8 February 2019
ESCP – Campus République

Camila LEE PARK, PhD candidate in the PhD programme ESCP EuropePhD candidate in the PhD programme ESCP publicly defended her PhD thesis in Management Sciences.
Thesis Title:
Operations at the Cultural Interface: The implications of Cultural Matters in Operations Strategy

Jury 

Advisors:

  • Prof. Valérie MOATTI,
    ESCP
  • Prof. Maral MURATBEKOVA-TOURON
    ESCP

Referees:

  • Prof. Blandine AGERON,
    Université Grenoble Alpes
  • Prof. Ulrike MAYRHOFER,
    Université Nice Sophia Antipolis

Suffragants:

  • Prof. Pierre-Xavier MESCHI
    Aix-Marseille Université
  • Prof. José A. D. MACHUCA
    Universidad de Sevilla

Abstract

The present dissertation explores the influence of cultural idiosyncrasies in the formulation and implementation of operations strategy. More specifically, through the consideration of distinct cultural factors argued to differ among human gatherings, the accommodation of operations is analysed, in a way that the tensions between homogenization and flexibilization of productive practices and procedures shall be further addressed. Organized around three individual but complementary research articles, the dissertation explores then the relevance of aspects believed to be proper and – to some degree – segregational of national cultures, which shall be of particular interest to companies operating in foreign environments.

Within this perspective, the first article builds on four of Hofstede’s national culture dimensions (i.e. power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation vs. short-term) and on the High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project’s global database to assess the impact of the aspects of the Brazilian, Chinese, German, and South Korean cultures in the shaping of its companies’ operations strategy. Relying on a confirmatory approach, results suggest that national cultures carry significant influences in firms’ operations strategy processes. The second article further analyses the influence of the Brazilian jeitinho, a cultural trait argued to be indigenous to Brazilian people and influent in the most diverse aspects of the functioning and organization of the Brazilian society, in business relationships. Within an exploratory qualitative approach, the assessment of semi-structured interviews conducted among Brazilian professionals suggest that supply chain relationships are indeed influenced by this cultural aspect, which may come to count with positive or negative connotations. Such understanding is believed to be of value to companies currently operating in Brazil or to those that intend to do so as part of their internationalization strategies. Finally, the third article is centered around the peculiarities and distinctions that French filmmakers bring to their creations to extrapolate lessons that can be learned from an international buyer-supplier relationship perspective. In this direction, a discussion is built over the difficulties of cultural adaptation, as well as over the value of cultural preservation and originality. Within this main debate, propositions to a more successful adaptation to national cultures are offered, which shall be of particular usefulness to companies seeking to expand their operations in international and culturally diverse contexts.

Campuses

Paris