Roger Schweizer, Katarina Lagerström, Emilene Leite and Cecilia Pahlberg
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on how multinational company (MNC) headquarters (HQs) can manage the existing coopetition paradox to ensure innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on how multinational company (MNC) headquarters (HQs) can manage the existing coopetition paradox to ensure innovation within the MNC. In contrast to the rather scarce previous research, the authors argue that HQ needs to solve the coopetition paradox under the sway of a parenting paradox. Hence, HQ faces a dual paradox.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the literature on HQ’s role during MNCs’ innovation processes, this conceptual paper revisits the previously suggested HQ measures to enable coopetition among subsidiaries. By applying a sheer ignorance perspective, the authors contribute with a more nuanced understanding of the HQ’s role in innovation activities.
Findings
The article identifies four challenges as the HQ faces a parenting paradox that hinders its ability to solve the coopetition paradox: context specificity of subsidiaries’ innovation work, normative expectations of subsidiary managers, potential opportunistic behavior of HQ manager and HQ underestimation of needed resources. The article suggests that HQ needs to become more informed and preferably even embedded in the local innovation networks of its most important subsidiaries and that coopetition should not be managed solely on an HQ level.
Originality/value
Advocating a sheer ignorance perspective, the article pioneers in discussing the role that HQ plays in managing coopetition among subsidiaries in innovation activities.
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Katarina Lagerström, Emilene Leite, Cecilia Pahlberg and Roger Schweizer
In this paper, the authors contribute with insights on competition and cooperation in multinational enterprises with a focus on challenges related to these governance mechanisms…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors contribute with insights on competition and cooperation in multinational enterprises with a focus on challenges related to these governance mechanisms in a knowledge development context. The mechanisms have been widely recognized as important for developing knowledge, but their contradicting nature implies considerable complexity when it comes to governance. The complexity is further increased as a result of the headquarters-subsidiary relationships. The aim of this paper is to contribute with theoretical and empirical insights on these aspects by focusing on the research question: How and why does competition and cooperation in an MNE emerge over time?
Design/methodology/approach
A manufacturing MNE with headquarters (HQ) in Sweden is analyzed on both HQ and subsidiary levels. Interviews with 24 managers in Sweden and India have been performed.
Findings
The study illustrates that competition and cooperation are integral aspects in HQ-subsidiary relationships. The results show that both competition and cooperation depend on environmental, organizational and object-related conditions and that these conditions influence the dynamics of the interplay. The importance of including a subsidiary perspective and the interdependencies in an MNE setting are emphasized.
Originality/value
The authors add to the discussion on the interplay between competition and cooperation as they play an important role for knowledge development in MNEs. The results indicate that they do not take place simultaneously, and therefore, the authors suggest that the dynamic can be better understood by focusing on the interplay and analyze the concepts separately.
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Emilene Leite, Cecilia Pahlberg and Susanne Åberg
Building on a business network perspective, the paper addresses the following question: Why do firms move between cooperation and competition in the context of high-tech industry…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on a business network perspective, the paper addresses the following question: Why do firms move between cooperation and competition in the context of high-tech industry? Hence, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the complex cooperation–competition interplay between actors in a business network.
Design/methodology/approach
A single case study within the information and communication technology industry is undertaken and illustrates the cooperation–competition interplay in projects of technology.
Findings
The authors discuss the implications of interdependence on relationship dynamics. The main argument is that business relationships survive despite periods of competition if interdependence is high. Thus, firms move between a state of cooperation and a state of competition within business relationships, rather than ending the relationships when starting to compete.
Practical implications
This study suggests that managers need to pay attention to how different degrees of interdependence lead firms to be embedded in cooperative or competitive forms of relationships.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about cooperation, competition and coopetition within international business and industrial marketing literature. An interesting aspect in the paper is the cooperation–competition interplay, which is associated with positioning. A centrally positioned actor will choose who to bring into the partnership, with positioning concomitantly changing from project to project. The willingness of being a central actor, i.e. a project leader, places traditional buyer–supplier partners in competition. Thus, cooperation and/or competition becomes contextual.
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Siavash Alimadadi, Christer Forsling, Cecilia Pahlberg and Firouze Pourmand Hilmersson
This chapter deals with firms’ relationships in particular with political actors when expanding in emerging markets. Our main purpose is to illustrate the importance of including…
Abstract
This chapter deals with firms’ relationships in particular with political actors when expanding in emerging markets. Our main purpose is to illustrate the importance of including such relationships when describing how firms develop insidership in networks in these markets. Emerging markets are often described as if they pose similar challenges but we will focus on the heterogeneity and how firms handle the diversity of the non-business foreign environment. Based on experiences from three Western multinationals — Sandvik, Ericsson and ABB — the main challenges in China, South Africa and Turkey are described. In addition to relationships with political actors, the discussion indicates the importance of also including other non-business actors, such as NGOs. The cases also illustrate that knowledge acquired in one cultural setting may not easily be transferred to another since the contexts are so different.
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Anna Ljung and Cecilia Pahlberg
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how network relationships, with business as well as with non-business actors, affect each other and have an impact on strategy processes in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how network relationships, with business as well as with non-business actors, affect each other and have an impact on strategy processes in subsidiaries in Latin America.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach is used in which a new strategy in a European multinational company (MNC) is studied at the subsidiary level in Brazil and Argentina. The authors discuss why the strategic processes are so different within the same MNC. During 2009-2011, 50 interviews were conducted with respondents in Latin America and at headquarters.
Findings
The results point to the importance of including relationships with both business and non-business actors to understand the subsidiary strategy processes. The authors suggest that such processes can be explained by interdependent relationships in a wider network context characterised by commitment and trust, leading to increased legitimacy among the actors involved.
Practical implications
Managers need to invest in relationships not only with business counterparts but also with non-business actors, as they are interdependent and vital for the strategy development.
Originality/value
Relationships between firms and actors such as governments and civil society are still under-researched, although they are essential, especially in emerging economies. The paper puts focus on network relationships in strategy research and contributes to the development of business network theory by extending the network to also include relationships with such non-business actors and relate it to strategy processes. There is also a contribution to research on corporate social responsibility activities with a specific focus on Latin America.
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Siavash Alimadadi is a PhD candidate at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University. His research focuses on the role of knowledge and trust in the internationalization…
Abstract
Siavash Alimadadi is a PhD candidate at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University. His research focuses on the role of knowledge and trust in the internationalization process. His current research examines the impact of socio-political actors on MNCs in Turkey.