COLIS Research

Decentralisation and control in multinational corporations

Evidence from the global brewery industry: The global beer industry has experienced massive changes in the last decade. The industry's most important global players have grown especially through merger and various acquisitions across the globe. This research asks theoretical questions about the pros and cons to headquarters of designing more decentralized structures after mergers or acquisitions. One issue that arises when control is decentralised is that subsidiary managers might fight for new mandates. On the one hand, this can encourage entrepreneurial activity and be seen as value-adding; on the other hand, it can lead to costly conflict situations between subsidiary managers and headquarters. Therefore, this research seeks to develop a better understanding of conflicts and related negotiations, and their impact on organizational learning processes across national borders.

The impact of international strategy and host-country effects on learning within multinational corporations in the chemical sector

This comparative study specifically addresses how dominant institutions in host contexts as well as MNC international strategy affect the extent to which new knowledge in the chemical industry is diffused and enacted in routines at various subsidiaries. Learning is understood in this context as a social process where people change or establish their ways of doing things or their practices by participating in social interactions in a particular context. We observe variation in subsidiary learning, i.e. process of active participation, depending on different levels of fit between MNC international strategy and host institutional contexts.

Core work standards and new modes of regulation in multinational corporations and their national competitors in the European supermarket sector

This new research will assess the impact of global standardisation and post-Fordist work practices in the European supermarket sector by examining and comparing work organisation, working conditions, employee relations, unionisation and human resource management approaches and decision-making processes in the largest supermarket operators, such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and Lidl, in different European countries. One objective is to examine the influence of different societal institutions on cross-border activities of internationally operating supermarket firms and how much these activities lead to similarities or convergence of employment practices and processes. Another objective is to study the effectiveness of legal forms, such as the European Works Council Directive, and voluntary forms of regulation, such as private codes of conduct, in triggering learning and change to improve often poor working conditions, pay levels and employee representation in this particular industrial sector.

Knowledge transfer within Chinese Multinational Enterprises: An institutional and processual perspective

This new project aims to analyze knowledge transfer from Chinese MNEs to their UK and German subsidiaries, taking an institutional and processual approach. It specifically asks the following:

•What is the impact of institutional gap between home and host contexts on knowledge transfer from headquarters of Chinese MNEs to their UK and German subsidiaries?
• What are the mechanisms through which knowledge transfer occurs? What are the factors at the organizational level affecting the effectiveness of knowledge transfer?
• How do these mechanisms change through the internationalization stages of an MNE? Do the organizational factors affecting knowledge transfer vary from one internationalization phase to another?

The intention is to provide a process-oriented understanding of knowledge (in particular HRM practices) transfer challenges during different stages of firms’ internationalization, and uncover what types of knowledge transfer processes are likely to be encountered in a specific host institutional setting.