Managing the transfer of capabilities within multinational corporations:: the dual role of the subsidiary

In this article, the relation is explored between the external technical embeddedness of the subsidiary, its assigned role, and capability development in the MNC. It is argued that assigning roles of responsibility or mandates to certain subsidiaries can effect integration of subsidiary-developed knowledge in the MNC. Departing from literature on the market-as-networks perspective and writings from recent years on subsidiary roles, hypotheses are developed and a model outlined. The model describes a significant link between the external technical embeddedness of the subsidiary and its assigned role within the MNC, and a significant relation between the subsidiary's assigned role and its importance for other units’ capability development. The model is tested on a sample of 97 subsidiaries using the LISREL 8.3 statistical method. The final model implies that by assigning specific roles to different subsidiaries, headquarters can exploit the knowledge developed in the external environments of these subsidiaries.     

Subsidiary Strategy: The Embeddedness Component

This article develops the concept of internal subsidiary embeddedness as the canvas within which subsidiary strategy takes place. Developing an inductive model, we identify three hierarchical levels of embeddedness. The first level is operational embeddedness, which relates to interlocking day-to-day relations. The second level is capability embeddedness, which concerns the development of competitive capabilities for the multinational as a whole. The third level is strategic embeddedness, which concerns a subsidiary's participation in a multinational corporation's strategy setting. We derived our concept of embeddedness from an in-depth case study. Embeddedness is not merely an outcome of the institutional setting in which a subsidiary is situated, but is a resource a subsidiary can manage by means of manipulating dependencies or exerting influence over the allocation of critical resources. A subsidiary can modify its embeddedness to change its strategic restraints. Therefore, the development of subsidiary embeddedness becomes an integral part of subsidiary strategy.     

Headquarters−Subsidiary Interdependencies and the Design of Performance Evaluation and Reward Systems in Multinational Enterprises

This study investigates the impact of headquarters–subsidiary interdependencies on performance evaluation and reward systems in multinational enterprises. Headquarters–subsidiary interdependencies refer to the extent to which headquarters and subsidiaries depend on each other to accomplish their tasks. When headquarters–subsidiary interdependencies are present, it becomes more difficult to reward the performance of subsidiary managers because these interdependencies induce noise on subsidiary-level accounting performance measures, while at the same time high levels of goal alignment between headquarters and subsidiary managers are required. Based on survey data from 82 foreign subsidiaries operating in Belgium with headquarters in 14 different countries, our partial least squares path modelling results show that as headquarters–subsidiary interdependencies increase, headquarters use more participative performance evaluation and consider more the effects of uncontrollable factors on subsidiaries' performance when rewarding subsidiary managers. More importantly, while prior research suggests that interdependencies induce noise on unit-level accounting performance measures, our results indicate that participative performance evaluation may mitigate the noise so that headquarters still rely on subsidiary formula-based compensation using accounting measures to reward subsidiary managers.     

Interference among conflicting institutions and technical-economic conditions: the adoption of the Assessment Center in French,German, Italian,UK, and US multinational firms

We analyze the adoption of the Assessment Center (AC), one of the most complex human resource management techniques, in 161 British, French, German, Italian and US multinational firms both at the headquarters and in their Italian subsidiaries. Combining both quantitative analysis and qualitative accounts, we investigate how different and partially contradictory institutional influences stemming from national business systems and professions, global corporate networks and professions, and different technical-economic conditions affect the adoption of the AC. Our study shows that AC-diffusion is similar at headquarters level in all national contexts, testifying to the paramount importance of transnational institutions of Anglo-American origin for MNCs of any nationality, despite great local variation in the degree of institutionalization of the AC, which ranges from fully-fledged support in culture and the professions as, for example, in Germany, the UK and the USA, to weak or negative backing as in France and Italy. However, the study also reveals how different characteristics of the corporate field of firms with headquarters in different countries, as well as organizational size and labor market conditions, still explain adoption of the AC in their subsidiaries in Italy.     

