Politics and Power in the Multinational Corporation
The Role of Institutions, Interests and Identities

A 2011 study of how and why power in multinational corporations matters, emphasising socio-political interactions between key stakeholders.

Christoph Dörrenbächer (Edited by), Mike Geppert (Edited by)

9781107406650, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 August 2012

466 pages
24.4 x 17 x 2.4 cm, 0.74 kg

'… the theoretically engaging and empirically challenging nature of this book provides a thought-provoking piece of work on the sustained discussion of power and politics in [a multinational corporation] environment. It will also allow us to develop current considerations to help stimulate further interdisciplinary insight into the study of micropolitical dynamics within the multinational corporation.' Industrial and Labor Relations Review

This book was first published in 2011. The current financial and economic crisis has negatively underlined the vital role of multinational companies (MNCs) in our daily lives. The breakdown and crisis of flagship MNCs, such as Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, Toyota and General Motors, does not merely reveal the problems of corporate malfeasance and market dysfunction. It also raises important questions, both for the public and the academic community, about the use and misuse of power by MNCs in the wider society, as well as the exercise of power by key actors within internationally operating firms. This book examines how issues of power and politics affect MNCs at three different levels; the macro-level, the meso-level and the micro-level. This wide-ranging analysis shows not only that power matters but also how and why it matters, pointing to the political interactions of key power holders and actors within the MNC, both managers and employees.

List of figures
List of tables
Foreword Ram Mudambi
Part I. Introduction: 1. Politics and power in the multinational corporation: an introduction Mike Geppert and Christoph Dörrenbächer
Part II. Politics and Power in MNCs: Institutions, Social Embeddedness and Knowledge: 2. Resource dependence and construction, and macro and micro politics in transnational enterprises and alliances: the case of jet engine manufacturers in Germany Arndt Sorge and Katja Rothe
3. Bargained globalisation: employment relations providing robust 'tool kits' for socio-political strategizing in MNCs in Germany Karen Williams and Mike Geppert
4. Bridging roles, social skill and embedded knowing in multinational organisations Mark Fenton-O'Creevy, Paul Gooderham, Jean-Luc Cerdin and Rune Rønning
Part III. Politics and Power in MNCs: Headquarters-Subsidiary Relations: 5. Conflict in headquarters-subsidiary relations: a critical literature review and new directions Susanne Blazejewski and Florian Becker-Ritterspach
6. Intra-organizational turbulences in multinational corporations Andreas Schotter and Paul W. Beamish
7. Conflicts in headquarters-subsidiary relationships: headquarters-driven charter losses in foreign subsidiaries Christoph Dörrenbächer and Jens Gammelgaard
8. Headquarters-subsidiary relationships from a social psychological perspective: how perception gaps concerning the subsidiary's role may lead to conflict Stefan Schmid and Andrea Daniel
Part IV. Politics and Power in MNCs: Role of National Identities and Identity Work: 9. Subsidiary manager socio-political interaction: the impact of host country culture Christopher Williams
10. Unequal power relations, identity discourse, and cultural distinction drawing in MNCs Sierk Ybema and Hyunghae Byun
11. National identities in times of organizational globalization: a case study of Russian managers in two Finnish-Russian organizations Alexei Koveshnikov
12. Contesting social space in the Balkan region: the social dimensions of a 'Red' joint venture Mairi Maclean and Graham Hollinshead
Part V. Conclusions: 13. Reflections on the macro-politics of micro-politics Glenn Morgan
Index.

Subject Areas: Multinationals [KJVG], International business [KJK], Business & management [KJ], Politics & government [JP], Sociology [JHB]