Description
This book develops a conceptual framework for understanding the network of relationships that exists around the hub of large multinational firms. The authors bring together perspectives from international business and the organizational analysis of networks to explain their model which is supported by case evidence from several sectors–telecoms, autos, chemicals, retailing, and financial services.
raises the important question how asymmetric decision power in global flagship networks affects regional development
the case studies are excellent illustrations and can be used as both teaching tools and short examples of how to summarize flagship structures. The beauty of the approach is that it provides a skeleton on which to break down quite simply some complex organizational arrangements. In this sense, it is a very useful toolkit for managers, and sections of the book would resonate with managers
the book is a fine addition to the literature and serves to provide the reader interested in this research with a "one-stop shop".
Particularly useful ... pages on implications of the flagship model for managers and implications for network partners.
Alan Rugman is Thames Water Fellow in Strategic Management, Templeton College, University of Oxford. Previous positions have included Professor of International Business, University of Toronto (19871998); Professor of International Business, Delhousie University (19801987); and Visiting Professor at Brandeis University, UCLA, Western Washington University, and Columbia Business School. Joseph R. D'Cruz is Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He also consults widely with multinational corporations in the areas of global strategy and international operations. (Major clients include ICI, Exxon Corporation, Price Waterhouse, and DSM.) He was awarded the Touche Ross Award for the best article in Business Quarterly entitled The Globalization of Manufacturing (with Professor Fleck). Professors Rugman and D'Cruz are co-editors of the Kodak series of studies on Canada's international competitiveness.