Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Toward a model of issue-selling by subsidiary managers in multinational organizations

  • Article
  • Published:
Journal of International Business Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In multinational organizations, local market responsiveness is critical to the development of effective strategies. This responsiveness is expected to occur in part as the result of upward influence from local subsidiary managers, who represent the local culture and shift relevant priorities accordingly. Issue-selling – defined as directing top management's attention to particular issues and helping them understand such issues – is one important way in which subsidiary managers pursue upward influence. The purpose of this paper is to help multinational organizations better facilitate and exploit potentially valuable input from local subsidiary managers. To do so, we propose an acculturated view of issue-selling. More specifically, we argue that subsidiary managers socialized by different national cultures vary: (1) in the extent to which their intention to sell issues is influenced by various contextual cues; and (2) in their choice of selling strategies. These theoretical differences suggest that local subsidiary managers from different cultures will differ in the way they approach issue-selling and, in turn, in the way they influence the strategy-making process. The discussion traces the implications of this line of reasoning for future research on the influence of local subsidiary managers and, more generally, for research on the cultural embeddedness of the strategy process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler, N.J. (1986) International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, Kent: Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, N.J., Doktor, R. and Redding, S.G. (1986) ‘From the Atlantic to the Pacific Century: cross cultural management reviewed’, Journal of Management 12: 295–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashford, S.J., Rothbard, N.P., Piderit, S.K. and Dutton, J.E. (1998) ‘Out on a limb: the role of context and impression management in selling gender-equity issues’, Administrative Science Quarterly 43: 23–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banfield, E.C. (1958) The Moral Basis of Backward Society, Free Press: Glencoe, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, J.H. (1984) ‘Cognitive biases and their impact on strategic planning’, Strategic Management Journal 5: 129–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, G.V. and Bass, B.M. (1967) ‘Cross-Cultural Issues in Industrial and Organizational Psychology’, in M.D. Dunnette (ed.) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Rand McNally: Chicago, pp: 1639–1686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, C. and Ghoshal, S. (1998) Managing Across Borders, Harvard Business School Press: Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, C.R. (1979) ‘Beyond Initial Understanding: Uncertainty, Understanding, and the Development of Interpersonal Relationships’, in H. Giles and R.N.S. Clair (eds.) Language and Social Psychology, Blackwell: Oxford, pp: 122–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, A.H. (1981) The Linguistic Shape of Thought: A Study of the Impact of Language on Thinking in the West, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, M.H. (1986) The Psychology of the Chinese Mind, Oxford University Press: Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, M.H. and Smith, P.B. (1996) ‘Cross-cultural social and organizational psychology’, Annual Review of Psychology 47: 205–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bontempo, R. and Rivero, J.C. (1992) ‘Cultural variation in cognition: the role of self-concept in the attitude behavior link’, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • Brett, J.M. and Okumura, T. (1998) ‘Inter and intracultural negotiation: US and Japanese negotiators’, Academy of Management Journal 41: 495–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgelman, R.A. (1994) ‘Fading memories: a process theory of strategy business exit in dynamic environments’, Administrative Science Quarterly 39: 24–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callister, R.R., Kramer, M.W. and Turban, D.B. (1999) ‘Feedback seeking following career transitions’, Academy of Management Journal 42: 429–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calori, R., Atamer, T. and Nunes, P. (2000) The Dynamics of International Competition, Sage: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, D.K.S., Gelfand, M.J., Triandis, H.C. and Tzeng, O. (1996) ‘Tightness-looseness revisited: some preliminary analyses in Japan and the United States’, International Journal of Psychology 31(1): 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.C., Chen, X.P. and Meindl, J.R. (1998) ‘How can cooperation be fostered? The cultural effects of individualism–collectivism’, Academy of Management Review 23: 285–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.C., Meindl, J.R. and Hunt, R.G. (1997) ‘Testing the effects of vertical and horizontal collectivism: a study of reward allocation preferences in China’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 28: 44–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Child, J. (1981) ‘Culture, Contingency and Capitalism in the Cross-National Study of Organizations’, in L.L. Cummings and B.M. Staw (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 3 JAI Press: Greenwich, CT, pp: 303–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chinese Culture Connection (1987) ‘Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of culture’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 18: 143–164.

