Micropolitics in the Multinational Corporation
Foundations, Applications and New Directions

This book offers the first comprehensive discussion of the foundations, applications and new directions of politics perspectives in MNCs.

Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach (Edited by), Susanne Blazejewski (Edited by), Christoph Dörrenbächer (Edited by), Mike Geppert (Edited by)

9781107672772, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 March 2022

327 pages, 1 b/w illus. 12 tables
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.7 cm, 0.489 kg

'Until very recently the multinational corporation was seen as a unitary actor, cultivating the highest form of economic rationality … A series of empirically oriented studies gradually emerged that undermined [this] view … Instead, an image of political games and rivalling powers emerged, question[ing] the ease with which MNCs could establish [successful] collaborative relations … a huge literature based on diversified theoretical perspectives has [since] emerged that sees the MNC as a setting for micro-politics. The great contribution of this volume is that it provides us with an excellent and highly systematised overview of this new burgeoning literature [from the perspective of] a number of different theoretical traditions, [enabling] the authors to suggest a number of new routes for research. Organization studies [is] in [great] need of … analytical skills for … suggesting improvements in the operations and governance of MNCs, which play an overwhelming role [in] … our economic futures. This volume is an important step in this direction.' Peer Hull Kristensen, Copenhagen Business School

Over the past decade, politics perspectives in international business have moved into the mainstream repertoire of research, theory development and teaching about the organisational behaviour of multinational corporations (MNCs). Politics perspectives contribute substantially to understanding the behaviour in and of MNCs in their different contexts and environments but so far these burgeoning perspectives have not been systematically and comprehensively reviewed. This book offers the first detailed overview of the theoretical foundations, methodologies and empirical applications of politics perspectives in MNCs. A group of international authors discuss twelve seminal contributions to the study of politics, power and conflict in MNCs, followed by a summary and synthesis of the literature into a comprehensive analytical framework. The book closes with a discussion of future directions in the field. This is a thorough introduction to political behaviour in MNCs written for scholars and graduate students in the fields of organisation studies and international business.

Foreword Stewart Clegg
1. Introduction Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach, Susanne Blazejewski, Christoph Dörrenbächer and Mike Geppert
Part I. Foundations of Politics, Power and Conflict in MNCs: 2. Theoretical foundations and conceptual definitions Susanne Blazejewski and Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach
3. The evolution of a politics perspective of the multinational enterprise – past developments and current applications Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach and Susanne Blazejewski
Part II. Seminal Contributions: 4. Seminal contributions of the rationalistic-managerialist school Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach and Jens Gammelgaard
5. Seminal contributions of the institutionalist and micropolitics schools Mike Geppert and Karen Williams
6. Seminal contributions of the critical management school Christoph Dörrenbächer and Joanne Roberts
Part III. Analytical Tools and Applications: 7. Understanding organisational behaviour in MNCs from a micropolitical perspective: a stratified analytical framework Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach and Susanne Blazejewski
8. Doing research on power and politics in MNCs: a methodological perspective Rebecca Piekkari and Susanne Tietze
Part IV. Reflections and New Directions for Research
9. Advancing research on political issues in and around MNCs: the role of discursive sensemaking Mike Geppert and Christoph Dörrenbächer
10. Zooming in on politicking and issue selling tactics as new research directions for the study of micropolitics in MNCs Christoph Dörrenbächer and Jens Gammelgaard
11. Advancing research on micropolitics in MNCs: an elite perspective Christoph Dörrenbächer and Mike Geppert
12. Micropolitics in emerging market MNCs as a field of new research Knut G. Lange and Florian A. A. Becker-Ritterspach
Index.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU]