Mara Brumana

The Multinational Corporation as a Playing Field of Power: A Bourdieusian Approach

Abstract Kostova, Roth and Dacin called in 2008 for the advancement of a theoretical conception of the multinational corporation (MNC) that takes into account both power relationships among actors and the structure of its internal institutional field. While micro-political scholars of MNCs have started to answer the former part of the call regarding power, the second part has not been thoroughly addressed yet. Furthermore, the agentic aspects typical of power games and the structural aspects characterizing institutional fields have not been fully combined in a multi-level perspective of MNCs so far. Leaning on Bourdieu, we suggest an answer to the pending call. We theorize the MNC as a playing field of power emerging around the issue of finding a meta-rate of conversion of the actors’ capitals constituted in national fields. We conceive such issue field in a dynamic state due to the constant entry and exit of new players (e.g. through mergers, acquisitions or divestitures). This results in the need to continuously test the validity of exchange rates. The role of the metainstitutional field level of the MNC as a global category is also discussed.

How Do Family Firms Launch New Businesses? A Developmental Perspective on Internal Corporate Venturing in Family Business

This conceptual work depicts internal corporate venturing in family business as consisting of two separate and sequential strategic choices: first, the decision about the degree of relatedness between the parent firm and the venture; second, the definition of the level of venture autonomy. Drawing on stewardship theory, we argue that family business dynamics, and in particular the development of the ownership structure, influence how family firms pursue internal corporate venturing and make decisions related to such two steps. We also discuss the contingent effect of corporate governance characteristics and of the national legal system.

Divergent Glocalization in a Multinational Enterprise. Institutional-Bound Strategic Change in European and US Subsidiaries Facing the Late-2000 Recession

Purpose – This paper aims to unpack the organization of an multinational enterprise (MNE) and confront its meso‐level complexity of structures and strategies. It seeks to uncover how the glocalization process unfolds, which are the mechanisms at its base and the outcomes in terms of stability, convergence or divergence in strategies and structures.Design/methodology/approach – Through a case study research design, the paper investigates strategic change in an Italian MNE from 2005 to 2011. In 2008 and 2010, extensive data on organizational configurations were also collected. Overall, the paper analyses the glocalized blending of corporate and subsidiary strategies and organizational structures. Attention is also paid to the cognitive, political and institutional mechanisms that accounted for this process before and during the late‐2000 financial crisis.Findings – Glocalization, largely interpreted as an in‐between process compromising between homogeneous global standards and heterogeneous local traditions...

A Bibliometric Study of the Literature on Technological Innovation: An Analysis of 60 International Academic Journals

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on technological innovation, organization and work. Although technological innovation remained a debated topic in the academic literature during the past years, its implications for organizational processes seem still not sufficiently theorized and empirically investigated. By using two complementary journals’ rankings a search in the ISI Web of Science platform from 1985 through 2013 was performed. To analyze the 998 scientific retrieved contributions a bibliometric analysis has been conducted, adopting also Social Network Analysis tools. Our results reveal a significant growth of the technological innovation literature over the investigated period, the multidisciplinarity of the field and, particularly, the relevance of management and business and economics contributions. Overall, this study offers a broad overview of the literature on technological innovation and emphasizes the opportunity to investigate the role of technological innovation within the organizational life.

Transgenerational professionalization of family firms: the role of next generation leaders

This study deals with transgenerational professionalization. This concept revolves around the professionalization of family firms during their life cycle and particularly in the transfer of leadership from one generation to the next. It offers an emerging research framework based on the study of an Italian family firm that has diversified and thrived through the professionalization of family members. The findings prove relevant for the continuity of innovative and entrepreneurial family firms. This study highlights that in family firm generational succession, professionalization and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.

Perception gaps in international corporate entrepreneurship: the role of knowledge transfer tools

This chapter focuses on knowledge transfer in multinational corporations and analyses to what extent and under what conditions perception gaps associated to knowledge sharing have an impact on performance. We build and test a moderated mediation model which shows that perception gap on knowledge sharing is an antecedent of capability perception gap which, in turn, negatively influences subsidiary performance. Results obtained highlight that knowledge transfer tools—and particularly technology-based coordination mechanisms—play a crucial role in creating the best environment to share knowledge within multinational corporations.

Family Firms as the Incubators of New Ventures: A Transgenerational Perspective

This chapter aims to explore the process of the creation of new ventures by incumbent firms, and especially by the most ubiquitous business organizations: family firms. Among the different typologies of entrepreneurial efforts available to existing firms (such as the development of a new internal division, licensing or minority equity investment), some firms decide to establish a new venture (i.e. a start-up). Specifically, the research question we address in this chapter is: why and how do incumbent firms generate new ventures? To answer this, we draw on the concept of transgenerational entrepreneurship, namely the combination of (i) an entrepreneurial mindset and (ii) family -influenced resources and capabilities. Methodologically, the chapter builds on a single longitudinal case study: an Italian family-owned firm that has established a corporate venture as part of the family business group. The descriptive findings show that the decision to establish a new venture, from among the different types of venturing available, depends on the combination of entrepreneurial mindset and family -influenced resources and capabilities. Moreover, we clarify the role and contribution of existing firms, and especially of family firms, for the birth of new businesses.