  • Cox, T.H., Lobel, S.A. and McLeod, P.L. (1991) ‘Effects of ethnic group cultural differences on cooperative and competitive behavior on a group task’, Academy of Management Journal 34: 827–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyert, R.M. and March, J.G. (1963) A Behavioral Theory of the Firm, Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, A.R., Jaccard, J.J., Triandis, H.C., Morales, M.L. and Diaz-Guerrero, R. (1976) ‘Cross-cultural model testing: toward a solution of the Etic-Emic dilemma’, International Journal of Psychology 11: 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, J.L.M., Law, H., Leung, A. and Whitney, R.E. (1971) ‘Scaling Chinese traditional-modern attitudes and the GSR measurement of ‘Important’ versus ‘Unimportant’ Chinese concepts’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 2: 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dess, G.G. (1987) ‘Consensus on strategy formulation and organizational performance: competitors in a fragmented industry’, Strategic Management Journal 8: 259–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dess, G.G. and Origer, N.K. (1987) ‘Environment, structure, and consensus in strategy formulation: a conceptual integration’, Academy of Management Review 12: 313–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVos, G.A. and Suarez-Orozco, M. (1990) Status Inequality: The Self in Culture, Sage: Newbury Park, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J.E. and Ashford, S.J. (1993) ‘Selling issues to top management’, Academy of Management Review 18: 397–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., Lawrence, K.A. and Miner-Rubino, K. (2002) ‘Red light, green light: making sense of the organizational context for issue selling’, Organization Science 13(4): 355–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., O'Neill, R.M., Hayes, E. and Wierba, E.E. (1997) ‘Reading the wind: how middle managers assess the context for selling issues to top managers’, Strategic Management Journal 18(5): 407–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., O'Neill, R.M. and Lawrence, K.A. (2001) ‘Moves that matter: issue-selling and organizational change’, Academy of Management Journal 44(4): 716–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. (1989) ‘Social loafing and collectivism’, Administrative Science Quarterly 34: 565–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. (1993) ‘East meets West meets Mideast: further explorations of collectivistic and individualistic work groups’, Academy of Management Journal 36(2): 319–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. (1997) Face, Harmony and Social Structure, Oxford University Press: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. and Erez, M. (1997) New Perspectives on International Industrial/Organization Psychology, New Lexington Press: San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. and Gibson, C.B. (1998) ‘Taking stock in our progress on individualism–collectivism: 100 years of solidarity and community’, Journal of Management 24: 265–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. and Stubblebine, P. (1989) ‘Intercultural assessment of performance feedback’, Group and Organization Studies 14: 161–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, S.W. and Lane, P.J. (2000) ‘Strategizing throughout the organization: managing role conflict in strategic renewal’, Academy of Management Review 25(1): 154–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, S.W. and Wooldridge, B. (1992) ‘Middle management involvement in strategy and its association with strategic type’, Strategic Management Journal 13: 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, J.W. (1984) ‘The comprehensiveness of strategic decision processes: extensions, observations, future directions’, Academy of Management Journal 27: 445–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, C.B. (1999) ‘Do they do what they believe they can? Group efficacy and group effectiveness across task and cultures’, Academy of Management Journal 42: 138–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J.W. (1986) ‘Principled Organizational Dissent: A Theoretical Essay’, in L.L. Cummings and B.M. Staw (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 8 JAI Press: Greenwich, CT, pp: 1–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1985) ‘Economic action and social structure: the problem of embeddedness’, American Journal of Sociology 91: 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, M.A. and Mathieu, J.E. (1997) ‘Modeling organizational processes across hierarchical levels’, Journal of Organization Behavior 18: 731–744.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruenfeld, L.W. and MacEachron, A.E. (1975) ‘A cross-national study of cognitive style among managers and technicians’, International Journal of Psychology 10: 27–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudykunst, W.B. (1983) ‘Uncertainty reduction and predictability of behavior in low- and high-context cultures’, Communication Quarterly 33: 236–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, A.K. and Govindarajan, V. (1991) ‘Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational corporations’, Academy of Management Review 16(4): 768–792.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haire, M., Ghiselli, E.E. and Porter, L.W. (1966) Managerial Thinking: An International Study, Wiley: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, E.T. (1976) Beyond Culture, Doubleday: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S.L. (1992) ‘An integrative framework for strategy-making processes’, Academy of Management Review 17: 327–351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilgartner, S. and Bosk, C.L. (1988) ‘The rise and fall of social problems: a public arenas model’, American Journal of Sociology 94: 53–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values, Sage Publications: Beverly Hills, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill: Maidenhead, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (1999) ‘Problems remain, but theories will change: the Universal and the specific in 21st-century global management’, Organizational Dynamics 28: 34–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hui, C.H. (1988) ‘Measurement of individualism–collectivism’, Journal of Research in Personality 22: 17–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J.D. (1996) Information Seeking: An Organizational Dilemma, Quorum: Westport, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R.M. (1983) The Change Masters, Simon & Schuster: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kedia, B.L. and Bhagat, R.S. (1988) ‘Cultural constraints on transfer of technology across nations: implications for research in international and comparative management’, Academy of Management Review 13: 559–571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellermanns, F. (2003) ‘Strategic consensus on resource accumulation decisions’, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut.

