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" Entrepreneurship and subsidiary management in multinational corporations : "
Williams, Christopher.
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1095934
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TLets417997
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| Main Entry
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Williams, Christopher.
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| Title & Author
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Entrepreneurship and subsidiary management in multinational corporations :\ Williams, Christopher.
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| College
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Birkbeck (University of London)
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| Date
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2005
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| student score
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2005
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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This thesis investigates how entrepreneurship is influenced by internal organisation inMultinational Corporations (MNCs). It provides fresh theoretical and empirical insightson MNC organisation and strategy, showing how intra-MNC knowledge networks andheterarchical communities enable corporate renewal. This thesis addresses the definitionproblem in the entrepreneurship field by conceptualising entrepreneurship as aperception-creation-change process. In the MNC context, this renewal process isintrinsically linked with subsidiary management aspects such as role, autonomy,relations and development. A new analytical framework for MNC entrepreneurship isthen developed, consisting of two parts: (l) strategic investment and firm behavioural'focussed entrepreneurship' and (2) emergent subsidiary level 'dispersedentrepreneurship' .Empirical investigation into the interface between subsidiary management andentrepreneurship follows with a mixed-method research strategy using focussed anddispersed operationalisations. For focussed entrepreneurship, cross-sectional resourceallocations and longitudinal firm behaviour data show that MNC entrepreneurial stanceis determined mainly by internal knowledge network characteristics, with moreaggressive MNCs exploiting those networks with a higher risk orientation. Superiorperformance is shown as a contingency between stance and entrepreneurialobsolescence in the industry. For dispersed entrepreneurship, subsidiary managerperceptions elicited by survey and interview reveal how heterarchically orientedperception and creation variables, such as local initiative and political arena, affectMNC renewal. Entrepreneurial communities, distinct from those of practice andcharacterised by high boundary porosity and competitive purpose, are identified ascritical reconciling mechanisms for mutual knowledge sharing during perception,creation and change.These new insights extend our understanding of MNC entrepreneurship whilstcontributing to debates in international business research and theory development.Future research could investigate evolutionary paths of MNC entrepreneurialcommunities and emergent organisational forms with a multilevel research design.Future research could also analyse external network links and local embeddedness inorder to understand how these communities develop and provide benefits and learningto external stakeholders as well as to the MNC. Normative implications of this studysuggest MNC leaders should manage knowledge assets in terms of both firm-wideentrepreneurial orientation and boundary-spanning communities at the subsidiary-levelto achieve an effective entrepreneurial organisation. Of particular concern to MNCmanagers is the adequacy of the internal knowledge network for the desiredentrepreneurial orientation, requiring assessment and management in structural andrelational terms.
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Birkbeck (University of London)
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