Rajneesh Narula
Professor of International Business Regulation
Director, John H. Dunning Centre for International
Business
Henley Business School
University of Reading, UK
Exploring the
strategic role of
subsidiaries in competence-creation
Guest
editors: Rajneesh Narula and Alan Rugman
Henley
Business School, University of Reading
MNEs are becoming increasingly knowledge driven
and growing
cross-border competition has led them to seek and develop
knowledge assets in a
wide variety of locations. Increasingly,
the
traditional view that knowledge creation and competence building
are MNE-level
phenomenon has been called into question (Birkinshaw and Hood
2001, Andersson
et al 2002, Rugman and Verbeke 2001, Cantwell and Mudambi 2005).
Competences
are increasingly developed at the subsidiary level, although the
extent to
which this occurs is dependent upon a variety of factors, such as
the degree of
the subsidiary’s embeddedness within the MNE’s internal network as
well as its
external environment (Meyer et al 2011). The subsidiary’s ability
to play this
dual role of tapping into local knowledge and engaging in
knowledge exchange
with other units is further influenced by the nature of its own
mandate, the
MNE’s corporate strategy and the aspect of the value chain the
subsidiary is
engaged in (Rugman et al 2011). Large MNEs consist of a network of
subsidiaries
that are spatially distributed and perform heterogeneous
functions.
This special issue of Long Range Planning
examines the role
of subsidiaries in the creation of knowledge and competence in
MNEs. We welcome papers
from a variety of contexts
that advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the
processes that
shape and determine subsidiary and competence-creation strategies.
Key
questions that may be addressed include:
·
As these networks grow
increasingly complex,
with the fine-slicing of value chains, the use of non-equity
relationships and
multiple headquarters, how should MNEs most efficiently manage the
knowledge
generated by subsidiaries so that they can derive optimal benefits
from
multinationality?
·
Competence-creating
subsidiaries require
considerable resources. Does this limit their use to larger MNEs?
Is the role
of competence-creating subsidiaries more limited than suggested by
the
literature, or a broader phenomenon?
·
How do competence-creating
subsidiaries evolve
into this role?
·
Efficiently transferring
newly created
competences within the MNE’s internal network require specialised
complementary
organisational and managerial assets. What is the nature of these
complementary
assets?
·
Do we need a new typology
of MNE organisational
structures?
·
To what extent do foreign
subsidiaries serve as
sources of technological capabilities and contribute to the
exchange of
knowledge in the MNE?
·
What are the sources and
implications of MNE
subsidiary development? Does the competence-creating subsidiary
require new
theoretical approaches?
·
Does subsidiary entry mode
influence subsidiary
technological evolution? What are the interactions between host
country
advantages and subsidiary technological evolution?
·
What is the relationship
between the knowledge
infrastructure of the host country, and the kinds of linkages
subsidiaries
establish? Are there differences between subsidiaries located in
different
types of host countries?
·
How do MNEs balance
knowledge-tapping
opportunities and knowledge spill-over risks for subsidiaries?
All submissions are expected to develop strong
theoretical
foundations and implement rigorous methodologies. These include
quantitative
studies, qualitative and case studies, multi-country comparative
studies,
replication studies and studies of specific subsidiaries and MNEs.
Note that this special issue will publish 'conventional' academic
articles.
Submissions
Submissions will
be accepted
from July 1, 2011 until the submission deadline of November 1,
2011. Manuscripts
should be prepared according to LRP’s guidelines for authors, and
will be
reviewed in a double-blind review process. The review process
adheres to a very
ambitious schedule that aims at providing quick feedback to the
authors and
allows for two rounds of revisions on the manuscripts. Submission
guidelines
are available at
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/358/authorinstructions
Papers
may be submitted online at http://ees.elsevier.com/lrp/ and should clearly indicate that they are
to be considered
for this special issue. Select “SI: Competence-creating
subsidiaries” when you
reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process.
General
enquiries about the
special issue may be made to either of the special issue editors:
Rajneesh Narula:
[log in to unmask]
Alan Rugman: [log in to unmask]
Indicative
literature
Andersson,
U., Forsgren, M. and Holm, U. 2002. The strategic impact of
external networks:
Subsidiary performance and competence development in the
multinational
corporation, Strategic Management Journal23(9):
979-996.
Birkinshaw,
J.M & Hood, N. (1998) Multinational Subsidiary Evolution:
Capability and
Charter Change in Foreign Owned Subsidiary Companies. Academy
of Management
Review, 23(4), 773-795.
Birkinshaw,
J.M & Hood, N. (2001). Unleash Innovation in Foreign
Subsidiaries. Harvard
Business Review, 79(3), 131-137.
Birkinshaw,
J. & Pedersen, T. (2009). Strategy and Management in MNE
Subsidiaries. In
A.M. Rugman, (Ed), Oxford Handbook of International Business,
2nd
Edition (pp. 367-388). Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.
Blomkvist,
K. Kappen, P. and Zander, I. (2010) Quo vadis? The entry into
new technologies
in advanced foreign subsidiaries of the multinational
enterprise, Journal of
International Business Studies (2010) 41, 1525–1549.
Cantwell,
J.A. and Mudambi, R. 2005. MNE competence-creating subsidiary
mandates.
Strategic Management Journal, 26(12): 1109-1128.
McCann,
P. and Mudambi, R. 2005. Analytical
differences
in the economics of geography: The case of the multinational
firm. Environment
and Planning A, 37(10): 1857-1876.
Meyer,
K., Mudambi, R. and Narula, R. (2011) MNEs and Local contexts:
location,
control and value creation, Journal of Management Studies,
48(2),
253-277.
Rugman, A.M. & Verbeke, A.
(2001). Subsidiary-Specific Advantages in
Multinational Enterprises. Strategic Management Journal,
22(3), 237 –
250.
Rugman,
A.M, Verbeke, A. & Yuan, W. (2011). Re-conceptualizing
Bartlett and
Ghoshal's Classification of National Subsidiary Roles in the
Multinational
Enterprise. Journal of Management Studies, 48(2),
253-277.
Rajneesh Narula
Professor of International Business Regulation
Director, John H. Dunning Centre for International
Business
Henley Business School
University of Reading, UK