Anna Soulsby | University of Nottingham (original) (raw)

Papers by Anna Soulsby

Competition and Change, Apr 1, 2012

This article seeks to advance our understanding of organizational change by exploring the relatio... more This article seeks to advance our understanding of organizational change by exploring the relationships between patterns of organizational restructuring and identity dynamics as they interrelate over time. Our arguments are set in the empirical context of post-socialist Central Europe and the data, derived from the longitudinal study of a former state-owned enterprise that has been visited many times from 1993 to 2011, tell the story of a process of vertical disintegration. The article contributes to the field by elaborating the dynamic effects of identity ambivalence and identity conflict on top management decision making and the consequent social construction of organizational change processes.

Business History, 2020

Since the fall of Communism in 1989, the Czechs have received considerable foreign direct investm... more Since the fall of Communism in 1989, the Czechs have received considerable foreign direct investment from Germany. But the historical relationship between the Czechs and Germans has long been a difficult one. The legacy of the past still overshadows the relationship between the Czech Republic and Germany even after the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union. The paper examines how Czech managers in a joint venture with a German organization drew upon narratives and metaphors of the history of their relationship and historical stereotypes of German behaviour rather than economic explanations to understand and explain their experience of a failed joint venture.

Women in Management in Central and Eastern European Countries, 2020

It seems that Central and Eastern European countries are doing quite well with regard to gender e... more It seems that Central and Eastern European countries are doing quite well with regard to gender equality in management, a fact that has often been attributed to the socialist heritage of these countries. In the meantime, it has become well known that this does not hold true, as gender equality and inequality not only coexisted in the socialist era, but have also continued to do so since. Unfortunately, research on women in management in post-socialist Central and Eastern European countries remains rare. This volume presents seven studies and a research report on women in management in CEE countries. The research included is based on quantitative as well as qualitative empirical material and provides country-based case studies as well as comparisons between countries. The book includes contributions on topics such as The existence of gender stereotypes The effects of women on corporate boards Reasons for and consequences of female entrepreneurship Time practices of women in leading p...

Management Research News, 1992

Our aim is to be as current as possible. What follows is a very broad overview of the ideas and i... more Our aim is to be as current as possible. What follows is a very broad overview of the ideas and intentions of the proposed paper, rather than a precis of a paper already prepared. We indicate the research background of the paper, allude to the principles of the theoretical framework we are developing, and describe the nature of the intensive case study that is to be carried out in Czechoslovakia in April 1992.

This book provides a unique and detailed examination of the complex processes of transformation i... more This book provides a unique and detailed examination of the complex processes of transformation in former state-owned enterprises in the Czech Republic. Drawing on in-depth case studies of organizational transformation, the authors adopt a social-institutionalist approach to the study of organizational change, applying it in order to develop an explanation of organizational restructuring and management redefinition during the early transition period of 1990-1996. In particular, they highlight how these processes have been shaped by continuing historical state-socialist legacies and the powerful role played by senior managers in their efforts to fashion the new privatized organizations in their own interests.

International Studies of Management & Organization, 2001

This article analyzes the social construction of the careers of a group of Czech managers who sta... more This article analyzes the social construction of the careers of a group of Czech managers who started their careers under the constraints of communism. The process of career construction and enactment is considered from both psychological and social perspectives. The article examines how the managers' orientation to their careers changed as a consequence of the critical life-changing decisions that they had to make within the social institutions of a repressive regime. The managers, who have experienced different degrees of success since the revolution of 1989, reflect on their lives and try to make sense of the unfolding of their careers. The notion of a career is strongly embedded in modern Western culture, usually with an implicit assumption of individuals being able to exercise personal control over a wide range of possible choices. In this view, a career is conceived of as a meaningful sequence of positions, occupied by a person over a long period of time-often a whole working life-and having both psychological and social aspects (lnkson 1995). Psychologically, a career provides a sense of coherence and stability to individuals within their jobs, community, and future lives. But a career

Fieldwork in Transforming Societies, 2004

This chapter considers the interactive relationships between the researcher and other key actors ... more This chapter considers the interactive relationships between the researcher and other key actors in qualitative fieldwork who are part of the social process of constructing case study materials. Although I have conducted field research in a number of post-communist societies, examples from fieldwork research conducted in the Czech Republic are used to illustrate some important methodological issues that often go unexplored in the conventional methodological literature. These issues can take on an extreme form in post-communist societies, because of the particular degree and nature of change.

