IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v15y2006i1p14-28.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Commitment for hire? The viability of corporate culture as a MNC control mechanism

Author

Listed:
  • Welch, Denice E.
  • Welch, Lawrence S.

Abstract

This paper discusses the effectiveness of corporate culture as a control mechanism in the multinational context. While there is widespread managerial support for its use, there is also considerable challenge to the idea that corporate culture can be 'managed'. A review of relevant literature dealing with the internalisation of corporate values, organizational commitment, psychological ownership, and corporate identification provokes questions about the viability of corporate culture as a MNC control mechanism. Much depends on individual employee responses that range from support to outright resistance, and may be moderated by variables, such as managerial action and the extent of violation of the psychological contract. It is concluded that, in the long run, it may not be in the best interests of MNC management to have a strong corporate culture. A workforce of highly inculcated employees might, in fact, impede MNC management's need for strategic changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Welch, Denice E. & Welch, Lawrence S., 2006. "Commitment for hire? The viability of corporate culture as a MNC control mechanism," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 14-28, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:15:y:2006:i:1:p:14-28
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593105001137
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hugh Willmott, 1993. "Strength Is Ignorance; Slavery Is Freedom: Managing Culture In Modern Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 515-552, July.
    2. Jon I Martinez & J Carlos Jarillo, 1989. "The Evolution of Research on Coordination Mechanisms in Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 20(3), pages 489-514, September.
    3. Nitin Nohria & Sumantra Ghoshal, 1994. "Differentiated fit and shared values: Alternatives for managing headquarters‐subsidiary relations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 491-502, July.
    4. Welch, Denice E. & Welch, Lawrence S., 1997. "Being flexible and accommodating diversity: The challenge for multinational management," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 677-685, December.
    5. Mats Alvesson & Hugh Willmott, 2002. "Identity Regulation as Organizational Control: Producing the Appropriate Individual," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 619-644, July.
    6. John M. Jermier & John W. Slocum & Louis W. Fry & Jeannie Gaines, 1991. "Organizational Subcultures in a Soft Bureaucracy: Resistance Behind the Myth and Facade of an Official Culture," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(2), pages 170-194, May.
    7. Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca & Welch, Denice & Welch, Lawrence, 1999. "In the shadow: the impact of language on structure, power and communication in the multinational," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 421-440, August.
    8. Birkinshaw, Julian & Ridderstråle, Jonas, 1999. "Fighting the corporate immune system: a process study of subsidiary initiatives in multinational corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 149-180, April.
    9. Taggart, J. H., 1999. "MNC subsidiary performance, risk, and corporate expectations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 233-255, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Williams, Christopher & van Triest, Sander, 2009. "The impact of corporate and national cultures on decentralization in multinational corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 156-167, April.
    2. Manolopoulos, Dimitris & Söderquist, Klas Eric & Pearce, Robert, 2011. "Coordinating decentralized research and development laboratories: A survey analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 114-129, June.
    3. Šilenskytė, Aušrinė & Kohtamäki, Marko & Dhanaraj, Charles, 2022. "Strategy implementation in the transnational MNC: A critical realist investigation of European and Indian unit collaboration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 276-289.
    4. Schmid, Stefan & Grosche, Philipp & Mayrhofer, Ulrike, 2016. "Configuration and coordination of international marketing activities," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 535-547.
    5. Minbaeva, Dana & Rabbiosi, Larissa & Stahl, Günter K., 2018. "Not walking the talk? How host country cultural orientations may buffer the damage of corporate values’ misalignment in multinational corporations," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 880-895.
    6. Sasaki, Innan & Yoshikawa, Katsuhiko, 2014. "Going beyond national cultures – Dynamic interaction between intra-national, regional, and organizational realities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 455-464.
    7. Dasí, Àngels & Pedersen, Torben & Gooderham, Paul N. & Elter, Frank & Hildrum, Jarle, 2017. "The effect of organizational separation on individuals’ knowledge sharing in MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 431-446.
