Global networks: the Vodafone-Ericsson journey to globalization and the inception of a requisite organization Ibbott, Christopher J.

Vodafone is one of the most successful global companies of the last 20 years, growing from holder of one of the first two mobile communications licenses in the UK, to being a dominant global brand. Whilst its leadership, mergers and acquisitions, and marketing all are well documented, much less is known about how Vodafone really benefited from such endeavors, and how it managed the transformational organizational journey from national to truly global. In this fascinating insight the author provides a unique experiential view into the hidden globalization of Vodafone, in which was created a social network that was engaged in the acquisition and deployment of a global network of mobile technology that now serves a proportionate mobile customer base of 198.6 million (at 31 December 2006). This new book examines how Vodafone has led the industry to a global stage, sharing data and knowledge, negotiating commercial terms and operational excellence, all for significant global aggregation cost synergy advantage. The reader will learn about how the intra-organizational teams were formed within Vodafone and further cooperated within an informal virtual global interorganizational network organization; an invisible structure that gave Vodafone a unique economic advantage