The role of host country managers in the solution of institutional distance-based problems: A qualitative study on the turkish managers

The main problem of this thesis is the "institutional distance" which is increasingly subject to scientific researches in recent years. The aim of the thesis is to examine and to interpret "the roles of host country managers working in multinational firms in solving problems arising from the institutional distance". For this purpose, interviews were carried out with Turkish executives working in Japanese and South Korean companies operating in Turkey. In the first chapter of the thesis, institutional theory literature and institutional distance which is a subfield within institutional theory were discussed. In this chapter, a comprehensive literature review of institutional theory and institutional distance were discussed, aimed at presenting it in an inclusive manner to the readers. In the second chapter of the thesis, the theoretical framework developed by Whitley (2002), which facilitates conducting empirical research on institutional distance, has been examined. This framework is seen as the most detailed and systematic framework developed up to now in the evaluation of the institutional distance between countries. This framework concerns the "institutions that shape the business systems of nations". These institutions consist of four main headings: State, financial systems, skill development and control systems, and norms and values that regulate trust-authority relations. In this chapter, it is aimed to lay a detailed and systematic research base by taking the institutions that shape the theoretical framework into consideration. In addition, in the context of this framework, it is attempted to make a critical literature review of the institutional characteristics of South Korea, Japan, and Turkey. Then a comparison was made regarding the institutions that structure business systems of these countries. The third chapter is the empirical part of the thesis. Here, firstly, the findings related to "institutions that structure Turkish business system" were evaluated. Subsequently, evaluations were made regarding "the roles of Turkish managers in resolving problems arising from the distance between countries". The results achieved here demonstrated that Turkish managers take an important role in solving problems arising from the institutional distance.