Managing changes into international markets. Flexible structures and knowledge sharing for firm competitiveness

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of organizational flexibility as one of the most important prerequisites to implement business strategies, particularly at international level. Turbulent and endless changes into international environments, high competition, innovation technology development, and consumer shifting towards new needs and behaviors lead companies in finding appropriate strategies to remain competitive. This implies to look continuously for better solutions to structure organizations, manage people, and improve knowledge. Flexible structures allow not only to faster adapt to ever-changing business needs, but also to facilitate information exchange and – when required – modify working procedures and people behaviors. However, any process of organizational change is onerous and finds obstacles to be implemented. Change requires top managers and subordinates involvement, in terms of their comprehension and acceptance of business choices; in this way, they can concretely support innovation. The role of infra-firm communication is here crucial since it represents the vehicle through which change can occur and people can acquire, create and diffuse knowledge. This is the base for developing new strategies and making the firm grows. However, the effort for modifying organizational assets is an endless process. Market forces as well as economic, political and social variations obligate companies to change and readjust their internal resources in order to remain competitive or even to survive. Classification-JEL: Keywords: International environment; Organizational flexibility; Change management; Infra-organization communication; Knowledge improvement.