit and multinational firms face a dilemma as to which responsibilities to follow due to differences from one country to another. CSR strategies can lead to innovation at three levels: in-market innovation, new market creation, and leadership. Firms will increasingly manage stakeholder issues in the same way as other strategic issues, as they are relevant to competing in a global market.
Organization Theory
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: September 2023

Organization Theory is made up of three parts. The first part considers the question ‘what is organization theory?’ and looks at the multiple perspectives within organization theory. It also provides a brief history of organization theory. The second part presents core concepts and theories, including organization–environment relations, organizational social structure, organizational technology, organizational culture, and the physical structure of built space in organizations. The third and final part is about themes and applications of organization theory. It looks at power in and around organizations to shed light on organizational politics, conflict, and control and provides an in-depth look at organizational identity in the Carlsberg Group.
The physical structure of built space in organizations
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: September 2023

This chapter highlights the physicality of buildings. This idea gives organizations objective characteristics that can be measured and correlated with efficiency and performance. The chapter points out that as much as the physical structure can be demolished by a wrecking-ball, its influence can also be deconstructed by the tools of postmodernism. The chapter traces back the organizational research in physical structure to studies conducted during the 1920s and 1930s at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works, wherein researchers performed a series of field experiments focused on learning how changes in the physical environment of work affect worker productivity. The chapter reviews the three objectively measurable aspects of physical structure favoured by modernists: location, layout, and proximity to others. It focuses on the design and use of built space, which is considered a highly practical concern that outlines differences between the perspectives of organization theory.
Power in and around organizations
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses power in terms of how it is distributed and used to serve various interests in organizations, such as families, villages, governments, universities, or corporations. These form both competitive and cooperative relationships. It mentions Samuel Bacharach and Edward Lawler, who claimed that survival in an organization is a political act. They also discuss how corporations, universities, and voluntary associations are arenas for daily political action. The chapter also focuses on several phenomena closely related to power, namely politics, domination, conflict, cooperation, and control. The chapter refers to humanists who sought cooperative ways of organizing to avoid Karl Marx's dire predictions about the effects of industrialization on workers and societies. Finally, the chapter looks at modernist studies of organizational politics, conflict, and control, including those that address symbols of power and their symbolic uses.
Innovation and Knowledge Processes
Authors: Hislop Donald , Bosua Rachelle , Helms Remko
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on organizational-level innovation and examines the innovation process. It presents some of the key components of knowledge creation theory, including the distinctive epistemology it is founded on, how knowledge creation is achieved through the conversion of knowledge from one form to another, and the role of space (ba) in knowledge. Then the chapter discusses some of the main critiques that have been made of knowledge creation theory which relate to its epistemology and its level of cultural generalizability. The chapter elaborates relevant parts of Crossan and Apaydin's (2010) model. It closes with an extended illustration on the role of absorptive capacity in innovation processes.
Boundary-Spanning Knowledge Processes in Heterogeneous Collaborations
Authors: Hislop Donald , Bosua Rachelle , Helms Remko
Published: September 2023

This chapter surveys knowledge processes in group contexts involving collaboration between people who are more diverse and heterogeneous. It explains why boundary-spanning collaboration is so important and widely used, as well as the benefits that can be derived from this form of collaboration. The chapter then looks at the character of boundary-spanning knowledge processes, outlining how the lack of common knowledge and shared identity shape their dynamics. Next, Carlile's (2002, 2004) influential work is used to distinguish between the types of boundaries that can be involved in boundary-spanning. Finally, it considers the way that boundary-spanning knowledge processes can be facilitated and managed, such as through the use of boundary objects and the management of cross-boundary social relations via the activities of brokers and boundary-spanners.
The technological environment
Authors: Otter Dorron
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the technological environment. It defines technology as the application of knowledge to production and this can happen in a variety of ways. Next, the chapter points out how innovation happens when completely new ideas about products or ways of producing things arise. It highlights the impact of technology on business in line with its implications for business strategy, improving living standards, productivity, employment, inequality, and market power. The chapter then explores the sources of technological change from the evolution of ideas, teamwork, private enterprise, and the role of government. It adds how technological change will only be successful with the help of entrepreneurial and institutional factors.
The political environment
Authors: Wetherly Paul
Published: September 2023

This chapter notes the political environment. It highlights the nature of politics in line with its implications on the decisions and rules of conducting business. The chapter explores the correlation of the government to business operation as it determines the legal framework, influences the scope of market relationships, manages macroeconomic environment and represents business interests overseas. It explains the concept of regulation, taxation, and public services. Additionally, the chapter includes the integration of liberal democracy and capitalism before referencing the models of capitalism, taking the European Union (EU) as an example of a political institution characterized by multilevel governance rather just on the national level.
The legal environment
Authors: Amos David
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the legal environment. It lists case law and legislation as sources of law while giving the structure of the courts. The chapter then highlights the legislative section of the European Union before narrating the process of the legislative process. It discusses the legal structures which businesses can adopt ranging between sole traders, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and companies. Additionally, separate legal personality is about individuals within a company who are protected from legal action, as and here legal action has to be taken against the company rather than individuals within it. The chapter looks into the question of how the law should intervene with business operations, while referencing regulation and deregulation.
The social and cultural environment
Authors: Wetherly Paul
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into social and cultural environments and their significance to a business. It explores demographic trends in line with the growing and ageing population for business. The chapter notes how net migration contributes to population growth while mitigating the ageing and old-age dependency ratio of the population. However, migration brings about a cultural impact to society alongside its economic effects. The chapter then discusses the class structure and how changes here result in economic change and shifts in capitalism. The chapter highlights how business activity takes place within a social and cultural context. Finally, class is analysed as a useful concept for comprehending attitudes to work and conflict in the employment relationship in Britain.
The ethical environment: corporate responsibility
Authors: Robinson Simon
Published: September 2023

This chapter situates the ethical environment in line with corporate responsibility. It explores the concepts behind corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, and business ethics. The chapter then lists free market theory and stakeholder theory as alternative perspectives on corporate responsibility. It also looks into the three-fold view of responsibility which is agency, accountability, and liability. Additionally, the chapter uses Unilever as a case study while referencing an overview of corporate responsibility policy and process. It explores the framework for corporate social responsibility in line with the practicalities of running a business. The chapter then lists the elements of a corporate responsibility response: data gathering, value clarification, responsibility negotiation, and auditing.
Globalization of business: good or bad?
Authors: Otter Dorron
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on debate regarding the globalization of business. It starts by listing the six main aspects of globalization: international trade, globally organized production, investment flows, migration, communication flows, and creation of the global market place. Globalization links together all the spatial levels of business activity while growing due to the expansion of capitalism. Then, the chapter discusses various perspectives on globalization such as neoclassical/neoliberal views, comparative advantage, socialism, Marxism, and structuralism. It explores the concept of ethical dilemmas in relation to global business activities such as the 2008 global crisis, the end of the Washington Consensus, human rights, environment, market power abuse, international migration, graft and corruption.
From starting to scaling and beyond: how do entrepreneurs and SMEs innovate and grow?
Authors: Raby Simon , Gregson Geoff
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It explores the advantages and disadvantages of working for a smaller enterprise such as lower cost structures and less formality and rigidity of business operations. Additionally, the chapter expounds on the concept of entrepreneurship as it is often associated with new venture creation, while entrepreneurs are people that can identify the potential of an idea and display the willingness to act on it. It notes the key processes involved in creating a new venture. The chapter then looks into how entrepreneurship applies across different business environments. It highlights the correlation between entrepreneurship and innovation.