Pavlovskaya, Antonina G. (2003) An analysis of the transfer process of management development practices within multinationals : case studies of two British-based multinationals' operations in Russia. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The thesis presents a study of the process of transfer of management development
(MD) practices within multinational companies (MNCs). The study examines the
influence of context on the nature of MD processes in MNCs. It considers the
influence of institutional context on the ways in which MD practices are transferred
and received in MNCs, and identifies further factors shaping MD practices and their
transfer process in MNCs. The findings challenge the notion that the transfer and
structuring of MD around a system, which aims at the development of a
homogeneous management cadre, is possible.
The research focuses on the transfer of four MD practices - recruitment, training and
development, career management, and rewards and appraisal from two British-based
MNCs operating in the fast moving consumer goods sector to their Russian
subsidiaries. The study involves qualitative comparative research into the behaviour
of managers. The research identifies and analyses the MD models and MD practices
being transferred to the subsidiaries and the influence of the institutional context on
the structuring of MD practices. Longitudinal research of the Russian subsidiaries'
internal dynamics following the transfer of management and MD practices from the
parent company analyses the process of transfer and considers the ways in which
practices transferred are received, resisted, misunderstood, and sustained in the
subsidiaries.
The thesis highlights the contextual embeddedness of MD processes and practices,
and shows how MD practices in MNCs are structured by their national context. The
research identifies how MD practices are also influenced by the business
environment and the industrial sector, the history of the company, its organisational
culture, and the management philosophy and organisation. The influence of the host
country national context on the ways in which the transferred MD practices are
received in the Russian subsidiaries is examined and the particular difficulty of
transferring training and development and career management strategies is identified.
Processes found to facilitate the transfer of practices include those that provide
interpretations and create meaning surrounding the practices transferred. The thesis
argues that work practices are more than just a series of separate techniques and that
they also involve processes related to establishing relations and creating meaning.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	International business enterprises -- Management -- Great Britain -- Case studies, International business enterprises -- Management -- Russia -- Case studies
Official Date:	March 2003
Dates:	Date Event March 2003 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Business School
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Scarbrough, Harry, 1955- ; Keep, Ewart ; Sharpe, Diana Rosemary
Sponsors:	Warwick Business School ; Sweden. Vetenskapsrådet [Research Council]
Extent:	[viii], 312 leaves
Language:	eng

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