Mike Geppert Boeken

This book explores the relationships between the day-to-day activities of managers in multinational firms and the wider social, institutional and cultural contexts in which they operate. Specifically, it examines the processes that shape the adoption and adaptation of organizational practices and policies across diverse national settings; it considers the role of expatriates in the context of the headquarter-subsidiary relationship; and explores how managers negotiate their interests and activities in relation to organizational mechanisms of co-ordination and control.

This book provides cutting edge research and knowledge and an academic study of the impact of globalisation in different areas affecting management and how management is responding. It gives a comprehensive analysis of what is actually happening and likely future trends. It is not just a focus on 'convergence' arguments, but integrates a broader view of still remaining regional and national differences in management and organisation. The book draws on new theoretical approaches in the field of international business, highlighting areas such as Anglo-German subsidiaries of MNCs, HRM practices and change management processes or employment relations in US-based MNCs in Europe and many other aspects.

In contemporary management literature, the idea that managers and organizations should learn and provide widespread capabilities for learning to learn is gaining popularity. Some see reflexive thinking and learning as being the proper response to the transformation of industrial society. However, this study is not concerned too much with the reasons for learning, but is more about how actors and groups of actors actually learn and the resources at their disposal for learning. The study aims to show that differences in social context do matter, and analyzes the organizational learning process in the political and social transformation of East Germany.