Knowledge Sharing in Multinational Corporations - A Social Captal Perspective (summary section only)

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are commonly perceived as networks of differentiated units, dependent for their competitive edge on the sharing of different kinds of internal resources. This ‘differentiated network’ view of the MNC strongly emphasizes the crucial role of interunit knowledge sharing, the topic of this thesis. The five essays presented here contribute to the research on interunit knowledge sharing in MNCs by focusing on the roles played by language, identity, and feedback seeking in the knowledge sharing process. While these factors have occasionally been brought up in previous research as potentially relevant for interunit knowledge sharing, they have so far been subject to limited empirical examination – an important omission which this thesis is an effort to redress. Furthermore, the treatment of the topic is anchored in a theoretical framework based on social capital. This perspective contributes to MNC research by providing a comprehensive framework for examining the significance of social relationships in interunit interaction. The findings can be summarized in two main points. Firstly, language skills and shared identity appear to promote the accumulation of interunit social capital. Secondly, high levels of interunit social capital seem to promote interunit knowledge sharing and feedback seeking. These observations raise a number of both theoretical and practical issues of considerable relevance for MNC management.

Hur höra tyst kunskap? Utveckling av en metod för studier av tyst kunnande

Det tysta kunnandet utgör en stor del av kunskapsresursen både hos oss som individer och i arbetsorganisationerna. Trots att vi omger oss med böcker, manualer och databaser, som alla är exempel på explicit kunskap, så är det ”den rätta känslan”, erfarenheten och våra färdigheter som avgör om och hur vi klarar av våra uppgifter. Dessa begrepp är alla relaterade till den tysta dimensionen av kunskap. En dimension som traditionellt karaktäriserats som abstrakt, individuell, omedveten, praktisk, erfarenhetsbaserad och framför allt svår att uttrycka. Alla dessa är karaktärsdrag som ställt speciella krav inom kunskapsforskning och -ledning. Resultatet av detta är att både forskning och ledning av det tysta kunnandet har åsidosatts till förmån för forskning och ledning av explicit kunskap. Ett bidragande problem har varit bristen på lämpliga metoder för att ur ett företagsekonomiskt perspektiv studera och leda tyst kunnande. Ett annat problem har varit oklarhet i begreppet tyst kunskap. Detta har lett till brist på förståelse och/eller missförstånd. För att råda bot på svårigheten att uttrycka vårt tysta kunnande har människan utvecklat olika begrepp som i vår vardagskommunikation symboliserar tyst kunnande. Begrepp som intuition, människokännedom, förhandlingsförmåga och kultur används vanligt och med dem uttrycker vi den tysta dimensionen av kunnande. Dessa begrepp utgör även grunden för den intervjumetod som utvecklats för att empiriskt studera eller i ledningssyfte kartlägga tyst kunnande. Metoden använder dessa ”Epitet för Tyst Kunskap” (ETK) som bas för stimuluskort-intervjuer. Intervjuer som visat sig öka möjligheten att utforska och kartlägga tyst kunnande i organisationer oberoende av om man är forskare eller företagsledare.

