Globalization is driving evolution in the organizational model of very large Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). This research is a quantitative case study of one consumer technology MNC, with 64 country business units from all continents, whose role is to maximise sales and profit from the product range. The research question tests for efficiency from an alternative organizational model, where the continental hierarchy is overlaid with a heterarchical structure based on homogenous clusters of country business units. The clusters are based on segmenting the external-selling context on variables chosen by country managers, and then adopt common routines within these clusters in place of continent led processes. The cost of the three key selling processes before and after the adoption of the clusters is measured. The concept of the ‘strategic selling organization’ (Piercy, 2006) has expanded interest in the study of sales-led companies, a significant departure from a product and marketing led strategy. The ‘strategic sales organization’ accepts that product differentiation can be short lived and hence such firms could alternatively build advantage from the way they sell. The literature review suggests that the development of the hybrid model under test could represent a ‘strategic sales organization’ that is located at the junction of higher-order theories in: segmentation analysis for strategic decisions, MNC design evolution from hierarchy to heterarchy, behaviour-based reward mechanisms and the move to a selling orientation from a product orientation, with underlying theoretical roots in contingency theory, knowledge theory, control theory and founded on the shift from the economic to the resource based view of the firm. The results show a lateral network process-based structure running common ‘operating routines’ within clusters is more efficient than a geographical based hierarchy, and countries that have an external selling context most dissimilar to their prevailing continental context gain most from the cluster-based model. Evidence of efficiency of the new model may support a Theoretical Contribution to selling orientation in the field of contingency theory, behavioural control theory linked to sales-led strategy, a strategic basis for segmentation and process-based lateral network organizations in the field of MNC design theories. It is concluded that such a variety of ‘strategic sales organization’ (Piercy, 2006) exists.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:752411 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Jopling, Mark |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/103917/ |
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