Critical Management Research in Eastern Europe, 2002

It has been more than ten years since the Velvet Revolution and new or ‘reconstructed’ managers h... more It has been more than ten years since the Velvet Revolution and new or ‘reconstructed’ managers have started to replace the generation of senior managers (already in their fifties or coming up to retirement) who were active before 1989. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the views of Czech enterprise directors and managers regarding the course of their careers as they reflect on the decisions and choices they made within the context of communist and postcommunist times.

Competition & Change, 2011

International business researchers have identified the tendency of international joint ventures (... more International business researchers have identified the tendency of international joint ventures (IJVs) to fail and recognized that explaining the process of failure can benefit from inductive qualitative research. This article offers a processual account of instability in and the dissolution of an IJV, taking the perspective of the local parent in an IJV with a powerful Western multinational corporation in order to understand more fully their experience of participating in the venture. The case study findings offer empirical support for an emergent theoretical framework that highlights the role of contextual factors and explores the internal process of dissolution and ‘failure’ as the socio-political enactment of parents' strategic orientations.

Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research

Organization Studies, 1995

The study of organizational transformation has emerged from the foundations established by contin... more The study of organizational transformation has emerged from the foundations established by contingency theory and research. While institutional approaches to organizational analysis have preferred to focus on the tendency towards organizational continuity and inertia, recent developments have begun to con sider institutional pressures leading to change, and to provide clues about how contingency and institutional theories might complement each other in improv ing our understanding of organizational change. The evidence presented in this paper, drawn from a study of organizational transformation in the Czech Republic, allows exploration of the relationship between transforming state enterprises and the wider processes of social, economic and institutional change. The values, motives and actions of the key enterprise managers are shown to be essential factors in explaining both the process of transformation in state enterprises, and the role of institutional factors in that process.

Organization Studies, 1996

This paper examines the sources and processes of management learning in four large, former state ... more This paper examines the sources and processes of management learning in four large, former state enterprises in the Czech Republic. These enterprises have all been privatized, but have not enjoyed foreign direct investment, which is often cited as a major source of post-communist management development. The findings indicate that current managerial knowledge in the enterprises has originated from a variety of domestic and foreign sources, but that the flow of ideas has been affected by a number of important filters, arising from the complexity of the Czech context, and the motives of the enterprise managers. In particular, the paper documents the continuing role of managerial knowledge emanating from pre-1989 sources, a factor which may have crucial implica tions for the nature of the emerging institution of post-communist Czech management.

The Journal of Socio-Economics, 1996

... but under existing institutional conditions, the symbolic presence of a marketing function in... more ... but under existing institutional conditions, the symbolic presence of a marketing function in ... rational response to many of the ambiguities and uncertainties of the post communist society ... about the dominant patterns of economic coordination in the postcommunist Czech enterprise ...

Journal of Management Studies, 1999

In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region, researchers have noted the widespread adoption... more In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region, researchers have noted the widespread adoption of the multi-divisional form (MDF) by the former stateowned enterprises. In contrast to the accepted explanations in western capitalist societies, the spread of the MDF in post-Communist economies has had little or nothing to do with growth strategies such as diversi®cation. Developing ideas from the existing western literature, the paper examines the role of economic, institutional and strategic choice factors in three large, former state enterprises within the Czech post-Communist context. The ®ndings suggest that all three factors are theoretically important, but neither equally nor independently so. In particular, economic factors acted as a major constraint on structural choice only under extreme conditions, while institutional factors and strategic choice are best understood as interdependent moments in a recursive process of structural enactment.

The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2006

... Anna Soulsby * & Ed Clark * pages 1396-1410. ... Godfrey, M. 1998. The Struggle Against U... more ... Anna Soulsby * & Ed Clark * pages 1396-1410. ... Godfrey, M. 1998. The Struggle Against Unemployment: Medium-Term Policy Options for Transitional Economies. International Labour Review , 134(1): 3–15. [CSA] View all references; Jackman, 199426. Jackman, R. 1994. ...

