The Impact of national and cultural context on collaboration across borders in multinational enterprises : a case study of Glamox’ headquar-ters in Norway and Glamox HE AS in Estonia

Abstract

This paper draws on the assumption that there may be major differences between norms and values of managers in different countries as a result of their national and cultural backgrounds. One would therefore expect tensions to appear in a co-operation situation between an ex-Soviet country such as Estonia and a capitalist country such as Norway. Drawing on an empirical study of the Norwegian light-fitting producer Glamox and its Estonian subsidiary, this master thesis serves two functions. Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as a theoretical framework, the thesis will illuminate the rela-tionship between cultural and national factors and management practices and working methods in firms. The thesis also includes a discussion of how findings on micro and macro levels affect the collaboration between the headquarters and the subsidiary in the Glamox’ case. In addition to the pressures from the local environment, subsidiaries face pressures in terms of consistency within the organisation. Managing cross-cultural differences in such a case is crucial, as it may influence the success or failure of a collaboration project.