| A theoretical model about the emergent social structure of the multinational organization (MNO) is developed based on the international business literature, organization theory, and strategic management theory. The model is tested through a network analysis of across-unit instrumental and expressive ties among 457 managers of a large private non-profit MNO working in 36 countries. The emergent social structure of the MNO is defined as relatively stable and recurring patterns of interactions between individual organization members within and across organizational units.;The study poses two key research questions about the emergent social structure of the MNO. The first question explores its determinants: how do the organization's formal structure and individuals' personal and cultural attributes shape the emergent social structure of the MNO? The data indicate that the managers' formal structural roles related to function, status, and type of organizational units strongly influence the emergent structure. For the other hypothesized group of predictors, personal and cultural attributes, the analysis shows mixed support. The emergent structure is positively influenced by gender homophily. Managers however interact more strongly with those from different nationalities but with more similar national culture.;The second research question is related to the consequences of emergent structure: how does the emergent structure of ties across distance influence managerial action and the performance of organizational units? In response, the emergent structure is found to strongly affect the formation of organizational units' strategies through inducing similarity. This intracorporate emergent structure appears to influence performance: organizational units whose managers are more central and well connected in the network grow at a higher rate. The established connections between emergent structure, strategy, and performance are especially important for managers in the MNO who increasingly rely on lateral linkages and networks rather than formal structural processes for coordination. |