The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1998

The paper examines the position and function of personnel management during the transformation of... more The paper examines the position and function of personnel management during the transformation of four former state enterprises in the Czech Republic. The personnel department had become a strong symbol of the pre-1989 regime because of its communist associations, and the new enterprise managers found it necessary to exercise control over its development during the enterprise transition to privatized status. The paper reports on three processes of change: the structural re-positioning of the function; the re-staffing of its management; and the development of human resource management (HRM) ideas and practices. It is argued that underlying these changes in personnel were the motives and strategies of the senior managers, many of whom were surviving nomenklatura whose future managerial careers depended on successful enterprise transformation.

Industrial Relations Journal, 2006

Human Relations, 1998

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the enterprise restructuring process, which has... more The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the enterprise restructuring process, which has typified the experience of post-communist industry, on local communities. It is argued that restructuring has had differential impacts on communities, and one key factor in making this judgment is the nature of the enterprise-community relationship inherited from the former state socialist regime. Conceptually, this relationship can be understood in terms of the social and institutional embeddedness of the enterprise in its local community. The paper draws upon research into three large former state enterprises in the now Czech Republic in order to examine the effects of different degrees of embeddedness on the impact of restructuring decisions to reduce enterprise overstaffing, and to unburden the enterprise of its social and welfare assets and activities.

Europe-Asia Studies, 2012

Abstract Following the collapse of European state socialism, economists quickly identified a cent... more Abstract Following the collapse of European state socialism, economists quickly identified a central role for foreign direct investment and Western multinational corporations in moving the region towards a market economy. Knowledge transfers and capital infusions would allow former state-owned enterprises to take on market-economic characteristics and therefore engage more fully in the global economy. This article examines the post-socialist management experience of international joint ventures (IJVs) through a study of the critical events in the life of a German–Czech IJV. The story is told from the local managers' perspective and, drawing on the vocabulary of organisational identity, sense-making and sense-giving actions, we show how the IJV process is constrained and enacted by the post-socialist context.

Competition and Change, Apr 1, 2012

This article seeks to advance our understanding of organizational change by exploring the relatio... more This article seeks to advance our understanding of organizational change by exploring the relationships between patterns of organizational restructuring and identity dynamics as they interrelate over time. Our arguments are set in the empirical context of post-socialist Central Europe and the data, derived from the longitudinal study of a former state-owned enterprise that has been visited many times from 1993 to 2011, tell the story of a process of vertical disintegration. The article contributes to the field by elaborating the dynamic effects of identity ambivalence and identity conflict on top management decision making and the consequent social construction of organizational change processes.

Business History, 2020

Since the fall of Communism in 1989, the Czechs have received considerable foreign direct investm... more Since the fall of Communism in 1989, the Czechs have received considerable foreign direct investment from Germany. But the historical relationship between the Czechs and Germans has long been a difficult one. The legacy of the past still overshadows the relationship between the Czech Republic and Germany even after the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union. The paper examines how Czech managers in a joint venture with a German organization drew upon narratives and metaphors of the history of their relationship and historical stereotypes of German behaviour rather than economic explanations to understand and explain their experience of a failed joint venture.

Women in Management in Central and Eastern European Countries, 2020

It seems that Central and Eastern European countries are doing quite well with regard to gender e... more It seems that Central and Eastern European countries are doing quite well with regard to gender equality in management, a fact that has often been attributed to the socialist heritage of these countries. In the meantime, it has become well known that this does not hold true, as gender equality and inequality not only coexisted in the socialist era, but have also continued to do so since. Unfortunately, research on women in management in post-socialist Central and Eastern European countries remains rare. This volume presents seven studies and a research report on women in management in CEE countries. The research included is based on quantitative as well as qualitative empirical material and provides country-based case studies as well as comparisons between countries. The book includes contributions on topics such as The existence of gender stereotypes The effects of women on corporate boards Reasons for and consequences of female entrepreneurship Time practices of women in leading p...

