Mehdi Boussebaa

Constructing Global Firms? National, Transnational and Neocolonial Effects in International Management Consultancies

Drawing on an empirical study of four major international management consultancies, this article examines managerial efforts to construct ‘global’ organizations. We show how these efforts are undermined by inter-office conflicts over the staffing of client projects. We argue that such constraints cannot be adequately understood as an outcome of inappropriate organizational structures and incentives since this explanation ignores the important role of institutional contexts. In this vein, we outline and develop four different institutionalist lenses and apply them to the empirical findings. In so doing, we reveal the need to adopt a multi-dimensional institutionalist approach to the study of ‘global’ firms, one that can account for not only national effects but also transnational and neocolonial influences on these organizations.

Englishization, Identity Regulation and Imperialism

What are the power/identity implications of the increasing Englishization of non-Anglophone workplaces around the world? We address this question using an analytical framework that combines a focus on micro/meso-level processes of identity regulation with attentiveness to the macro-level discourse of English as a global language. Drawing on reflexive fieldwork conducted at a major French university, we show how Englishization is bound up with processes of normalization, surveillance and conformist identity work that serve to discipline local selves in line with the imperative of international competitiveness. Concomitantly, we also show that Englishization is not a totalizing form of identity regulation; it is contested, complained about and appropriated in the creative identity work of those subject to it. Yet, moving from the micro/meso- to the macro-level, we argue that Englishization is ultimately ‘remaking’ locals as Anglophones through a quasi-voluntary process of imperialism in the context of a US-dominated era of ‘globalization’ and ‘global English’. We discuss the theoretical implications of these insights and open some avenues for future research.

Professional service firms, globalisation and the new imperialism

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to draw critical accounting research to ground the study of globalising of professional service firms (GPSFs) more firmly in the history and actuality of imperialism. In so doing, the paper also helps in forging a stronger connection between accounting scholarship and interdisciplinary GPSF-focused debates in the wider field of management and organisation studies (MOS). Design/methodology/approach - – This is a desk-based study, analysing the globalisation of professional service firms through the lens of imperialism via an exploration of relevant research on the accounting profession. Findings - – The analysis sheds light on the link between GPSFs and contemporary imperialism. In particular, it shows how the organisation of GPSFs (re)produces core-periphery relations in the modern world economy and how this is facilitated and reinforced by universalisation efforts on the part of the firms’ core offices. The paper also highlights the role of local professionals in both enabling and resisting GPSF domination. Research limitations/implications - – One main implication of this paper is that the organisational nature and societal impact of GPSFs (and the professions more generally) are further illuminated. The paper deepens understanding of GPSFs’ role in (re)producing global inequalities and colonial-style power relations in a supposedly post-imperial world and calls for a reconceptualisation of these firms as agents of imperialism. In so doing, the paper also opens new avenues for future research on the organisation of GPSFs and on their impact on societies worldwide. Originality/value - – This is the first attempt to draw together critical accounting studies of globalisation with research GPSFs in the generalist field of MOS. In so doing, it contributes to a cross-fertilisation of the two fields and helps in making the former more central to ongoing debates in the latter. The paper also contributes to the emerging body of post-colonial theorising in MOS by shedding light on the crucial role of professional service firms in (re)producing imperialism in the modern world economy.

Learning from the world? Horizontal knowledge flows and geopolitics in international consulting firms

This paper examines the nature of the contemporary multinational corporation (MNC) through a study of the use of knowledge management systems (KMS) in four major international consulting firms. In particular, we explore whether and how such systems facilitate horizontal (inter-subsidiary) flows of knowledge, as described in the network view of the MNC. Our analysis reveals the presence of horizontal flows within the four firms, but flows that are contextually constrained and partly shaped by geopolitical power relations. Thus, our study gives some support to the image of the MNC as a network whilst highlighting the contextual limits of horizontal knowledge transfer and, importantly, the geopolitical conditions under which such knowledge transfer takes place. At the same time, it challenges the claim that consulting firms are model organizations in the area of knowledge management as well as the more negative view that questions the ability of KMS to facilitate knowledge transfer.

Convergence or divergence? A comparison of informal consultant–client relationship development practices in Britain, France and Germany

A continuing debate in the field of management and organization studies is whether globalization is giving rise to universal ways of working. This study contributes to the debate by turning the attention to management consultancy work, an area of economic activity that is often said to be highly globalized. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in three nations – Britain, France and Germany – it explores whether and how far the informal client relationships developed by management consultants vary across countries. The findings not only reveal commonalities but also significant differences in how consultants in the three different national contexts approach issues of location, work/private life boundaries, and hierarchy in their client relationship development work. We, thus, find that despite globalization pressures, cross-national differences in management consultancy work continue to matter.

The work of global professional service firms

In this chapter, we consider their work, both in terms of their activities and internal organization as ‘global’ firms and in terms of their impacts on economies and ultimately societies worldwide. In doing this, we follow on from those who have highlighted the work GPSFs do for capitalism and elites (Morgan, 2006) and for the institutions of the economy (Muzio et al., 2013; Boussebaa, 2015b forthcoming; Muzio et al., 2013), by drawing attention to the intimate connections between the firms’ mode of organizing, their activities in markets throughout the world, and the structures of the global economy. In particular, we highlight five research agendas which, we believe, relate to a pressing series of questions about the power

Englishization, Disciplinary Power and Identity Work

How, in workplaces around the world, is English being imposed on local professionals, and how do they respond to this process of Englishization? Using a Foucauldian-informed analytical framework, w...