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Multinational corporations (MNCs) are frequently pictured as being at the vanguard of global integration.They face strong incentives to maximize economies of scale in research and development, purchaising, production and marketing, and encounter low barriers in the dissemination of technologies and best practices. This special issue brings together various papers that focus on different aspects of the tension between global and local within MNCs

Recently, economists have directed attention to the phenomenon of organization. An important difference between the newly developed economic theories of organization, such as for example agency theory, and sociological theories of organization is the fact that economists explicitly employ an individual utility maximization assumption. In this paper, it is reasoned that this assumption, if used as in agency theory, entails logical inconsistencies if we try to explain the existence of the kind of agreements that purportedly form the basis of organiza tions. However, if the condition of uncertainty — to which agency theorists merely pay lip—service — is taken seriously, the observed inconsistencies can be reconciled. A classificatory scheme of four 'sources of obligation' is proposed for the analysis of the basis of agreements. Taking all four sources into consideration in the analysis of organizational agreements can help to avoid one-sided attention to, for example, formal, legally enforceable agreements. The findings of empirical research suggest that two basic dimensions lie at the root of the proposed classifi catory scheme. Further research is needed to check this supposition and its implications.

Existing studies show that national cultures influence governance and economic performance, but sub-Saharan Africa is sparsely covered in international comparative culture studies, and the existing studies suffer from a western bias. This present study aims to fill this void, by focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and introducing an African bias. A research instrument was developed by means of a Delphi study among African scholars. Analysis of the data from six African countries and eight countries from Europe, Asia and the Americas, reveals eight cultural dimensions, three of which are strongly correlated to Hofstede's power distance and individualism-collectivism. Strong correlations between four of the eight dimensions of culture and indicators of the quality of governance are found. Three of the other dimensions correlate significantly with indicators of economic performance. The findings strongly suggest that a number of the cultural dimensions identified are relevant for governance and economic performance.

Competition between alliance blocks is a new form of rivalry: groups of firms link together for a common purpose by means of strategic alliances, and competition between alliance blocks is superimposed on competition between individual firms. This paper focuses on alliance blocks in the RISC microprocessor field. In this field, alliance block competition is shaped by battles over technical standards. Based on an analysis of the competitive forces in standards battles, and taking into consideration the need for internal coordination within alliance blocks, we expect to find the formation of alliance blocks around the various proprietary RISC designs, with scarce linkages across blocks. The blocks will consist of complementary firms, including all the capabilities necessary to compete against other alliance blocks. The requisites of internal coordination, finally, lead us to expect alliance blocks with star-like internal structures when the central firm has either a very weak, or a very strong position. In intermediate cases, we expect to find alliance blocks with internal structures more approaching the characteristics of fully-connected cliques. The findings from a quantitative analysis of the network structure as it evolved in the RISC field in the period 1980-1989 support these conjectures.

Integration processes after mergers are fraught with difficulties, and constitute a main cause of merger failure. This study focuses on the human aspect of post-merger integration, and in particular, on the role of occupational identification. We theorize and empirically demonstrate by means of a survey design that employees' identification with their occupation is positively related to their willingness to cooperate in the post-merger integration process, over and above the effect of organization members' organizational identification. This positive effect of occupational identification is stronger for uniformed personnel but attenuates in the course of the integration process. Qualitative interviews further explore and interpret the results from our statistical analysis. Together, these findings have important practical implications and suggest future research directions.

Learning of tacit knowledge in an interorganizational context is a process fraught with risks for the collaborating partners. Two conflicting perspectives on what motivates partners to cooperatively share tacit knowledge with each other emerge from extant literature: one based on calculative considerations and the other on trust-based considerations. This paper aims to show that the two perspectives can be reconciled if the unique learning-related roles of boundary spanners at the corporate and operating levels are taken into account. Operating-level boundary spanners are the primary agents of tacit knowledge learning across organizational borders, and we argue that trust is the primary determinant of knowledge sharing at that level. In contrast, the corporate-level boundary spanners shape the structures and systems of the collaboration and thus affect the extent of sharing that can take place between operating-level boundary spanners. In this role, we propose, their learning behavior is predominantly driven by calculative considerations of potential costs and benefits of knowledge sharing.

"Comparative International Management is a classic textbook for International Business that teaches the core concepts of International Business through a systematic comparison of management practice in countries across the world. This approach, unique to textbooks in the field, highlights cultural and behavioural themes and demonstrate the diversity of practice in global business, and allows for an exploration of globalization. Fully revised and updated, this third edition has been restructured for clarity and ease of use, with new sections covering theoretical underpinnings so that they are easy to understand. Also new to this edition: Coverage of emerging and contemporary issues including environment and sustainability issues; international SMEs and entrepreneurship; technology, AI, and automation; and the future of work post-pandemic Practical application sections to help readers connect theory with practice More coverage of government and non-profit organizations Reflective and problem-solving questions at the end of each chapter With student and instructor friendly resources such as chapter summaries, mini-case scenarios, larger case studies and power-point slides, this book is essential core reading for advanced level and postgraduate students in International Business and International Management"--