Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10494263 | Journal of International Management | 2005 | 18 Pages |
Abstract
Recent work on multinational enterprises (MNEs) argues that diversity in terms of the markets they serve and the environments they acquire inputs from provides strategic opportunity unavailable to purely domestic firms. However, MNEs are also exposed to higher levels of complexity and uncertainty due to the presence in different locations and confront associated needs to integrate and coordinate activities. This paper suggests that the attendant cost-benefit tradeoff can be influenced by computer-mediated communication. Based on a sample of 88 organizations in the computer products industries, we find that multinationality in itself does not guarantee a higher level of strategic opportunity. Instead, use of information technology to facilitate communication among managers across functional and geographical boundaries enhances coordination of multinational activities in the development of strategic opportunity, which in turn is associated with superior performance.
Related Topics
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Business and International Management
Authors
Torben Juul Andersen, Nicolai Juul Foss,