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Organising R&D in Globalised Context: Convergence or Divergence? The Relative Influence of Dutch and Foreign Cultures on the Organisational Structure of R&D in Multinational Corporations

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  • Anneke Offereins

    (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

  • Ben Fruytier

    (Radboud University Nijmegen)

Abstract

This paper examines national culture as an explanatory variable in the convergence versus divergence debate of R&D organisational structures. It explores the effects of globalisation on the way in which R&D processes are structured at group level. It is argued that culture may have a decisive effect on R&D group-structure. On the one hand the results of the study observe a converging trend towards a universal organisational structure under influence of a predominantly Anglo-Saxon-based culture. On the other hand, there is a persistence of differences owing to the dominance of the domestic culture on the one side and the increasing multicultural composition of the R&D staff at the laboratories on the other side, which points to divergence. The research was conducted at eight of the ten most innovative MNCs in the Netherlands. It builds on scientific studies regarding organisational design in R&D (Chiesa 1996, 2001; Donaldson 2001; De Sitter 1998; Tidd et al. 2001) and includes the conceptual frameworks by Hofstede for analysing cultural diversity, complemented by contributions to the convergence-divergence debate (Ferner 1997; Harzing/Sorge 2003).

Suggested Citation

  • Anneke Offereins & Ben Fruytier, 2006. "Organising R&D in Globalised Context: Convergence or Divergence? The Relative Influence of Dutch and Foreign Cultures on the Organisational Structure of R&D in Multinational Corporations," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 17(4), pages 466-483.
    • Handle: RePEc:nms:mamere:1861-9908_mrev_2006_04_offereins
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    File URL: https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/0935-9915-2006-4-466
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vittorio Chiesa, 2001. "R&D Strategy and Organisation:Managing Technical Change in Dynamic Contexts," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number p223, December.
    2. Julian Birkinshaw & Robert Nobel & Jonas Ridderstråle, 2002. "Knowledge as a Contingency Variable: Do the Characteristics of Knowledge Predict Organization Structure?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 274-289, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    National Culture; Research & Development; Organisational Structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General

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