Arbetsplatsens Betydelse - från Självklarhet till Medvetenhet

Varför är arbetsplatsen en plats? Arbetsplatsens betydelse diskuterar den självklarhet som ofta karakteriserar en vetenskaplig diskussion om arbetsplatsen och dess fysiska existens. Tyngdpunkten inom platsforskningen har kommit att långt ligga på platsens utformning, på dess innehåll och skeenden istället för på platsen i sig. Den snabba informationsteknologiska utvecklingen leder emellertid till att man kan ifrågasätta huruvida dagens traditionella arbetsplatser med deras fysiska attribut överhuvudtaget behövs. En frigörelse från rummets och tidens restriktioner skulle medföra att en fysisk arbetsplats inte längre kunde ses som självklar. I en situation där individen behåller arbetet som aktivitet men förlorar sin kontakt med den traditionella arbetsplatsen (blir arbetsplatslös) uppstår ett behov av att veta om man samtidigt förlorar något betydelsefullt. Bör värden överföras från den traditionella arbetsplatsen till arbete under mera virtuella och gränslösa villkor och i så fall vilka? Arbetsplatsens betydelse söker en förståelse för den betydelse arbetstagarna sätter vid sin arbetsplats och framförallt vid det faktum att den är en fysisk plats. Intervjuer med distansarbetare och traditionella kontorsarbetare visar att arbetsplatsen legitimerar arbetet, avgränsar arbetet, stöder arbetstagaren i arbetet och stöder arbetstagaren som människa. Detta är enligt dem svaret på varför det ligger ett värde i att traditionellt se och uppleva arbetsplatsen som en fysisk plats.

Workplace Bullying among Business Professionals - Prevalence, Organisational Antecedents and Gender Differences (summary section only)

Workplace bullying can be defined as repeated and persistent negative acts that involve a power imbalance and create a hostile work environment. Partly because of the many negative consequences associated with the phenomenon, bullying has recently become the focus of many studies by contemporary organisational researchers. Drawing on a survey, this thesis provides information on the prevalence and forms of bullying among business professionals, a group of employees neglected in previous bullying research. The thesis follows a tradition among Nordic researchers that emphasises the role of the psychosocial work environment in bullying. In particular, it illustrates how high internal competition and a high degree of organisational politics in business life may lead employees to use bullying as a tactic to gain benefits over their colleagues. Furthermore, it explores the significance of gender in bullying in male-dominated work environments, with women tending to be subjected to more negative acts, tending to feel less capable to defend themselves in these situations, and tending to feel less reluctant to classify these experiences as bullying. In addition to the introductory essay, this thesis consists of a book chapter and four articles. These five papers address particular aspects of workplace bullying: the prevalence and forms of bullying, the significance of gender in bullying, and organisational antecedents of bullying.

Developing and Integrating HRM Practices in MNC Subsidiaries in China

Whilst previous research on Human Resource Management (HRM) in subsidiaries of multinational companies (MNCs) has focused extensively on the HRM practices that exist in foreign subsidiaries and the extent to which they resemble MNC home country and/or local host country practices, considerably less attention has been directed at the question of how these practices come to exist. Accordingly, this thesis aims to shed light on the processes that shape HRM practices and capabilities in MNC subsidiaries. The main contribution of the thesis is the focus on how; how HRM practices are integrated in MNC subsidiaries, and how subsidiary HRM capabilities are developed through involvement in social networks. Furthermore, this thesis includes a time aspect which, despite not being purely longitudinal, provides an indication of the ongoing changes in HRM in MNC subsidiaries in China. Data for this study were collected in 2005-2006 through structured face to face interviews with 153 general managers and HR managers in 87 subsidiaries of European MNCs located in China. Five of the six thesis papers build on this questionnaire data and one paper builds on qualitative data collected at the same time. Two papers build on dual data sets, meaning that they in addition to the abovementioned data include quantitative questionnaire data from 1996 and 1999 respectively. The thesis focuses on the following four sub-questions i) To what extent do subsidiary HRM practices resemble parent MNC and host country practices? How has this changed over time and why? ii) How are HRM practices integrated into MNC subsidiaries and why are certain integration mechanisms used? iii) How does involvement in internal and external social networks influence subsidiary HRM capabilities? iv) What factors influence the strategic role of the subsidiary HR department? Regarding the first sub-question the findings indicate that the HRM practices of MNC subsidiaries in China are converging with both local company practices and parent MNC practices. This is interesting in the sense that it suggests that the isomorphic pressures the subsidiary faces from the MNC and from its local host environment are not always in conflict with each other. Concerning the question of how HRM practices are integrated into MNC subsidiaries and why certain integration mechanisms are used, the thesis provides a fine-grained examination of four mechanisms that MNCs use to integrate HRM practices in subsidiaries. The findings suggest that MNCs use a variety of different integration mechanisms as complements rather than as substitutes for each other. Furthermore, it is apparent that different contextual factors in the subsidiary and the subsidiary-headquarters relationship influence why certain mechanisms are or are not used. The most interesting contribution of the thesis in regard to the third question is that it highlights the importance of network involvement for learning about HRM practices in the Chinese context. Networks with other MNCs in China clearly emerged as particularly important contributors to enhanced HRM capabilities. Finally, concerning the fourth sub-question the findings indicate that the role of the HR department in MNC subsidiaries in China had become more strategic between 1999 and 2006.

