This edited volume focuses on the interplay between organizational identities and firm growth, an area which remains largely unexplored. Firm growth in its various forms is omnipresent in the contemporary business environment, but does not always lead to positive results. At the same time, some organizations are growing faster than their peers, leading to questions of organizational growth antecedents. In addition to the dominant economic reasons in strategic literature, the volume seeks to integrate psychological aspects to the discourse, thereby considering the micro, meso and macro level. By providing both insights into international academic thinking and into practical examples of small and medium-sized companies in Berlin, the authors identify new findings concerning successful growth strategies.

Over the past decade, politics perspectives in international business have moved into the mainstream repertoire of research, theory development and teaching about the organisational behaviour of multinational corporations (MNCs). Politics perspectives contribute substantially to understanding the behaviour in and of MNCs in their different contexts and environments but so far these burgeoning perspectives have not been systematically and comprehensively reviewed. This book offers the first detailed overview of the theoretical foundations, methodologies and empirical applications of politics perspectives in MNCs. A group of international authors discuss twelve seminal contributions to the study of politics, power and conflict in MNCs, followed by a summary and synthesis of the literature into a comprehensive analytical framework. The book closes with a discussion of future directions in the field. This is a thorough introduction to political behaviour in MNCs written for scholars and graduate students in the fields of organisation studies and international business.

The Promises and Properties of Rapidly Growing Companies contributes to contemporary thought on so-called gazelles - high performing market players that create many jobs and promise strong welfare effects. Moving away from the well-established idea of firm growth as a continuous process, the contributions of this edited volume add to the growing body of innovative gazelle related research in three ways: Firstly, systematically taking stock of the international gazelle growth literature and proposing a theoretical growth model, which supports the rare and temporal nature of gazelle growth. Secondly, empirically investigating German gazelles and the German gazelle policy stance, counterbalancing the current Anglo-American research bias. Thirdly, addressing lesser studied or omitted gazelle-related themes such as gazelles' internationalization, the dark sides of gazelles' growth, and gazelles' corporate citizenship. The Promises and Properties of Rapidly Growing Companies is a valuable resource for academics, managers, policy makers and civil society actors concerned with firm growth, economic development and the corporate social responsibility of rapidly growing firms.

This book describes a number of different empirical studies and evaluations of the international brewery industry. This industry has recently undergone two climactic changes within a ten to fifteen year time period. These are a significant industry-wide consolidation of firms and market shares accompanied by the internationalization of what was previously a largely local industry. Understanding the drivers and implications of such abrupt and massive change in the competitive environment of an industry is of great interest to international and strategic management scholars. Most of the book's chapters address this issue, some at the global industry level, some at a regional level, and some at the level of a specific country. Taken together, they comprise an insightful case study of an interesting industry at its most interesting point in time.' - William G. Egelhoff, Fordham University, US'The individual contributions in this volume paint a varied and rich picture of strategies and rivalries, the role of environments and institutions, leadership and also customer approaches in both global and local brewery industry. Some of the analysed phenomena are more standard to an IB audience, like consolidation, technological development, and shifts in global markets, but they get a specific flavor and color through this industry focus, while other topics definitely seem more specific (like 'Bierstrasse' on Mallorca). For readers with good taste.' - Rian Drogendijk, Uppsala University, Sweden This unique book explores some of the key topics of international business through the context of a global industry, focusing on the challenges brewery companies face as they operate in globalized markets. It examines the strategies of individual firms to develop markets and explores new insights into recent company rivalries, both globally and locally. In addition, it offers detailed analysis of some of the major players in the industry through longitudinal studies. Drawing on a range of perspectives, the contributing authors explore six overarching themes: international market developments and firm performance; host country institutional effects; multi-point competition and rivalries; cross-border M&A integration and subsidiary development; leadership and internationalization; and boundless customer interfaces through such elements as social media and tourism. The Global Brewery Industry will prove insightful for scholars across international business, as well as providing an appealing case study for advanced students. It will be invaluable to those investigating the brewery sector specifically, or working with brewing firms. Contributors: M. Andersson, C. Doerrenbacher, J. Gammelgaard, M. Geppert, M. Gilles, M.W. Hansen, B. Hobdari, A.K. Hoenen, G. Hollinshead, K. Jakobsen, A. Kokko, A. Kuusik, J. Larimo, L. Lund-Thomsen, M. Maclean, E.S. Madsen, A.M. Munar, K. Pedersen, N. Pogrebnyakov, C. Ruhe, J. Smith, S. Takeshita, I.M. Taplin, S. Troll, U. Varblane, C. Williams, A. Zaby

