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We contrast attempts to introduce what were seen as sophisticated Western-style human resource management (HRM) systems into two Russian oil companies – a joint venture with a Western multinational corporation (TNK-BP) and a wholly Russian-owned company (Yukos). The drivers for Western hegemony within the joint venture, heavily influenced by expatriates and the established HRM processes introduced by the Western parent, were counteracted to a significant degree by the Russian spetsifika – the peculiarly Russian way of thinking and doing things. In contrast, developments were absorbed faster in the more authoritarian Russian-owned company. The research adds to the theoretical debate about international knowledge transfer and provides detailed empirical data to support our understanding of the effect of both organizational and cultural context on the knowledge-transfer mechanisms of local and multinational companies. As the analysis is based on the perspective of senior local nationals, we also address a relatively under-researched area in the international HRM literature which mostly relies on empirical data collected from expatriates and those based solely in multinational headquarters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article uses case research to explore the success and subsequent failure of the Russian oil company Yukos, using the dual lenses of the resource-based view and institutional theory. Yukos' failure resulted from a combination of factors linked to the internal capabilities of the organization, its external environment and the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer. The organization failed to develop the dynamic capabilities to sense and shape opportunities and threats in the changing institutional environment. It lacked political competences and failed to pursue non-market strategies. Ultimately, it failed to co-evolve with its institutional environment, resulting in poor organizational and environmental fit, and lack of legitimacy, due to the non-congruence of its organizational values with its organizational context. Yukos' transformation into the leading Russian oil company in terms of financial and market indicators blinded it to the fact that such criteria were no longer key for survival in a changing institutional environment. Hence, the implication for managers is that to focus purely on what currently represents financial and operational success may be an unwise strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a cross-case analysis of four Russian oil majors to develop a framework explaining the relationship between exploitation and exploration learning, and the development of organizational capabilities in transition economies. Our research explains how the changing top management style influences organizational learning over time. In the first stage of organizational transformation an authoritarian management style initiates a break with the administrative heritage of the organization to facilitate exploitation learning and the development of operational capabilities. These are required for survival in the new conditions of a market economy. In the second stage a more participatory management style fosters exploration learning and the development of strategic flexibility, required for sustainable competitive advantage. We demonstrate that exploitation and exploration learning do not coexist in the initial stages of transformation but are sequential. We found that the western-derived constructs of organizational learning add to our understanding of the process of organizational transformation in a transition context Our study of the Russian oil industry also provides new ways to think about the processes of organizational learning in western companies, particularly large bureaucratic ones, anchored in their administrative heritage and needing to undergo organizational transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses various papers published within the issue including two organizational case studies of firms in Argentina, one on the Russian oil industry and another on the differences in the strategic choices of firms in eastern and western China.