    8. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Dieleman, Marleen & Hirsch, Paul & Rodrigues, Suzana B. & Zyglidopoulos, Stelios, 2021. "Multinationals’ misbehavior," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    9. Michailova, Snejina & Minbaeva, Dana B., 2012. "Organizational values and knowledge sharing in multinational corporations: The Danisco case," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 59-70.
    10. Maria Rosaria Marcone, 2009. "THE COMPETITIVE REPOSITIONING OF SMEs WITHIN THE PROCESS OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION," Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, vol. 0(2), pages 101-122.
    11. Lena Zander & Karsten Jonsen & Audra I. Mockaitis, 2016. "Leveraging Values in Global Organizations: Premises, Paradoxes and Progress," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 149-169, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Krane, Ronja & Eulerich, Marc, 2020. "Going global: Factors influencing the internationalization of the internal audit function," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    2. Barron, Andrew & Pereda, Asier & Stacey, Stephen, 2017. "Exploring the performance of government affairs subsidiaries: A study of organisation design and the social capital of European government affairs managers at Toyota Motor Europe and Hyundai Motor Com," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 184-196.
    3. Watson, Sharon & Weaver, Gary R., 2003. "How internationalization affects corporate ethics: formal structures and informal management behavior," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 75-93.
    4. Williams, Christopher & van Triest, Sander, 2009. "The impact of corporate and national cultures on decentralization in multinational corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 156-167, April.
    5. Claudia Gross, 2010. "Spiritual Cleansing: A Case Study on how Spirituality Can Be Mis/used by a Company," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 21(1), pages 60-81.
    6. Tippmann, Esther & Sharkey Scott, Pamela & Reilly, Marty & O’Brien, Donal, 2018. "Subsidiary coopetition competence: Navigating subsidiary evolution in the multinational corporation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 540-554.
    7. Du, Yan & Deloof, Marc & Jorissen, Ann, 2015. "The Roles of Subsidiary Boards in Multinational Enterprises," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 169-181.
    8. Lambert Jerman & Julien Raone, 2014. "Dompter La Verite Dans L'Organisation : La Subjectivation Comme Production De L'Animal Confessant," Post-Print hal-01899765, HAL.
    9. Lee, Jeoung Yul & MacMillan, Ian C., 2008. "Managerial knowledge-sharing in chaebols and its impact on the performance of their foreign subsidiaries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 533-545, October.
    10. Drogendijk, Rian & Holm, Ulf, 2012. "Cultural distance or cultural positions? Analysing the effect of culture on the HQ–subsidiary relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 383-396.
    11. Zeng, Rong & Grøgaard, Birgitte & Steel, Piers, 2018. "Complements or substitutes? A meta-analysis of the role of integration mechanisms for knowledge transfer in the MNE network," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 415-432.
    12. Lee, Soo Hee & Williams, Christopher, 2007. "Dispersed entrepreneurship within multinational corporations: A community perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 505-519, December.
    13. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13554 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Ambos, Björn & Kunisch, Sven & Leicht-Deobald, Ulrich & Schulte Steinberg, Adrian, 2019. "Unravelling agency relations inside the MNC: The roles of socialization, goal conflicts and second principals in headquarters-subsidiary relationships," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 67-81.
    15. Patrick Regnér & Udo Zander, 2011. "Knowledge and Strategy Creation in Multinational Companies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 821-850, December.
    16. Rabbiosi, Larissa, 2011. "Subsidiary roles and reverse knowledge transfer: An investigation of the effects of coordination mechanisms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 97-113, June.
    17. Marschan, Rebecca & Welch, Denise & Welch, Lawrence, 1996. "Control in less-hierarchical multinationals: The role of personal networks and informal communication," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 137-150, April.
    18. Stendahl, Emma & Tippmann, Esther & Yakhlef, Ali, 2022. "Practice creation in multinational corporations: Improvisation and the emergence of lateral knowledge," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(3).
    19. Lee, Jong Min, 2019. "Intra- and inter-regional diversification, subsidiary value chain activities and expatriate utilization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    20. Emma Stendahl & Svante Schriber & Esther Tippmann, 2021. "Control changes in multinational corporations: Adjusting control approaches in practice," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 409-431, April.
    21. Gazi Islam & Roberta Sferrazzo, 2022. "Workers' Rites: Ritual Mediations and the Tensions of New Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 284-318, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:15:y:2006:i:1:p:14-28. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.