Management Research News, 1992

Our aim is to be as current as possible. What follows is a very broad overview of the ideas and i... more Our aim is to be as current as possible. What follows is a very broad overview of the ideas and intentions of the proposed paper, rather than a precis of a paper already prepared. We indicate the research background of the paper, allude to the principles of the theoretical framework we are developing, and describe the nature of the intensive case study that is to be carried out in Czechoslovakia in April 1992.

This book provides a unique and detailed examination of the complex processes of transformation i... more This book provides a unique and detailed examination of the complex processes of transformation in former state-owned enterprises in the Czech Republic. Drawing on in-depth case studies of organizational transformation, the authors adopt a social-institutionalist approach to the study of organizational change, applying it in order to develop an explanation of organizational restructuring and management redefinition during the early transition period of 1990-1996. In particular, they highlight how these processes have been shaped by continuing historical state-socialist legacies and the powerful role played by senior managers in their efforts to fashion the new privatized organizations in their own interests.

International Studies of Management & Organization, 2001

This article analyzes the social construction of the careers of a group of Czech managers who sta... more This article analyzes the social construction of the careers of a group of Czech managers who started their careers under the constraints of communism. The process of career construction and enactment is considered from both psychological and social perspectives. The article examines how the managers' orientation to their careers changed as a consequence of the critical life-changing decisions that they had to make within the social institutions of a repressive regime. The managers, who have experienced different degrees of success since the revolution of 1989, reflect on their lives and try to make sense of the unfolding of their careers. The notion of a career is strongly embedded in modern Western culture, usually with an implicit assumption of individuals being able to exercise personal control over a wide range of possible choices. In this view, a career is conceived of as a meaningful sequence of positions, occupied by a person over a long period of time-often a whole working life-and having both psychological and social aspects (lnkson 1995). Psychologically, a career provides a sense of coherence and stability to individuals within their jobs, community, and future lives. But a career

Fieldwork in Transforming Societies, 2004

This chapter considers the interactive relationships between the researcher and other key actors ... more This chapter considers the interactive relationships between the researcher and other key actors in qualitative fieldwork who are part of the social process of constructing case study materials. Although I have conducted field research in a number of post-communist societies, examples from fieldwork research conducted in the Czech Republic are used to illustrate some important methodological issues that often go unexplored in the conventional methodological literature. These issues can take on an extreme form in post-communist societies, because of the particular degree and nature of change.

Critical Management Research in Eastern Europe, 2002

It has been more than ten years since the Velvet Revolution and new or ‘reconstructed’ managers h... more It has been more than ten years since the Velvet Revolution and new or ‘reconstructed’ managers have started to replace the generation of senior managers (already in their fifties or coming up to retirement) who were active before 1989. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the views of Czech enterprise directors and managers regarding the course of their careers as they reflect on the decisions and choices they made within the context of communist and postcommunist times.

Competition & Change, 2011

International business researchers have identified the tendency of international joint ventures (... more International business researchers have identified the tendency of international joint ventures (IJVs) to fail and recognized that explaining the process of failure can benefit from inductive qualitative research. This article offers a processual account of instability in and the dissolution of an IJV, taking the perspective of the local parent in an IJV with a powerful Western multinational corporation in order to understand more fully their experience of participating in the venture. The case study findings offer empirical support for an emergent theoretical framework that highlights the role of contextual factors and explores the internal process of dissolution and ‘failure’ as the socio-political enactment of parents' strategic orientations.

Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research

Organization Studies, 1995

The study of organizational transformation has emerged from the foundations established by contin... more The study of organizational transformation has emerged from the foundations established by contingency theory and research. While institutional approaches to organizational analysis have preferred to focus on the tendency towards organizational continuity and inertia, recent developments have begun to con sider institutional pressures leading to change, and to provide clues about how contingency and institutional theories might complement each other in improv ing our understanding of organizational change. The evidence presented in this paper, drawn from a study of organizational transformation in the Czech Republic, allows exploration of the relationship between transforming state enterprises and the wider processes of social, economic and institutional change. The values, motives and actions of the key enterprise managers are shown to be essential factors in explaining both the process of transformation in state enterprises, and the role of institutional factors in that process.

