1.IntroductionThe influence of contextual factors on the management of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has been an important issue in the study of International Business. Especially, the cultural, social and political factors play critical roles in MNEs which are from developed countries to developing countries. Aiming on this topic, Graeme R Tonks and Peter J Dowling conducted a case study upon Bougainville Copper Ltd, an Australian mining company operated in Papua New Guinea. (ÃÂThe case of the Bougainville mine: Success and failure in the management of a multinational corporation.ÃÂ Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, vol. 8; pp70-85).
This essay focuses on the article in terms of the clarity of ideas, adequacy of literature review, specification of research goals, adequacy of data collection and data analysis, assessment of empirical methods, and the overall contribution of the article to future research in International Management.
2. Summary (Key Findings and Arguments)There have been few researches having been done regarding the MNEs involved in less developed countries.
Tonks and Dowling filled up the gap by publishing their research article in 2002 about their research on studies of the management of Bougainville Copper Limited that operated in less developed country (In Papua New Guinea).
From the failure in the management of MNEÃÂs, the research of Bougainville Copper revealed the important relationship between the companyÃÂs internal operations and its contextual factors. The researchÃÂs findings claim that the importance of aligning internal and external environments and are influenced each other in the management of Bougainville Copper. External factors including host countriesÃÂ legal system, heterogeneity culture, economic situation and political systems. Host society, instead of host country, should be targeted as MNEsÃÂ main task on contextual congruency.
The research also states that MNEs have to ensure the alignment of those host countriesÃÂ characteristics with...