Between autonomy and control: Expatriate managers and strategic IHRM in SMEs

Much research in the relatively new area of International HRM has concentrated on the problems of expatriates and expatriation issues (Scullion, 1995; Brewster & Harris, 1999). These are often related to concerns that they face in working in a foreign environment; particularly, such issues as cultural difficulties and other factors associated with assignment failure (Harzing, 1995; Forster, 1997). However, there is very little research on what expatriates do as managers in a foreign context, and how this relates to overall business and HRM strategy in the organization as a whole. This article is a small contribution to this growing debate, and examines the strategic relationship between the HRM department at national HQ and how its strategy and policy is translated by expatriates at subsidiary levels in a relatively small organization operating in 37 countries. The article focuses most particularly on the tensions between local autonomy of the organization's various overseas units and the attempts by its headquarters to achieve control. We particularly examine the role of HRM in attempting to find this balance. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Organizational culture,innovation, and performance: A test of Schein's model

Innovation is the key to organizational survival and therefore the study of processes that support innovation should be of interest to researchers and practitioners alike. Schein's multi-layered model of organizational culture offers a useful framework for thinking about processes that foster innovation. A defining characteristic of the model is the subtle but important distinctions between the varied “layers” of organizational culture (i.e., values and norms, artifacts and behaviors). The basic assumption of this study is that Schein's model offers a tractable explanation of cultural processes that support organizational innovation, especially in service firms. Despite the intuitive appeal and practical value of Schein's conceptual framework, empirical research in relation to the model is limited. This paper develops a rationale for an empirical model based on Schein's conceptual model; the study reports a test of an empirical model. Data collected from approximately 100 principals of law firms provides a suitable empirical context for a test of the model. The findings generally support the hypothesized relationships. A key result is how layers of organizational culture, particularly norms, artifacts, and innovative behaviors, partially mediate the effects of values that support innovation on measures of firm performance. The findings have implications for theory and practice, especially in relation to building an organizational culture within professional service firms that fosters innovative behavior.     

Winning the tournament for named professorships in management

We apply tournament theory to explain the process within which selection of named professorships takes place and a procedural justice test to justify winning the named professorship tournament. Specifically, we estimate the probability that management professors hold one of the highest rewards for academic research productivity, a named professorship, as a function of his or her research credentials, as measured by the number of articles published in a small core of elite management journals. Alphabetically, these are Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Operations Management, Management Science, Operations Research, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal. Although each of the eight journals is positively related to the probability of attaining a named professorship, the Academy of Management Review and the Academy of Management Journal emerge as the two most influential management journals.     

Exploring the Acceptability of Spatial Simulation Models of Outdoor Recreation for Use by Participants in Public Participation Processes

The use of spatial simulation models in public participation processes through multiple facilitated group sessions is explored in northern Ontario, Canada. Participants evaluated the acceptability of an agent-based model of recreational fishing while working through hypothetical management scenarios. Four main concepts are linked to acceptability: credibility, comprehensiveness, comprehension, and utility. These concepts were generally consistent across sessions. However, differences were observed in themes related to the concepts for some contexts. Consequently, recreation researchers and managers who want to use spatial simulation models with various publics should focus not only on the model's content and display of information but also on how the model is communicated.     

A study in international marketing: The development of a consumer database marketing capability

This paper examines the reasons why Seagram Europe & Africa (SE&A) decided to develop their database marketing capability in Europe. The paper describes the environmental changes, external and internal, that led SE&A to re‐evaluate their marketing communications strategy and examine sponsorship and direct marketing opportunities for Europe. The paper focuses on the major issues SE&A addressed when weighing up the strategic role of database marketing. Finally, the key considerations in the development and implementation of an European‐wide database marketing discipline for the division are discussed.     

An empirical assessment of the preconditions of Japanese manufacturing foreign direct investment in the United States

An Empirical Assessment of the Preconditions of Japanese Manufacturing Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. — This study undertook a multivariate regression analysis of Japanese foreign direct investment in the US (FDIUS), based on firm- and industry-specific data. Firm size was a positive and significant explanatory variable of firms’ completed transactions as well as their additions to investment value. Firms’ overall profit was a positive and significant indicator of firms’ addition to investment value, but not their completed transactions. Firms’ return on assets was generally a positive, albeit insignificant indicator of FDIUS. Three industry-specific variables (prior exports to the US, industry concentration, and technological intensity) were examined and all were positive but insignificant indicators of FDIUS.