  • Kim, U., Triandis, H.C., Kagitcibasi, C., Choi, S.C. and Yoon, G. (1994) ‘Introduction’, in U. Kim et al. (eds.) Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Method, and Applications, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, pp: 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kluckhohn, F. and Strodtbeck, F. (1961) Variations in Value Orientations, Row, Peterson: Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroeber, A.L. and Kluckhohn, C. (1952) Culture: Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions, Peabody Museum: Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lant, T.K., Milliken, F.J. and Batra, B. (1992) ‘The role of managerial learning and interpretation in strategic persistence and reorientation: an empirical exploration’, Strategic Management Journal 3: 585–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, K. (1988) ‘Theoretical advances in justice behavior: some cross-cultural inputs’, in M.H. Bond (ed.) The Cross-Cultural Challenge to Social Psychology, Sage: Newbury Park, CA, pp: 218–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung, K. (1997) ‘Negotiation and Reward Associations Across Cultures’, in P.C. Earley and M. Erez (eds.) New Perspectives on International Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, pp: 640–675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levitt, B. and March, J.G. (1988) ‘Organizational Learning’, in W.R. Scott (ed.) Annual Review of Sociology, Annual Reviews: Palo Alto, CA, Vol. 14, pp: 319–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lytle, A.L., Brett, J.M., Barsness, Z.I., Tinsley, C.H. and Janssens, M. (1995) ‘A Paradigm for Confirmatory Cross Cultural Research in Organizational Behavior’, in L.L. Cummings and B.M. Staw (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 17. JAI Press: Greenwich, CT, pp: 167–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, J.G. (1991) ‘Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning’, Organization Science 2: 71–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J.G. and Simon, H.A. (1958) Organizations, Wiley: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marx, K. and Lechner, C. (2004) ‘The Role of Social Context for Strategic Renewal: An Embeddedness Perspective’, in S. Floyd, J. Roos, C. Jacobs and F. Kellermanns (eds.) Innovating Strategy Process, Blackwell Publishing: Oxford, UK, pp: 135–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezias, S.J., Chen, Y.R. and Murphy, P. (1999) ‘‘Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.’ Some footnotes to cross-cultural research’, Journal of Management Inquiry 8: 323–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg, H.P. (1978) ‘Patterns in strategy formation’, Management Science 24: 934–948.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, C. (1956) Varieties of Human Value, University of Chicago Press: Chicago.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ohbuchi, K. and Takahashi, Y. (1994) ‘Cultural styles of conflict management in Japanese and Americans: passivity, covertness, and effectiveness of strategies’, Journal of Applied Psychology 24: 1345–1366.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Reilly III, C.A. (1989) ‘Corporations, culture and commitment: motivation and social control in organizations’, California Management Review 31: 9–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osland, J.S. and Bird, A. (2000) ‘Beyond sophisticated stereotyping: a contextual model of cultural sensemaking’, Academy of Management Executive 14(1): 65–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. and Shils, E.A. (1951) Toward a General Theory of Action, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pelto, P.J. (1968) ‘The difference between ‘tight’ and ‘loose’ societies’, Transaction, April: 37–40.