Local complexities and global uncertainties: a study of foreign ownership and human resource management in China

Drawing on qualitative data, this paper examines developments in human resource and employment policies and practices among a sample of joint venture and wholly owned foreign enterprises operating in China. The research reveals that the effects of parent company nationality and ownership form were most visible in the areas of remuneration, worker representation and aspects of employee selection. There was, however, little overt involvement of multinational parent companies in the management of human resources of their Chinese operations. The trend was towards indirect reporting relationships with regional sub-units of multinational companies rather than direct links with the parent headquarters. Overall, these intermediate sub-units were playing an important role in the integration of Chinese business units in the global management systems of multinational companies.     

Out of India: Towards a conceptual framework on internationalization motives,parenting styles and human resource management practices among Indian MNE subsidiaries in Ireland

The significant growth of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) in western economies in recent years, in particular in smaller advanced economies such as Ireland, has led to calls for a deeper understanding of the drivers of location choice among these MNEs and for more compelling accounts of the parenting and management of the subsidiaries being established. In this conceptual contribution, we focus on the specific case of Indian MNEs with subsidiaries in Ireland. Assembling theoretical insights from the literature on parenting styles and headquarter-subsidiary interactions, coupled with practice-led observations garnered from Indian MNEs, we develop a conceptual framework elucidating key variations in headquarter-subsidiary relationships and the HR policy and practice mix. We reason that the preferred approach to corporate parenting, vested in adding value to the subsidiary, extracting value from it, or seeking a balance in the overall exchange, results in a range of interactions between headquarters and subsidiaries, encompassing integration, collaboration or local responsiveness. Furthermore, we postulate that the preferred headquarter-subsidiary interactions influence the subsequent HR recipes adopted in the subsidiary setting as it seeks to build its strategic position within the broader MNE network. In order to deepen lines of inquiry around these different interactions, we advance a series of propositions for testing.     

The Driving Forces of Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity

The study investigates how a multinational corporation (MNC) can promote the absorptive capacity of its subsidiaries. The focus is on what drives the MNC subsidiary's ability to absorb marketing strategies that are initiated by the MNC parent, as well as how the subsidiary enacts on this absorptive capacity in order to compete in its focal market. The dual embeddedness of MNC subsidiaries plays a key role in this investigation, as subsidiaries belong to the MNC network and are simultaneously embedded in their host country environment. We argue that subsidiary absorptive capacity is formed as a purposeful response to this dual embeddedness. An analysis of marketing strategy absorptions undertaken by 213 subsidiaries reveals that MNCs can assist their subsidiaries to compete in competitive and dynamic focal markets by forming specific organizational mechanisms that are conducive to the development of subsidiary absorptive capacity. The findings hold important theoretical and practical implications.     

Global,national and local practices in multinational corporations: towards a sociopolitical framework

This paper intends to shed some light on strategies and power resources of subsidiary managers and employee representatives involved in ‘charter changes’ and the implementation of ‘best practices’ developed elsewhere. Research shows that local managers face a dilemma in that they need both internal legitimacy (within the MNC itself) and external legitimacy (within the local context). It is argued that the power resources key actors draw on in the (internal) decision-making processes of ‘charter changes’ are intertwined with certain (external) national business system (NBS) characteristics, an aspect often neglected in North American research about MNCs. The authors identify three key influences, which restrain or empower local management and employees in their ability to make strategic choices and gain power within the MNC. They are (1) the overall strategic approach of the multinational group, (2) the strategic position and the economic performance of the subsidiary itself and (3) the degree of institutional embeddedness of the subsidiary in the host country. Comparative mini-case studies are used to illustrate the effect of local management and employee representatives' empowerment on their ability to retain skills and work practices supportive of a diversified quality production process in the face of MNC pressure to adopt global ‘best practices’ based on more standardized production processes.     

价值驱动视角下制造企业服务创新能力的构建机制——基于艾默生网络能源(中国)的案例研究

服务创新能力是一种基于服务机会识别与开发的价值创造能力,也是制造企业应对动态市场环境,提升服务质量和服务效率,构建、提高与维持竞争优势的有效路径。现有服务创新能力的研究主要从企业内部运营与网络嵌入视角探讨服务产品和服务流程的创新,很少涉及制造企业的服务创新能力及其构建机制。本文从价值驱动视角,运用案例研究方法,通过对艾默生网络能源(中国)的案例分析,基于人力资本、关系资本和结构资本三个价值驱动要素探讨制造企业如何实现服务创新能力的构建。研究结果显示,在人力资本、关系资本和结构资本的共同驱动下,制造企业通过组织学习、网络嵌入和资源匹配构建其服务创新能力,且驱动因素在企业生命周期的不同阶段具有动态变化性。     

