The Differentiated Network

Organizing Multinational Corporations for Value Creation

Nohria, Nitin / Ghoshal, Sumantra

1. Edition February 1997
272 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-0-7879-0331-2

John Wiley & Sons

Further versions

Discover a Breakthrough Model for MNCs

In a dynamic global economy, multinational corporations (MNCs) face
certain competitive challenges that traditional, hierarchical hub
and spoke organizations simply aren't geared to meet. But in this
landmark work, Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria and
London Business School Professor Sumantra Ghoshal present a viable
alternative -- the differentiated network. Writing for managers
seeking changes in their administrative systems that boost firm
performance, and for academics engaged in research organization
design, the authors detail how the competitive MNC can fully tap
the value creation potential of its globally distributed
capabilities.

Preface.

The Differentiated Network.

DISTRIBUTED INNOVATION IN THE DIFFERENTIATED NETWORK.

Distributed Innovation in Multinational Corporations (MNCs).

Optimal Slack for Distributed Innovation.

Creation, Adoption, and Diffusion of Innovations Across the
MNC.

DIFFERENTIATION AND INTEGRATION.

Internal Differentiation Within the MNC.

Formal Structure and Shared Values.

Integration Through Interunit Communication.

Integration Through Interpersonal Networks.

LIMITS AND EXTENSIONS OF THE DIFFERENTIATED NETWORK.

Requisite Complexity.

Beyond the Differentiated Network.

Methodological Appendix.

References.

The Author.

Index.

NITIN NOHRIA is professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. He is the co-editor of Fast Forward and Networks and Organizations, and the co-author of Beyond the Hype. His teaching, research and consulting focus on designing and transforming organizations to achieve superior performance. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts. ANUP K. GHOSH is holder of the Robert P. Bauman Chair in Strategic Leadership at the London Business School. He has also taught in the Sloan School, MIT, and at France's INSEAD. Co-author of Managing Across the Borders and other books, his award-winning case stutides, research and consulting focus on the management of large worldwide firms. He lives in London, England.