Neves, J C and Bugalho, A (2008) Coordination and control in emerging international construction firms. Construction Management and Economics, 26(1), pp. 3-13. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
Decisions pertaining to the coordination and control of subsidiaries made by emerging international construction firms are crucial for the success of their internationalization process. The case study approach, based on four emerging international construction firms with headquarters in Portugal, is used to analyse the coordination and control processes adopted by these construction firms at an early internationalization stage. The proposition of the study was that these types of firms learn more from their experiences than from the existing theory in the literature. The results show a clear pattern of replication of home norms and practices, suggesting that at an early stage they neglect the theory of international business, the host countries' specificities and the consequent adaptation needs. The case studies show that all the headquarters initiated the control of their international activities through home-based bureaucratic systems, but have realized that they need more cultural and social control, as recommended by Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989, 1992).
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | international business; management control; multinational firms |
| Index terms: | coordination, norms, international business, case study, construction firm, social control, international construction, internationalization, adaptation, Portugal |
| Subjects: | user focus, Geography, management, strategic management, sociology, social justice, organization, data collection methods, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, International Construction, Geographical Context, Design Practice, Research Practice, Ethics, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here