Alexei Koveshnikov

Stereotype-Based Managerial Identity Work in Multinational Corporations

The paper advances our understanding of managerial identity work in the context of HQ–subsidiary relations. We argue that a key part of this identity work is related to cultural stereotypes. On the basis of an analysis of two Finland-based MNCs operating in Russia, the paper elucidates three forms of stereotype-based identity work with enabling or constraining power implications. The first form, stereotypical talk, refers to identity work whereby managers enact their stereotypical conceptions of ‘the other’ to bolster their self-image and ‘inferiorize’ ‘the other’. The second form, reactive talk, is identity work that emerges as a reaction to stereotypical talk whereby managers aim at renegotiating the proposed social arrangement for their own benefit. Finally, the third form, self-reflexive talk, refers to identity work whereby managers attempt to go beyond the social arrangement produced through stereotypical and reactive talk by distancing themselves in a self-reflexive manner from essentialist cultural conceptions. Overall, the paper offers an initial attempt to elucidate how stereotype-based identity work is used to justify or resist existing power structures and power asymmetries in HQ–subsidiary relations within the MNC.

Idiosyncrasy, heterogeneity and evolution of managerial styles in contemporary Russia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine managerial styles of Russian managers in the context of institutional and economic environment of contemporary Russia. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a sample of 482 line and middle managers covering eight geographic regions, 14 industries and 80 organizations in Russia. Findings – Employing factor and cluster analyses the paper identifies four distinct managerial styles: paternalistic, exploitative, performance oriented and passive. In addition, the paper analyzes a number of contingent characteristics of these typological Russian managers such as their age, career development, regional, industrial and organizational presence. Originality/value – The analysis enriches the understanding of managerial style idiosyncrasy, heterogeneity and evolution in Russia. The identified plurality of managerial styles, differentially related to a number of contingency variables, indicates that it pays off for western companies to avoid using stereoty...

Headquarter-Subsidiary Relations in the Multinational Corporation as a Discursive Struggle

Abstract The article develops a model which conceptualizes headquarter-subsidiary relations in the multinational corporation as a multilevel discursive struggle between key managers. At the first level, the relations are conceptualized as a discursive struggle over decisions and actions using rationalistic discourses. At the second level, they are viewed as a discursive struggle over power relations using control and autonomy discourses. Finally, underlying the first two, at the third level, headquarter-subsidiary relations are conceptualized as a discursive struggle over managers’ worldviews using cultural (pre)conceptions about “the self” and “the other.”

Job satisfaction, blat and intentions to leave among blue-collar employees in contemporary Russia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine antecedents of intentions to leave among blue-collar employees in domestic Russian organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a sample of 1,210 blue-collar employees in 80 domestic organizations across 14 industries and eight regions in Russia. Findings – The analysis shows that wage satisfaction is the strongest negative predictor of Russian employees’ intentions to leave compared to core job-related and interpersonal relations satisfaction. For non-blat employees, the relationships with intentions to leave are negative and significant for all three types of satisfactions, whereas for employees with blat only the relationship between core job-related satisfaction and intentions to leave is significant. Originality/value – The present study, first, reveals that wage satisfaction is the most important but not the only way to retain blue-collar employees in Russia and, second, points toward the complex nature of blat’s influence on em...

Why is Gender not Debated in M&A?

Abstract Our review shows that M&A research fails to discuss questions of gender. In this chapter, we aim to understand this lack of sensitivity to gender in analyzing how M&A processes unfold. We discuss strategic and people-oriented M&A research, seek to explain why gender and gender relations are not debated therein, and offer some ideas on how they could be incorporated in the analyses. We also consider the contemporary system of academic publishing for understanding the marginal position of gender research in general. Overall, the chapter paves the way for arguing why the gender perspective would benefit M&A research so that it would become better equipped to address the focal phenomenon as constituted in its social, cultural, and economic context.

The Spouse as “the Forgotten Other”: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Expatriation Literature

In this paper, we explore how the spouse is discursively constructed and represented in the expatriation literature since the publication of “The influence of the spouse on American expatriate adju...