| Multinational Enterprise in Ancient Phoenicia |
| | Moore, Karl James | Templeton College, U. of Oxford | karl.moore@templeton.ox.ac.uk | 44 1865 422 711 |
| | Lewis, David Charles | Templeton College, U. of Oxford | karl.moore@templeton.ox.ac.uk | 44 1865 422 711 |
| | At its peak, Phoenician executives directed an intercontinental enterprise trading in silver from Spain, tin from Britain, ivory from
Africa, copper from Cyprus, iron from Syria, and textiles and manufactured goods from all over the Mediterranean. Their
investments reached from the Atlantic to the core of the Assyrian Empire. Led by Tyre, the city-states of ancient Phoenicia
became the greatest sea-faring traders of ancient times. Using Dunning's eclectic paradigm as a lens this paper suggests
these early Canaanite traders as the architects of the first truly intercontinental multinational enterprises, spanning parts of
Asia, Africa and Europe. Management approaches and ways of organising are explored and the paper suggested that
the managed business hierarchy created by the merchants of Ugarit and Tyre, moreover, foreshadowed, in some of its features,
the international keiretsu networks of contemporary Japan. |
| | Keywords: Ancient History; MNEs; Japan |
| From Heresies to Orthodoxies: The Organizational Renewal Movement in Australia 1966-1996 |
| | Griffiths, Andrew B. | Queensland U. of Technology, Gardens Point | a.griffiths@qut.edu.au | (617)38642648 |
| | Dunphy, Dexter | Australian Graduate School of Management | dexter@agsm.unsw.edu.au | (612)99319500 |
| | This paper traces the emergence of a social movement that has attempted to transform the fundamental character of organizations in Australia. Unlike many other such social movements, this worldwide social movement has been largely unresearched and even unnamed. We refer to it as the Organizational Renewal Movement. However, while the movements activities have been global, we concentrate particularly on the movement's course in Australia. The story we tell here demonstrates how this new social movement gained momentum and influence and eventually contributed to today's prevailing management orthodoxy. Over the course of its history, the movement's central values also underwent a substantial and controversial evolution. We present the case, that change initiatives, moved from being heresies to orthodoxies. In particular we trace the movement through three phases. The first phase traces the foundations and acceptance of humanistic change interventions. The second phase traces the challenges to the humanistic agenda and the emergence of new directions. The third phase demonstrates the process of strategic alignment, where heresies became accepted as orthodoxies. The paper concludes with some observations on the future directions for the movement. |
| | Keywords: change; social movements; orthodoxies |
| Volvo: A historical perspective on the evolution of corporate identity |
| | Glimstedt, Henrik | Stockholm School of Economics | henrik.glimstedt@hhs.se | 46 8 736 95 12 |
| | Thomas, Anisya S. | Stockholm School of Economics | anisya.thomas@hhs.se | +46 (8) 7369528 |
| | It is generally assumed that the American model of standardized, mass production was adopted among the large automobile companies in the world. The success of the American model drew the attention of European industrialists who wanted to import the formula to their own factories. However, upon closer examination it is clear that the wholesale importation of American management and manufacturing practices was stymied by domestic governmental and labor conditions. As a consequence, the strategic choices and decisions made by European companies evolved to accomodate local conditions while attempting to maintain a focus on efficient production. Against this backdrop, this paper traces the genesis of the core values of quality and efficiency, which have come to define Volvo, Swedens largest automobile manufacturer, in the world market. Underlying the narrative is the argument that organizational identity is shaped over time by a particularistic combination of local conditions, organizational responses and industry best practices. Thus it is argued that the historical narrative is a useful tool to the understanding of the influences of context as theories of management are transferred across national and cultural boundaries. |
| | Keywords: history; Volvo; identity |