Jarvis, Andrew (2016) Revisiting the heterarchy:the case of the fuzzy and fluid multinational. In: British Academy of Management - PhD Workshop, 2016-09-052016-09-05, Newcastle University Business School.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Gunnar Hedland suggested that the Multinational Company (MNC) was becoming a ‘heterarchy’ - a network of differentiated but interdependent units. This paper examines GlobeCo, a multinational that has transformed from a ‘polycentric’ to a global form, and now exhibits many of the characteristics of heterarchy. However, GlobeCo’s units are increasingly ‘fuzzy’ - internally heterogeneous and overlapping - and ‘fluid’ with frequent forming and reshaping of entities. This suggests that GlobeCo may be better conceived as a set of evolving networks within a network. The implications of such a view of the MNC for future research are then considered.