Showing papers by "Frans van den Bosch published in 1996"

Competence building by incorporating clients into development of a business service firm's knowledge base

Abstract: In a business service context, client alliances may provide an important way to build the competences of the service firm. The close interaction with the client in service delivery offers an opportunity for a business service firm to absorb knowledge from the client. This chapter adds to our understanding of managing the process of learning and knowledge transfer by looking at how clients can contribute to the development of the knowledge base of knowledge-intensive business service firms. Combining insights from the resource-based literature, this chapter develops a model of competence building through knowledge management in downstream alliances.

Discerning a key characteristic of a European style of management : Managing the tension between integration opportunities and the constraining diversity in Europe

Abstract: textIn 1991, Thurley and Wirdenius claimed that international companies operating in European countries could, and should, make a strategic choice whether or not to develop a "European" approach or style of management. After the acceptance of the Treaty of Maastricht, and with the new European Union preparing to absorb applicants from the European Free Trade Association, their claim is becoming even more important. Not surprisingly, a European style of management, or "European management," is an important topic for business, business schools, and academic research. While a growing number of publications have been written on this subject, a brief review of the literature on European management reveals a clear tension between "integration opportunity" and "constraining diversity" issues as a challenging problem for managers in Europe. This article investigates whether key characteristics of a European style of management can be discerned. To this end, a conceptual framework is developed for reconciling the observed tension and pinpointing a key common characteristic of a European style of management. No attempt is made here to show that national styles of management such as Swedish or British management (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990) will disappear in the future. On the contrary, we maintain that national styles of management are and will remain part of Europe's diversity (Lessem and Neubauer, 1994). We aim to improve our understanding of how management relates to the European business environment as a contingency factor. In particular, we investigate ways of approaching the above-mentioned management problem in Europe. In a general sense, our research contributes to the challenging field of international management research (Earley and Singh, 1995) as well. We begin with a short overview of the literature and draw attention to the tension between integration opportunities and constraining diversity for managers in Europe. We then introduce a managerial perspective in describing various relevant forms of an important contextual variable of Europe--namely, diversity. After developing a conceptual framework for reconciling this tension, we describe how this framework can focus attention on a key characteristic of a European style of management. We use a case study of Unilever Foods Europe to illustrate the proposed conceptual framework. In discussing our findings, we touch upon some implications for developing the distinctive managerial skills required by a European style of management and suggest directions for future research.

Stakeholder management bij besluitvorming over strategische investeringsprojecten

Abstract: textInleiding. Bij besluitvorming over strategische investeringsprojecten kan het voortbestaan van de betrokken onderneming in het geding zijn. Dan is het van groot belang om naast de te verwachten rentabiliteit van de investeringsprojecten, tevens aandacht te schenken aan de belangen van betrokkenen binnen en buiten de onderneming. Investeringsprojecten worden van oudsher beoordeeld vanuit een financieel-economisch perspectief op basis van rationele selectiecriteria met betrekking tot de investeringsbeslissing. In de jaren zeventig is met name door Bowers (1970) studie 'Managing the Resource Allocation Process' aan dit financieel-economisch perspectief een management perspectief toegevoegd. Bower bracht daarmee het belang van het betrekken van het interne besluitvormingsproces bij investeringsbeslissingen in beeld. In de jaren tachtig en negentig zijn de dynamiek en complexiteit van de interacties tussen onderneming en omgeving verder toegenomen. Het management van deze interactie of 'interfaces' heeft de invloed van en de aandacht voorexterne stakeholders ook met betrekking tot strategische investeringsbeslissingen verder doen toenemen.

Managing the boundaries of firms in the agribusiness: managerial aspects of corporate governance concerning vertical and horizontal integration

Abstract: The Dutch potato sector is strongly internationally oriented, and has a leading position in the European Union (EU) as well as in world markets. Furthermore, the Dutch potato processing industry is by far the biggest in the EU. The position of the Dutch potato sector is seriously threatened by increasing international competition as well as by changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (Kearney[l]). Given these changes in the business environment, especially the increasing market influence of demand side actors (e.g. retailer organizations, wholesalers), firms in the Dutch potato sector are facing strategic reorientation and a re-evaluation of their governance structures (Leeuwen & Veerman et al. [2], Groot et al.[3]). Departing from the principle that a relationship exists between arrangements of activities, intra-firm and inter-firm linkages, as well as managerial action (Van den Bosch[4], Porter[5]), the situation as was described above can be regarded as a managerial problem which is particularly relevant for the boards of the producer-controlled co-operatives. However, until recently the focus of studies in the field of governance structures was directed to problems and phenomena at industrylevel (e.g. Lamont[6], Miniataite[7]). Research concerning managerial reactions to increasing dependency and uncertainty regarding the business environment is more commonly performed in manufacturing and services industries (e.g. De Man[8], Rademakers & Van Valkengoed[9]). This is also true with respect to investigating issues on vertical and horizontal integration, as well as organizational alternatives for the governance of intraand inter-firm activities (Grandori & Soda[10], Porter[5], Whitley[ll]). Using the findings of research on manufacturing and services industries, and applying as well as testing these to the potato sector, can add to our body of knowledge. An example of this is

Stakeholders en management: een case-studie

Abstract: textInleiding. In discussies over corporate governance en ondernemingsdoelstellingen woedt een strijd tussen twee uitersten. Aanhangers van het stockholdermodel vinden dat het management uitsluitend verantwoording moet afleggen aan de aandeelhouders, terwijl anderen argumenteren voor het stakeholdermodel, waarin het management de belangen van vele belanghebbenden tegelijk in het oog moet houden. In de praktijk overlappen beide modellen elkaar. stockholders versus stakeholders onttrekken het zicht op de complexiteit van stakeholdermanagement, de inzet die daarbij gepleegd moet worden door het management alsmede de daaraan verbonden uitdagingen. Case-studies over stakeholder-management kunnen deze complexiteit belichten en mede daardoor inzicht verschaffen in de merites van het stakeholdermodel voor het management. Dit artikel wil daartoe een bijdrage leveren door eerst aan de hand van een bekend framework een kort theoretisch overzicht te geven van stakeholdermanagement. Vervolgens komt een beknopte casestudie aan de orde waarin nieuwe vormen van stakeholder-management worden beschreven. De case-studie beschrijft het proces van de strategische besluitvorming en het stakeholder-management inzake het megaproject Per+, de grootscheepse modernisering van Shell's olieraffinaderij in Pernis/Rotterdam. De nadruk ligt daarbij op het combineren van intern en extern stakeholdermanagement en op de vraag welke nieuwe managementinzichten daaraan zijn te ontlenen voor de proces- en transactie-dimensie van stakeholder-management.