Worksite Fitness Policy in an Intellectual Capital Framework

In a framework of Intellectual Capital (IC), the effects and interactions of a Worksite Fitness Program (WFP) policy was studied with a multidisciplinary approach. In a preliminary study, indicators for physical activity (PAI), physical fitness (PFI), activity in WFP on a regular (WFPI) and on a events basis (WFPE) were created in line with positive findings regarding the associations between physical activity and fitness patterns and sick leave, perceived health, and self-assessed work ability. The intensity of physical activity was found to be the most important variable to predict positive associations with the above mentioned wellness parameters. In four case study follow-up settings, the effects and interactions of physical activity and fitness patterns and the company’s WFP-policy on different elements of IC were studied. Qualitative methods were applied in constructing indicators and a descriptive IC measure for each case company. In cross-sectional and follow-up settings, several findings with respect to IC were found regarding physical activity in general and activity in WFP in particular. Findings were relatively strong in health and wellness related indicators in Human Capital, where, as also in Structural Capital indicators such as the company climate and employee-superior relationship, revealed positive associations. Physical activity patterns were found to act in minor role in Relational Capital. Overall, WFP was seen to be an integrated part of Structural Capital. From the viewpoint of Worksite Fitness Program as a phenomenon, this study positioned WFP as an active element of Intellectual Capital. The literature in the field of WFP emphasizes the role of WFP as an instrument to activate employees in physical activity, and thus promote their health and wellbeing. With the wider perspective the active and long range WFP policy can support a company’s Structural and Relational Capital in line with the fundamental role it has on Human Capital.

Managing Project Business Development: an Inter-Organizational and Intra-Organizational Perspective (summary section only)

The driving force behind this study is the gap between the reality of the firms engaged in project business and the available studies covering project management and business process development. Previous studies show that project-based organizations were ‘immature’ in terms of the project-management ‘maturity model’, as few firms were found to be optimizing processes. Even within those, very little attention was paid to combine inter-organizational and intra-organizational perspectives. In this study an effort is made to elaborate some thoughts and views on project management, which interrelate firms’ external and internal activities. In line with the integration, the dissertation uses an approach to the management of project-business interdependencies in the networks of actors, activities and resources. Firstly, the study develops an understanding for inter-organizational perspectives by exploring the complementarities of process activities in the basic development of project business. It presents a framework that is elaborated on the basis of the reciprocal interactions of activities within and outside the organization—thus providing a coherent basis for continuous business-process improvement. In addition, the study presents new tools that can be used to develop project-business processes in each of its functional areas. The research demonstrates how project-business activities can be optimized using the right resources at the right time with the right actors and the right actions. The selected five articles included in this dissertation explain the basic framework for the development of project business. Each paper covers various aspects of inter-organizational and intra-organizational perspectives for project management. The study develops a valuable and procedural model for business-process improvement using the Delphi method that can be used not only in academia but also as a guide for practitioners that takes them through a series of well-defined steps when making informed, consistent and efficient changes to their business processes.

