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Our study examines the transfer of entrepreneurial legacy within the parent-subsidiary relationship that exists in the geographically diversified firm. We propose that at the time when foreign subsidiaries evolve into technologically capable units, the time-sensitive transfer of entrepreneurial legacy from the parent company determines their long-term exploration activity. We predict and find that the effect of this legacy imprint operates independently of broader corporate exploration trends and other variables that affect subsidiary exploration. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial legacy is transferred and sustained, highlighting variability on the part of the sender (the parent company) and inertia among the receivers (the subsidiaries). We introduce a novel explanation for persistent differences in levels of exploration among units of the geographically diversified firm, and propose the presence of a unique form of "familiness" that helps maintain a balance between exploration and exploitation that is difficult to achieve for other types of firms. Our findings broaden the perspective on legacy change and its long-term consequences in the wider entrepreneurial legacy literature.

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between corporate culture and innovative work behavior, more specifically how corporate culture affects the spawning of female and male intrapreneurs within organizations. Findings from a survey encompassing 4,011 employees in Swedish private companies provide empirical support for adopting a gender sensitive perspective on corporate culture. Our results reveal that a competitive corporate culture tends to foster the emergence of male rather than female intrapreneurs. However, in contexts where corporate culture includes intrapreneurial role models, both males and females are encouraged to step forward, with particularly notable effects on female intrapreneurs, thus facilitating a shift in existing gender schemas. The findings underscore how power dynamics embedded within corporate culture influence innovative work behavior, and emphasize the importance of conceiving culture as a multifaceted determinant of such behavior. We discuss the implications of our findings for the management of intrapreneurship, human resources, and gender equality.

Vi lever i en tid präglad av intensiva omställningar, där teknologiska språng, geopolitiska konflikter, klimatförändringar och snabbt skiftande marknadslogiker tillsammans formar en komplex och osäker spelplan för företag. I denna nya verklighet räcker det inte längre med att förvalta framgång – företagens långsiktiga konkurrenskraft och överlevnad beror alltmer på förmågan att kontinuerligt förnya sig.

Mot denna bakgrund framträder intraprenörskapet, det vill säga innovation och entreprenörsanda inom befintliga organisationer, som en avgörande strategi. Det är inte bara ett sätt att öka anpassningsförmågan och motståndskraften i tider av förändring, utan också en källa till stärkt medarbetarengagemang, ökat välmående och hållbart värdeskapande. I en värld där förändring är det enda konstanta, måste varje organisation odla förmågan att tänka nytt – inifrån.

Many businesses are finding it difficult to strengthen employees' intentions to engage in intrapreneurial new venturing. In this study, we investigate the organizational conditions that are conducive to the formation of such intentions, specifically employees' intentions to initiate the development of new products or services in their host corporation. The results from a survey of 3492 employees of Swedish companies, including small, medium-sized, and large firms, reveal that recognizing and rewarding personal achievements, maintaining a risk-taking organizational culture, and top management support are all associated with stronger employee intentions to engage in intrapreneurial new venturing. There is weaker support for the predicted positive effect of personal independence and the presence of intrapreneurial role models. Time availability appears to have an inverted ushaped relationship to employees' intentions to engage in intrapreneurial new venturing. Overall, the findings support the idea that organizations can be purposefully designed for strengthening intrapreneurial new venturing among their employees.

We generate new knowledge about financial crises and their consequences for MNC technological development, thereby addressing a largely uncharted issue at the crossroads of the organization, strategy and international business literatures. Drawing on threat-rigidity theory, we argue that financial crises have an overall negative effect on MNC technological exploration and that the strength of the effect differs across greenfield and acquired subsidiaries. Results from an empirical investigation of 21 MNCs over the 1890-2008 period suggest that the dampening effect of financial crises on technological exploration is confined to home-country units and greenfield subsidiaries, whereas it is found to be of less significance among acquired foreign subsidiaries. We suggest that such differentiation within the MNC is indicative of a previously unobserved advantage from multinationality, which allows it to smoothen the effects of financial crises on long-term technological development and corporate growth.

This report sets out to explore possible adaptations in the strategies of Swedish multinational corporations (MNCs) following changes in economic globalization. Specifically, it investigates the possible shifts and future directions of strategies to the global drivers of technology, politics, and sustainability, and how these drivers may impact the future competitiveness of Swedish firms. Using data from 20 in-depth interviews with CEOs, CFOs, and other executive decision-makers, representing 19 Swedish MNCs, the results suggest this is a major question for both concern and opportunity with regards to the future competitiveness of these firms. Specifically, the report highlights the following main conclusions:

A strong global corporate identity coupled with a Swedish moral compass: Swedish MNCs view themselvesas global but with strong local embeddedness. Yet, interestingly, a moral compass with a Swedish flavor suggests a ‘Swedish way’ of conducting business, even in far-away locations.

Parallelism in changing value chains: The political risks of being a global firm are evident. The firms areacutely aware of risks associated with disruptions in their value chains, and some firms have responded byconsidering their value chain configurations or are even developing several sets of value chains. This parallelism is deemed to facilitate de-coupling of regions and lower the risks stemming from external shocks.

Reshoring to Sweden is not an option: Surprisingly few firms seem to consider reshoring value chain activitiesto Sweden to be an attractive option. This is despite movement in the locational footprint where the firms are abandoning or considering pulling out of markets due to unfavorable conditions relating to political andsustainability issues.

The big bet on sustainability: Many firms are positioning their businesses based upon a vision of providing sustainable products and services. The big bet on sustainability offers many opportunities and could propel Swedish MNCs to a strong position on the global market for sustainable products, rendering a price premium.

To conclude, the last 18 months have made firms well aware of the strengths and the weaknesses in their strategic orientation. Firm resilience appears as generally high with few firms reporting that the pandemic itself will have significant long-term effects on MNC strategies. Moving forward, Swedish MNCs seem equipped to combine a business strategy of new technology with sustainable solutions. The activity strategy shows indications of becoming increasingly regional, which could prove to be supportive of the often-decentralized strategies adopted by the Swedish MNCs.

The paper aims at generating new empirical knowledge about financial crises and their consequences for MNC technological development, thereby addressing a largely uncharted issue in the crossroads of strategy and international business. Drawing on threat-rigidity theory, we investigate how major international financial crises over the 1890-2008 period affected domestic and international technological exploration in a sample of Swedish MNCs. We find that financial crises had a negative effect on the firms’ propensity to enter into new technologies, and that the effect was, unexpectedly, symmetrical across home and foreign units of the multinational network. The results are indicative of an effect of financial crisis on technological exploration that runs through the perception of adversity and declining sales and employment, rather than changes in reported corporate profitability.