Management innovations, organisational culture, and national culture: the case of adaptation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Saudi Arabia

This thesis examines the effect of organisational and national cultures on the adaptation of transferred management practices from multinational enterprise headquarters to subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia and seeks to answer three research questions: How does the degree of fit between the organisational culture within an MNE and a management practice impact the adaptation of the practice in MNE subsidiaries? ; How does the cultural distance between the home and host countries of an MNE, influence adaptation of the management practice? ; How do the organisational cultural fit with the management practice and the cultural distance between the home and host countries of an MNE jointly influence the adaptation of the management practice? Taking TQM as an example of a management practice, data was collected from a sample of 128 MNEs operating in Saudi Arabia regarding the fidelity and extensiveness of TQM implementations. The data was analysed using three different methods- multiple regression, qualitative comparative analysis, and necessary condition analysis. The analyses suggest that adaptation of the practice occurs when there is poor fit between the practice on the one hand and national and organisational culture on the other, and conversely adaptation does not occur when there is a complete fit. Where there is a contradiction between organisational culture fit and national culture fit, the results suggest that organisational culture has a greater effect on adaptation than national culture. The findings highlight the critical roles of both organisational and national cultural differences in the context of management practice transfer. Overall, this study contributes to management theory and practice by providing a multi-dimensional view of culture and practice implementation which can better inform future transfer of management practices in MNEs.