Finnish Business Repatriates' Coping Strategies

This thesis explores Finnish business repatriates’ coping strategies. Managing repatriation has been recognized as a demanding task for companies and an important issue in international human resource management. However, we still know relatively little about how repatriates respond to the demands of the return. This thesis addresses this problem by applying a process approach to coping with repatriation. The focus is on identifying repatriates’ coping strategies and the various forms of them. This study also aims to investigate what might influence the use of repatriates’ coping strategies and forms of coping. The background of this doctoral study is provided by earlier research that identified factors influencing repatriates’ adjustment, either positively or negatively. The empirical material of this doctoral thesis comprises twenty-two Phase I semi-structured interviews and ten Phase II follow-up interviews conducted for the purposes of verification. The main findings of the study are formulated as propositions. For instance, it was suggested that repatriates are likely to use different forms of problem-focused strategy more often than various forms of emotion-focused strategy. Moreover, they also are likely to use a larger range of problem-focused strategies than emotion-focused strategies. In addition, in contrast to specialists, repatriates occupying managerial positions are likely to use a greater number and a greater variety of different forms of problem-focused strategy than of emotion-focused strategy, especially in the context of preparing for their return and in different work role changes. This thesis contributes to research on repatriation, expatriation, coping and identifies implications for management.

Multiple Perspectives on Networks: Conceptual Development, Application and Integration in an Entrepreneurial Context

Multiple Perspectives on Networks: Conceptual Development, Application and Integration in an Entrepreneurial Context. The purpose of this thesis is to enhance cross-fertilization between three different approaches to network research. The business network approach may contribute in terms of how relationships are created, developed and how tie content changes within ties, not only between them. The social network approach adds to the discussion by offering concepts of structural change on a network level. The network approach in entrepreneurship contributes by emphasizing network content, governance and structure as a way of understanding and capturing networks. This is discussed in the conceptual articles, Articles 2 and 3. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to develop a theoretical and empirical understanding of network development processes. This is fulfilled by presenting a theoretical framework, which offers multiple views on process as a developmental outcome. The framework implies that change ought to be captured both within and among relationships over time in the firm as well as in the network. Consequently, changes in structure and interaction taking place simultaneously need to be included when doing research on network development. The connection between micro and macro levels is also stressed. Therefore, the entrepreneur or firm level needs to be implemented together with the network level. The surrounding environment impacts firm and network development and vice versa and hence needs to be integrated. Further, it is necessary to view network development not only as a way forward but to include both progression and regression as inevitable parts of the process. Finally, both stability and change should be taken into account as part of network development. Empirical results in Article 1 show support for a positive impact of networks on SME internationalization. Article 4 compares networks of novice, serial and portfolio entrepreneurs but the empirical results show little support for differences in the networks by type of entrepreneur. The results demonstrate that network interaction and structure is not directly impacted by type of entrepreneur involved. It indicates instead that network structure and interaction is more impacted by the development phase of the firm. This in turn is in line with the theoretical implications, stating that the development of the network and the firm impacts each other, as they co-evolve.

Hur den aktiva kunden konstruerar budskap - Ett synsätt inom relationskommunikation