Determinants of variable pay for top managers of foreign subsidiaries in Finland

There is a large body of research dealing with top management compensation from an agency theory perspective. Difficulties in monitoring top management (the agent) are exacerbated in the multinational corporation, where there are significant information asymmetries between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries. Headquarters may use variable pay for subsidiary top managers to reduce the agency problems. By studying 110 foreign-owned subsidiaries located in Finland, this paper attempts to identify determinants of variable pay to the subsidiary general manager. In line with agency theory, the results suggest that the roles played by the subsidiary influence the compensation strategy used for the subsidiary general manager. However, while agency theory predicts that the cultural distance beween the home country of the multinational corporation and the location of the foreign subsidiary would have an effect on the compensation system, no such effect was found. Instead, in accordance with the institutionalization perspective, we found a significant 'nationality effect' on the use of variable pay.     

Overcoming the ethnocentric firm? – foreign fresh university graduate employment in Japan as a new international human resource development method

Abstract

This article analyses a new and, by international comparison, distinct recruitment trend – the systematic hiring of foreign fresh university graduates (FFGs) into Japanese multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) operations in Japan. Our explorative research, which is based on interviews with HR managers and FFGs, offers three major findings related to international HR development methods. Firstly, the inpatriate literature has identified the roles of foreign (subsidiary) staff as knowledge conduits and boundary-spanners between headquarters and subsidiaries. While such objectives do not drive Japan’s FFG hiring trend, we find similar challenges in terms of the absorptive capacities of headquarters. Secondly, following a Varieties-of-Capitalism perspective, we argue that FFG hiring is an institutional answer to the particularities of Japan’s employment system. Aiming at internationalizing headquarters from within, it contributes to resolving the internationalization conundrum of Japanese MNEs, but rather than overcoming the existing ethnocentric HR model it accommodates this orientation. Thirdly, we advance the general HR literature by proposing a new framework that addresses the viability of international personnel development methods in dependence of the workforce diversity and distinctiveness of employment practices in headquarters. We locate FFG hiring, inpatriation and self-initiated assignments within this framework.     

论企业家精神和中小企业集群化发展的关系——以滁州中小企业集群发展为例

企业家精神对一个企业的发展意义重大,它在企业生命周期的各个阶段都对企业的经营管理活动起到很强的推动作用,主要包括创新精神、敬业精神、合作精神三个方面。集群化模式是特定区域的中小企业为了促进企业内外部资源的合理配置,围绕某个特色产业形成的一种发展形式,通常政府在其中起到重要的牵引作用。随着现代市场竞争的不断加剧,中小企业集群化将面临更加复杂的企业内外部环境,企业家精神对企业成功的重要作用越来越明显。     

DIVISION HEADQUARTERS GO ABROAD - A STEP IN THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION*

Why are division headquarters of multinational corporations in some cases located abroad? In the multinational corporation the physical location of division headquarters is a problematic issue because of the need for close links both to corporate headquarters and the foreign subsidiaries. This paper develops a model explaining this location as a consequence of power relations associated with the internationalization of the corporation and tests it on a sample of divisions of Swedish multinationals. the results support the view that power relations have an impact on location of division headquarters. One interesting result is the clear indication of countervailing forces, consisting of an attraction force of foreign dominant subsidiaries and a resisting force related to the interests of corporate headquarters.     

企业慈善对员工态度与行为影响的跨案例研究

慈善是企业履行社会责任的最高级形式。随着战略慈善理念的兴起,慈善对企业自身的价值创造路径逐渐受到学者的青睐。针对现有研究主要从外部视角展开的局限性,本文另辟蹊径探究企业慈善对内部员工态度与行为的影响,运用跨案例研究方法,通过深度访谈和问卷调查4家慈善积极型企业和2家慈善消极型企业,比较后发现,企业慈善对员工工作投入、工作满意度、组织承诺、组织公民行为具有重要的促进作用,对员工的反生产行为具有抑制作用。相比之下,企业内部慈善比外部慈善更能够对员工发挥积极的影响作用。建议企业重视慈善的战略价值,在做好外部慈善的同时不应忽视内部慈善。     

