2 Describe the key characteristics of multidomestic, international, global and
transnational companies. Would you agree that it would be best for most com-
panies to follow the transnational model?
3 Take a multinational company of your choice and describe its organizational
model. Do you feel this model is effective, given the company’s product/market?
4 How can you link Perlmutter’s international orientations and Taylor
et al.’s IHRM orientations to Bartlett and Ghoshal’s MNC models? What are the
limitations of these models?
9 FURTHER READING
- • Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S. (1989) Managing across Borders. The Transnational
Solution, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
The now classic book that introduced the concept of the transnational company and the focus
on systems and processes as opposed to formal structures. - • Harzing, A.W.K. (1999) Managing the Multinationals: An International Study of
Control Mechanisms in Multinational Companies, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
This book describes a large-scale empirical study into the strategy, structure and control mech-
anisms of 289 subsidiaries of MNCs headquartered in nine different countries. - • Nohria, N., Ghoshal, S. (1997) The Differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational
Corporations for Value Creation, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
This book gives an excellent summary and integration of Nohria and Ghoshal’s body of work
on MNC structure since the mid-1980s.
REFERENCES
Adler, N.J. (1983) ‘Cross-Cultural Management: Issues to be Faced’, International Studies of
Management and Organization, vol. 13, 1–2, pp. 7–45.
Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S. (1989) Managing across Borders. The Transnational Solution,
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S. (2000) Transnational Management: Text, Cases and Readings in
Cross-Border Management, 3rd edition, Boston: Irwin McGraw Hill.
Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S. (2002) ‘The Transnational and Beyond: Reflections and Perspectives
at the Millennium,’ in: Cheng, J.L.C., Hitt, M.A., Managing Transnational Firms: Resources,
Market Entry and Strategic Alliances, Advances in International Management, Volume 14,
Amsterdam: JAI Press, pp. 3–36.
62 International Human Resource Management