Den här avhandlingen erbjuder ett nytt perspektiv på marknadskommunikation. Det nya är ett starkt kundfokus, där kunden är en aktiv medpart i kommunikationsprocessen. I det traditionella kommunikationsperspektivet har man sett kunden som ett objekt som blir utsatt för företagets olika åtgärder. Där har det varit företaget som stått för integreringen av de olika budskapen. I det här arbetet står kunden för integrationen och har därmed möjligheten att lägga till budskap eller lämna bort någonting väsentligt. I och med perspektivskiftet kan man upptäcka nya fenomen i kommunikation som inte tidigare beaktats i tillräcklig utsträckning. Eftersom det är kunden som står för den aktiva konstruktionen av budskap, kan kundens uppfattning vara en annan än den som företagen avsett. Kundens uppfattning kan beskrivas med hjälp av begreppen tydlig, otydlig och tyst kommunikation. Inom ramen för tyst kommunikation utvecklas ett nytt begrepp – passiv kommunikation – som kan öppna möjligheter för företag att minska på den aktiva kommunikationen med sina kunder. Även källorna till den här kommunikationen kan variera. Dylika källor kan lokaliseras till relation, händelse eller konsekvens. Dessa fenomen har sammanställts i en modell som kallas relationskommunikationsarenan. Kundernas uppfattningar varierar beroende på om det är fråga om relationskommunikation eller annan kommunikation. Dessa uppfattningar är strukturerade i två olika dimensioner: en tids- och en kontextdimension. Tidsdimensionen består av historiska och framtidsrelaterade faktorer och kontextdimensionen är en situationsdimension som består av interna, personliga faktorer och av externa faktorer i omgivningen. I relations-kommunikation förekommer faktorer från alla dimensioner. Modellen för denna struktur kallas den dynamiska kommunikationsmodellen. I avhandlingen utvecklas även en metod – kommunikationstopografi – med vars hjälp olika uppfattningar kan visualiseras på ett åskådligt sätt. Med topografierna kan olika budskap som annonser analyseras och tydliga, otydliga samt tysta budskap separeras. På motsvarande sätt kan även olika grupper av personer som uppfattar budskap på ett visst sätt särskiljas. Både budskap och personer analyseras här. Förekomsten av relationskommunikation kan i en del fall påvisas. Med kommunikationstopografi kan man visa hur den aktiva kunden konstruerar, lägger till eller lämnar bort budskap.

Value Creation in Professional Service Processes. Propositions for Understanding Financial Value from a Customer Perspective

Many service management studies have suggested that service providers benefit from having long-term relationships with customers, but the argument from a customer perspective has been vague. However, especially in the business-to-business context, an analysis of financial value creation seems appropriate also from a customer perspective. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop a framework for understanding monetary value creation in professional service assignments from a customer perspective. The contribution of this study is an improved insight and framework for understanding financial value creation from a customer perspective in a professional service delivery process. The sources for monetary differences between transactional and long-term service providers are identified and quantified in case settings. This study contributes to the existing literature in service and relationship management by extending the customer’s viewpoint from perceived value to measurable monetary value. The contribution to the professional services lies in the process focus as opposed to the outcome focus, which is often accentuated in the existing professional services literature. The findings from the qualitative data suggest that a customer company may benefit from having an improved understanding of the service delivery (service assignment) process and the factors affecting the monetary value creation during the process. It is suggested that long-term relationships with service providers create financial value in the case settings in the short term. The findings also indicate that by using the improved understanding, a customer company can make more informed decisions when selecting a service provider for a specific assignment. Mirel Leino is associated with CERS, the Center for Relationship Marketing and Service Management at the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

Service firms´ action upon negative incidents in high touch services: A narrative study

The study concerns service management, and specifically the action service firms take with regard to customer dissatisfaction, customer complaints and complaining customers in high touch services. Customer dissatisfaction, customer complaints and complaining customers are called negative incidents in the study. The study fills a research gap in service management studies by investigating negative incidents as a part of an open service system. In contrast to main stream service management studies defining service quality as how the customer as a consumer defines it, in the present study, the concept of interactive service quality is adopted. The customer is considered as a co-producer of service who thus has a role to play in service quality and productivity. Additionally, the study juxtaposes the often opposed perspectives of the manager and the customer as well as the often forgotten silent voices of service employees and supervisors. The study proposes that the service firm as an entity does not act but it is the actors at the different hierarchical layers who act. Additionally, it is acknowledged in the study that the different actors at the different hierarchical layers have different knowledge of the service system and different objectives for service encounters. Therefore, they interpret the negative incidents from different perspectives and their actions upon negative incidents are subsequently guided by their interpretations. The research question is: how do service firms act upon negative incidents in high touch services? In order to answer to the research question a narrative research approach was chosen. The actors at the different hierarchical layers acted as informants of the study and provided stories about customer dissatisfaction, customer complaining and complaint handling in high touch services. Through storytelling, access to the socially constructed reality of service firms’ action was achieved. Stemming from the literature review, analysis of empirical data and my theoretical thinking, a theory about service firms’ action upon negative incidents in high touch services was developed and the research question was answered. The study contributes to service recovery and complaint management studies as well as to studies on customer orientation and its implementation in service firms. Additionally, the study has a methodological contribution to service management studies since it reflects service firms’ action with narratives from multiple perspectives. The study is positioned in the tradition of the Nordic School of Marketing Thought and presents service firms’ action upon negative incidents in high touch services as a complex human-centered phenomenon in which the actors at the different hierarchical layers have crucial roles to play. Ritva Höykinpuro is associated with CERS, the Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management at Hanken School of Economics.