Organization Studies, 1996

This paper examines the sources and processes of management learning in four large, former state ... more This paper examines the sources and processes of management learning in four large, former state enterprises in the Czech Republic. These enterprises have all been privatized, but have not enjoyed foreign direct investment, which is often cited as a major source of post-communist management development. The findings indicate that current managerial knowledge in the enterprises has originated from a variety of domestic and foreign sources, but that the flow of ideas has been affected by a number of important filters, arising from the complexity of the Czech context, and the motives of the enterprise managers. In particular, the paper documents the continuing role of managerial knowledge emanating from pre-1989 sources, a factor which may have crucial implica tions for the nature of the emerging institution of post-communist Czech management.

The Journal of Socio-Economics, 1996

... but under existing institutional conditions, the symbolic presence of a marketing function in... more ... but under existing institutional conditions, the symbolic presence of a marketing function in ... rational response to many of the ambiguities and uncertainties of the post communist society ... about the dominant patterns of economic coordination in the postcommunist Czech enterprise ...

Journal of Management Studies, 1999

In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region, researchers have noted the widespread adoption... more In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region, researchers have noted the widespread adoption of the multi-divisional form (MDF) by the former stateowned enterprises. In contrast to the accepted explanations in western capitalist societies, the spread of the MDF in post-Communist economies has had little or nothing to do with growth strategies such as diversi®cation. Developing ideas from the existing western literature, the paper examines the role of economic, institutional and strategic choice factors in three large, former state enterprises within the Czech post-Communist context. The ®ndings suggest that all three factors are theoretically important, but neither equally nor independently so. In particular, economic factors acted as a major constraint on structural choice only under extreme conditions, while institutional factors and strategic choice are best understood as interdependent moments in a recursive process of structural enactment.

The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2006

... Anna Soulsby * & Ed Clark * pages 1396-1410. ... Godfrey, M. 1998. The Struggle Against U... more ... Anna Soulsby * & Ed Clark * pages 1396-1410. ... Godfrey, M. 1998. The Struggle Against Unemployment: Medium-Term Policy Options for Transitional Economies. International Labour Review , 134(1): 3–15. [CSA] View all references; Jackman, 199426. Jackman, R. 1994. ...

The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1998

The paper examines the position and function of personnel management during the transformation of... more The paper examines the position and function of personnel management during the transformation of four former state enterprises in the Czech Republic. The personnel department had become a strong symbol of the pre-1989 regime because of its communist associations, and the new enterprise managers found it necessary to exercise control over its development during the enterprise transition to privatized status. The paper reports on three processes of change: the structural re-positioning of the function; the re-staffing of its management; and the development of human resource management (HRM) ideas and practices. It is argued that underlying these changes in personnel were the motives and strategies of the senior managers, many of whom were surviving nomenklatura whose future managerial careers depended on successful enterprise transformation.

Industrial Relations Journal, 2006

Human Relations, 1998

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the enterprise restructuring process, which has... more The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the enterprise restructuring process, which has typified the experience of post-communist industry, on local communities. It is argued that restructuring has had differential impacts on communities, and one key factor in making this judgment is the nature of the enterprise-community relationship inherited from the former state socialist regime. Conceptually, this relationship can be understood in terms of the social and institutional embeddedness of the enterprise in its local community. The paper draws upon research into three large former state enterprises in the now Czech Republic in order to examine the effects of different degrees of embeddedness on the impact of restructuring decisions to reduce enterprise overstaffing, and to unburden the enterprise of its social and welfare assets and activities.

Europe-Asia Studies, 2012

Abstract Following the collapse of European state socialism, economists quickly identified a cent... more Abstract Following the collapse of European state socialism, economists quickly identified a central role for foreign direct investment and Western multinational corporations in moving the region towards a market economy. Knowledge transfers and capital infusions would allow former state-owned enterprises to take on market-economic characteristics and therefore engage more fully in the global economy. This article examines the post-socialist management experience of international joint ventures (IJVs) through a study of the critical events in the life of a German–Czech IJV. The story is told from the local managers' perspective and, drawing on the vocabulary of organisational identity, sense-making and sense-giving actions, we show how the IJV process is constrained and enacted by the post-socialist context.