  • Pettigrew, A.M. (1973) The Politics of Organizational Decision Making, Tavistock: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redding, S.G. (1980) ‘Cognition as an aspect of culture and its relation to management processes: an explanatory view of the Chinese case’, Journal of Management Studies 17: 127–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ronen, S. and Shenkar, O. (1985) ‘Clustering countries on attitudinal dimensions: a review and synthesis’, Academy of Management Review 10: 435–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarnoff, I. (1966) Society With Tears, Citadel Press: Secaucus, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S.H. (1990) ‘Individualism–collectivism: critique and proposed refinements’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 21: 139–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S.H. (1992) ‘Universals in the Content and Structure of Values: Theoretical Advances and Empirical Tests in Two Countries’, in L. Berkowitz (ed.) Advances in Expert Mental Social Psychology, Academic Press: San Diego, pp: 1–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S.H. (1994) ‘Cultural Dimensions of Values: Towards an Understanding of National Differences’, in U. Kim, H.C. Triandis and G. Yoon (eds.) Individualism and Collectivism: Theoretical and Methodological Issues, Sage: Newbury Park, CA, pp: 85–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singelis, T.M., Triandis, H.C., Bhawuk, D.P.S. and Gelfand, M.J. (1995) ‘Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: a theoretical and measurement refinement’, Cross-Cultural Research 29: 240–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starbuck, W.H. and Milliken, F.J. (1988a) ‘Challenger: fine-tuning the odds until something breaks’, Journal of Management Studies 25: 319–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starbuck, W.H. and Milliken, F.J. (1988b) ‘Executives' Perceptual Filters: What They Notice and How They Make Sense’, in D.C. Hambrick (ed.) The Executive Effect: Concepts and Methods for Studying Top Managers, JAI Press: Greenwich, CT, pp: 35–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sully de Luque, M.F. and Sommer, S.M. (2000) ‘The impact of culture on feedback-seeking behavior: an integrated model and propositions’, Academy of Management Review 25(4): 829–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ting-Toomey, S. (1988) ‘Intercultural Conflict Styles: A Face Negotiation Theory’, in Y. Kim and W. Gudykunst (eds.) Theories in Intercultural Communication, Sage: Newbury Park, CA, pp: 213–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ting-Toomey, S., Gao, G., Trubisky, P., Yang, Z., Kim, H.S., Lin, S. and Nishida, T. (1991) ‘Culture, face maintenance, and styles of handling interpersonal conflict: a study in five cultures’, International Journal of Conflict Management 2: 275–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1982) ‘Dimensions of cultural variations as parameters of organizational theories’, International Studies of Management and Organization 12(4): 139–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1989) ‘The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts’, Psychological Review 96: 506–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1990) ‘Cross-Cultural Studies of Individualism and Collectivism’, in J.J. Berman (ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Vol. 37. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, pp: 41–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1993) ‘Collectivism and individualism as cultural syndromes’, Cross-Cultural Research 27: 155–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1994) Culture and Social Behavior, McGraw-Hill: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1995) Individualism and Collectivism, Westview Press: Boulder, CO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1996) ‘The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes’, American Psychologist 51: 407–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trompenaars, F. (1993) Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, Irwin: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J.A. and Moch, M.K. (1986) ‘Individualism–collectivism: concept and measure’, Group and Organization Studies 11: 280–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K.E. (1984) ‘Small wins: redefining the scale of social problems’, American Psychologist 39: 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witkin, H.A. and Berry, J.W. (1975) ‘Psychological differentiation in cross-cultural perspective’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 6: 4–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witkin, H.A., Goodenough, D.R. and Oltman, P.K. (1979) ‘Psychological differentiation: current status’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37: 1127–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wooldridge, B. and Floyd, S.W. (1990) ‘The strategy process, middle management involvement, and organizational performance’, Strategic Management Journal 11: 231–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the two anonymous reviewers and departmental editor Nicolai J Foss. We also thank Michael Lubatkin for his helpful comments on earlier drafts of this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Yan Ling

  2. School of Business, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA

    Steven W Floyd

  3. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    David C Baldridge

Authors
  1. Yan Ling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steven W Floyd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David C Baldridge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Ling.

Additional information

Accepted by Nicolai Juul Foss, Former Departmental Editor, 3 April 2005. This paper has been with the authors for one revision.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ling, Y., Floyd, S. & Baldridge, D. Toward a model of issue-selling by subsidiary managers in multinational organizations. J Int Bus Stud 36, 637–654 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400166

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400166

Keywords

Search

Navigation