Customer Value Formation in Practice: A Practice-Theoretical Approach

This thesis introduces a practice-theoretical approach to understanding customer value formation to be used in the field of service marketing and management. In contrast to current studies trying to understand value formation by analysing customers as independent actors and thinkers, it is in this work suggested that customer value formation can be better understood by analysing how value is formed in the practices and contexts of the customers. The theoretical approach developed in this thesis is applied in an empirical study of family cruises. The theoretical analysis in this thesis results in a new approach for understanding customer value formation. Customer value is, according to this new approach, something that is formed in practice, meaning that value is formed in constellations of the customer and contextual elements like tools, physical spaces and contextually embedded images and know-how. This view is different from the current views that tend to see value as subjectively created, co-created, perceived or experienced by the customer. The new approach has implications on how we view customer value, but also on the methods and techniques we can use to understand customer value in empirical studies. It is also suggested that services could in fact be reconceptualised as practices. According to the stance presented in this thesis the empirical analysis of customer value should not focus on individual customers, but should instead take the contextual entity of practices as its unit of analysis. Therefore, ethnography is chosen as a method for exploring how customer value is formed in practice in the case of family cruises on a specific cruise vessel. The researcher has studied six families, as well as the context of the cruise vessel with various techniques including non-participant observation, participant observation and interviews in order to create an ethnographic understanding of the practices carried out on board. Twenty-one different practices are reported and discussed in order to provide necessary insight to customer value formation that can be used as input for service development.

Time and Location as Customer Perceived Value Drivers

Since the emergence of service marketing, the focus of service research has evolved. Currently the focus of research is shifting towards value co-created by the customer. Consequently, value creation is increasingly less fixed to a specific time or location controlled by the service provider. However, present service management models, although acknowledging customer participation and accessibility, have not considered the role of the empowered customer who may perform the service at various locations and time frames. The present study expands this scope and provides a framework for exploring customer perceived value from a temporal and spatial perspective. The framework is used to understand and analyse customer perceived value and to explore customer value profiles. It is proposed that customer perceived value can be conceptualised as a function of technical, functional, temporal and spatial value dimensions. These dimensions are suggested to have value-increasing and value-decreasing facets. This conceptualisation is empirically explored in an online banking context and it is shown that time and location are more important value dimensions relative to the technical and functional dimensions. The findings demonstrate that time and location are important not only in terms of having the possibility to choose when and where the service is performed. Customers also value an efficient and optimised use of time and a private and customised service location. The study demonstrates that time and location are not external elements that form the service context, but service value dimensions, in addition to the technical and functional dimensions. This thesis contributes to existing service management research through its framework for understanding temporal and spatial dimensions of perceived value. Practical implications of the study are that time and location need to be considered as service design elements in order to differentiate the service from other services and create additional value for customers. Also, because of increased customer control and the importance of time and location, it is increasingly relevant for service providers to provide a facilitating arena for customers to create value, rather than trying to control the value creation process. Kristina Heinonen is associated with CERS, the Center for Relationship Marketing and Service Management at the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration