ABSTRACT
Similar to the multinational firms studied by the researchers reported in this book, Becton Dickinson has grappled with issues involving managers responsible for countries, Strategic Business Units (SBUs), both overseas and in the US, and functions. At times, the firm had to build up one perspective, worrying, as that was done, that the other perspectives were atrophying. How did managers achieve world-wide product competitiveness without giving up the country perspective? How were the company’s experiences to be transferred around the world? Is there an alternative to the oscillation from one perspective to another? In this chapter, I will first set a historical context, then describe the problems, issues, and alternatives considered in 1985, the attempts in 1986 and 1987 to apply the transnational concept developed by these researchers and, finally, I will comment on the experience and how well this research helped.