Over the past decade, politics perspectives in international business have moved into the mainstream repertoire of research, theory development and teaching about the organisational behaviour of multinational corporations (MNCs). Politics perspectives contribute substantially to understanding the behaviour in and of MNCs in their different contexts and environments but so far these burgeoning perspectives have not been systematically and comprehensively reviewed. This book offers the first detailed overview of the theoretical foundations, methodologies and empirical applications of politics perspectives in MNCs. A group of international authors discuss twelve seminal contributions to the study of politics, power and conflict in MNCs, followed by a summary and synthesis of the literature into a comprehensive analytical framework. The book closes with a discussion of future directions in the field. This is a thorough introduction to political behaviour in MNCs written for scholars and graduate students in the fields of organisation studies and international business.

This edited volume focuses on the interplay between organizational identities and firm growth, an area which remains largely unexplored. Firm growth in its various forms is omnipresent in the contemporary business environment, but does not always lead to positive results. At the same time, some organizations are growing faster than their peers, leading to questions of organizational growth antecedents. In addition to the dominant economic reasons in strategic literature, the volume seeks to integrate psychological aspects to the discourse, thereby considering the micro, meso and macro level. By providing both insights into international academic thinking and into practical examples of small and medium-sized companies in Berlin, the authors identify new findings concerning successful growth strategies.

The study of multinational companies (MNCs) has been split for many decades into two camps which hardly 'talked' to each other: a) predominantly economic and functionalist oriented International Business Researchers, and b) largely social constructivist and critical management oriented Organization Theorists. This volume intends to build bridges by bringing together leading international scholars from both camps, who provide new insights in the study of MNCs. In addition to the bridge-building exercise, the book aims to develop a more comprehensive organizational theoretical understanding as well as methodological plurality in the study of how MNCs function in the post-millennium era, both internally and externally, and also how they control their international operations across economic, institutional, cultural, linguistic, political and social divides. Key topics addressed in our volume include: historical perspectives on the study of MNCs, the role of increased financialization and marketization on MNCs, the new role of the HQ within contemporary MNC, the role of language in MNCs, discursive studies of MNCs, labour representation in MNCs as well as social movements and corporate social responsibility and MNCs.

This book was first published in 2011. The current financial and economic crisis has negatively underlined the vital role of multinational companies (MNCs) in our daily lives. The breakdown and crisis of flagship MNCs, such as Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, Toyota and General Motors, does not merely reveal the problems of corporate malfeasance and market dysfunction. It also raises important questions, both for the public and the academic community, about the use and misuse of power by MNCs in the wider society, as well as the exercise of power by key actors within internationally operating firms. This book examines how issues of power and politics affect MNCs at three different levels; the macro-level, the meso-level and the micro-level. This wide-ranging analysis shows not only that power matters but also how and why it matters, pointing to the political interactions of key power holders and actors within the MNC, both managers and employees.

This book was first published in 2011. The current financial and economic crisis has negatively underlined the vital role of multinational companies (MNCs) in our daily lives. The breakdown and crisis of flagship MNCs, such as Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, Toyota and General Motors, does not merely reveal the problems of corporate malfeasance and market dysfunction. It also raises important questions, both for the public and the academic community, about the use and misuse of power by MNCs in the wider society, as well as the exercise of power by key actors within internationally operating firms. This book examines how issues of power and politics affect MNCs at three different levels; the macro-level, the meso-level and the micro-level. This wide-ranging analysis shows not only that power matters but also how and why it matters, pointing to the political interactions of key power holders and actors within the MNC, both managers and employees.

Das Buch behandelt den Prozess der Globalisierung und Erfahrungen mit strategischen Allianzen in der InfoCom-Industrie, die sich gegenwartig durch das Zusammenwachsen von Informations- und (Tele-)Kommunikationstechnologien herausbildet. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Fallstudien zu internationalen Kooperationen von Firmen in Europa, Nordamerika und Japan. Die besondere Starke des Buches liegt in der Verbindung von strategischen Fragen der Allianzbildung vor dem Hintergrund dynamischer Markt- und Technologieentwicklungen mit Mikroanalysen zu den konkreten Prozessen der Kommunikation und Kooperation auf der Arbeitsebene von Produktentwicklungsverbunden. Die Umsetzung der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse in Veranderungsmanagement, organisationalem Lernen und der Herausbildung dynamischer Fahigkeiten im Unternehmen hilft, den Herausforderungen der Globalisierung in Hochtechnologiebranchen gerecht zu werden."