母子公司人员管控与企业技术创新——基于双重成本的分析

基于决策权配置理论,以2007—2021年A股非金融上市公司及其子公司为样本,考察母子公司人员管控对企业技术创新的影响,揭示代理成本和知识转移成本的中介作用机理。研究发现,母子公司人员管控会引致双重成本发生动态变化,随着人员管控力度的增强,集团整体创新水平得到提升,但在拐点之后这一水平逐渐降低,母子公司人员管控与企业技术创新之间呈现倒U型曲线关系。机制探讨结果表明,母子公司人员管控的加强能够降低代理成本,却提高了母子公司间的知识转移成本。异质性检验结果表明,子公司规模较大、内部信息环境较好以及国有企业集团会削弱人员管控与技术创新之间的倒U型关系。研究结论为母子公司理性确立权力配置、优化人员管控,进而提升集团技术创新水平提供了借鉴。     

Performance Implications of Ties to the Government and SOEs: A Political Embeddedness Perspective

In many countries governments not only regulate business activities, but also become involved in the corporate governance of individual firms through ownership and board ties. While existing studies usually focus either on benefits of political connections or on costs of government influence, a political embeddedness perspective helps us consider both advantages and constraints associated with ties to the government. In particular, firms with direct ties to the government will experience significant costs associated with government officials' involvement in the corporate governance process. In contrast, firms with ties to state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) are connected to the government indirectly and thus, while getting access to state‐owned resources, avoid costs associated with the government's interventions. This study compares the performance consequences of board and ownership ties to the government with the consequences of board and ownership ties to SOEs. I find that ties to SOEs are associated with higher profitability, while no significant differences are discovered for firms with direct ties to the government.     

企业风险管理控制体系下企业知识产权创新保护制度建设

本文依据国家标准标准化管理委员会频布的《企业法律风险管理指南》,结合企业经营管理实际情况,从强化企业经营管理主体意识观念入手,细化企业经营管理流程,建立相应的企业知识产权创新保护流程制度、企业内部信息交流制度、保密制度等,特别是企业内部知识产权创新保护风险评价制度和职业培训制度,从而建立和完善企业知识产权创新保护机制,提高企业知识产权创新保护水平,提高企业的市场竞争力。     

Knowledge transfer in multinationals: The role of inpatriates' boundary spanning

Viewing knowledge as rooted in individuals, this study investigates knowledge transfer in multinational corporations (MNCs) from an individual‐level perspective. Specifically, the author focuses on inpatriates as a particular group of knowledge actors in MNCs and examines the role of inpatriates' boundary spanning between their home unit and the headquarters for transferring their knowledge to headquarters staff. Based on a sample of 269 inpatriates in 10 German MNCs, the author found that inpatriates' boundary spanning is positively related to inpatriates' individual efforts to transfer knowledge and inpatriates' perceptions of HQ staff efforts to acquire subsidiary‐specific knowledge. Both perceived HQ absorptive capacity and mentoring by HQ staff moderate these relationships. This study's findings contribute to our understanding of the theoretical mechanisms through which MNC knowledge flows occur and highlight key requirements for the design of international staffing practices. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

资源、网络关系嵌入性与中国本土制造企业升级案例研究

本文聚焦全球生产网络背景下中国本土制造企业的升级问题。通过将内部资源与外部网络关系嵌入相结合,基于对本土制造企业升级的案例研究,运用扎根理论的研究方法总结出企业升级的内在机理,并构建企业升级机制的理论模型。能力提升是企业升级的本质,资源层级模型更清晰地体现资源各要素之间的关系以及资源与能力相互转化的路径和过程,深刻揭示企业升级的本质及内在机理。作为企业升级系统中的两个重要子系统,内部资源与外部网络关系嵌入存在交互耦合关系,其耦合协同程度越高,越能够促进企业升级的实现。     

企业内部控制、融资约束与突破式创新

在全球创新的浪潮下,突破式创新成为学者们关注的热点,文章从企业内部控制视角出发,以2007-2018年沪深两市A股上市公司数据为样本,实证研究了内部控制对企业突破式创新的影响机制.研究表明,良好的内部控制可以有效促进企业突破式创新.并且通过进一步检验发现,融资约束在内部控制与突破式创新之间发挥中介效应.研究结论丰富了内...