Operational development is a frequently used term within organizations nowadays. The term refers to organizations that continuously strive to achieve better results by increasing the efficiency, improve the safety, expanding the customer base etc. This study investigates what is determining if an organization is successful in operational development and what is needed in the organization on order to improve the performance in an efficient way. It also investigates how operational development should be conducted in companies consisting of a parent company and a number of subsidiaries in order to be successful. The main question of the study is whether there are any synergies in common strategies for operational development at subsidiaries or if operational development is more efficient if it is conducted separately. The study also investigates whether subsidiaries can take advantages of each others experiences of operational development by working more closely toghether with it. This is investigated through examining how learning occurs within and between organizations. The study´s aim is also to identify which factors are essential for organizations in order to succeed with development of their operation, according to theories on operational development, different quality systems and a case study at The Company."The Association`s" recommendations on gow operational development should be performed by organizations in the type of business in which The Company operates are also examined. The recommendations are examined in order to identify crucial key factors and organisational attributes for operational development. The project has been executed in cooperation with the Company and its five direct subsidiaries. As a basis for this investigation a number of qualitative interviews, a workshop and a litterature review have been performed. The results of the investigation argue in favour for the existence of synergies in subsidiaries, working in common with operational development. Cooperation may even stimulate the work with operational development in respective subsidiary. One possible strategy to work in common with operational development is to establish an operational development network where the organizations have the opportunity to discuss and exchange experiences. The litterature also shows clearly that there are great opportunities for subsidiaries to learn from each other as long as the willingness to share knowledge is present. The study also indicates that it exist at least eight key factors that affect how successful the work with operational development is in an organization. These key factors are;  management commitment, employee involvement, communication,customer orientation, process orientation, continuous improvements, cultural changes and decisions based on facts. / Verksamhetsutveckling är en vanligt förekommande term inom organisationer nuförtiden. Termen syftar till att organisationer ständigt strävar efter att nå bättre resultat genom att öka effektiviteten, höja säkerheten, utöka kundbasen etc. Den här studien utreder vad som avgaör om en organisation är framgångsrik med verksamhetsutveckling och vad som krävs av organisationen för att förbättra utförandet på ett effektivt sätt. Den utreder även hur verksamhetsutveckling bör bedrivas i företag bestående av ett moderbolag och ett antal dotterbolag för att bli lyckosam. Den huvudsakliga frågan i studien är huruvida det finns några synergier i att ha gemensamma strategier för verksamhetsutveckling mellan bolagen eller om verksamhetsutvecklingen blir effektivare om bolagen arbetar sparat med den. Vidare undersöker studien om dotterbolag kan dra nytta av varandras erfarenheter av verksamhetsutveckling genom att jobba mer gemensamt med det. Detta utreds via en undersökning av hur lärande sker inom och mellan organisationer. Studiens syfte är även att identifiera vilka faktorer som är nödvändiga för att organisation ska lyckas med att utveckla sina verksamheter, enligt teorier om verksamhetsutveckling, olika kvalitetssystem och en fallstudie på The Company. "The Association":s rekommendationer om hur organisationer in the Companys bransch bör bedriva verksamhetutveckling undersöks också. Rekommendationerna granskas för att identifiera viktiga nyckelfaktorer och organisatoriska egenskaper för verksamehtsutveckling. Projektet har utförts i samarbete med The Company och deras fem direkta dotterbolag. Som underlag för studien har ett antal kvalitativa intervjuer, en workshop och en litteraturgenomgång legat. Resultatet av studien talar för att det finns synergier i att dotterbolag jobbar gemensamt med verksamhetsutveckling. Ett samarbete kan till och med stimulera arbetet med verksamhetsutveckling i respektive dotterbolag. En möjlig strategi för att arbeta gemensamt med verksamhetsutveckling är att upprätta ett utvecklingsnätverk där organisationerna får möjlighet att diskutera och utbyta erfarenheter. Litteraturstudien visar även tydligt att det finns stora möjligheter för dotterbolagen att lära av varandra så länge viljan att utbyta kunskaper finns. Studien indikerar också att det finns åtminstone åtta nyckelfaktorer som påverkar hur framgångsrikt arbetet med verksamhetsutveckling är i en organisation. Dessa nyckelfaktorer är engagerat ledarskap, arbetstagarnas delaktighet, kommunikation, kundorientering, processorientering, ständiga förbättringar, kulturella förändringar och faktabaserade beslut.

Through mergers and acquisitions, automotive manufacturers can gain access to intellectual property and the ability to release advanced products and services at a faster pace and a decreased cost. This is achieved through integrating the product development capabilities of the merged or acquired companies. This study aimed to identify key success factors and challenges in product development integration by using the Traton Group as a case study, specifically two collaborations between their subsidiaries, Scania and Navistar. Interviews were performed with key product development resources at all three companies, as well as employees working in roles to enable collaboration within the Traton Group. The results confirm the importance of all success factors found in previous research on R&D integrations and how the success factors impact each other. They also show how the collaborations between Scania and Navistar have evolved and improved over time. Finally, they highlight the importance of common IT tools as enablers of collaboration, particularly in collaborations with intensive software development work. The study compares Traton’s integration strategies against previous research, and concludes that Traton is on the right track. However, the interviewees' responses indicated a desire for increased involvement from the corporate parent Traton in the collaboration work. / Genom företagsförvärv kan fordonstillverkare få tillgång till immateriella rättigheter och möjligheten att släppa avancerade produkter och tjänster i snabbare takt och lägre kostnad. Detta uppnås genom att integrera produktutvecklingskapaciteten hos de sammanslagna eller förvärvade företagen. Denna studie syftade till att identifiera viktiga framgångsfaktorer och utmaningar i produktutvecklingsintegration genom att använda Traton Group som en fallstudie, närmare bestämt två samarbeten mellan deras dotterbolag Scania och Navistar. Intervjuer utfördes med produktutvecklingsresurser på alla tre företagen, samt anställda som arbetade att möjliggöra samarbete inom Traton Group. Resultaten bekräftar vikten av alla framgångsfaktorer som hittats i tidigare forskning om FoU-integrationer och hur framgångsfaktorerna påverkar varandra. De visar också hur samarbeten mellan Scania och Navistar har utvecklats och förbättrats över tid. Slutligen lyfter de fram vikten av gemensamma IT-verktyg som möjliggörare av samarbete, särskilt i samarbeten med intensivt mjukvaruutvecklingsarbete. Studien jämför Tratons integrationsstrategier med tidigare forskning, och drar slutsatsen att Traton är på rätt väg. Intervjupersonernas svar tydde dock på en önskan om ökat engagemang från företagsföräldern Traton i samverkansarbetet.

Titel: Svensk ledarskap, kultur och styrning - Anpassning av kultur och styrning till svenskt ledarskap i företag som agerar i Sverige med utländskt ägande Problemställning: Mellan koncernen och dotterbolag ges direktiv om hur dotterbolaget ska styra sin verksamhet. Svenskt ledarskap är världsunikt, och det finns därav anledning att studera hur förhållandet mellan koncernen och dotterbolaget fungerar i den svenska kontexten med ett unikt ledarskap. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att bidra till litteratur om styrning och organisationskultur genom att skapa förståelse för hur utländskt ägda koncerner kan behöva anpassa styrningen och kulturen i sina svenska dotterbolag för att det ska fungera med svensk kultur och svenskt ledarskap. Forskningsfrågor: 1. Anpassas organisationskultur och styrning i ett företag med utländskt ägande när de agerar i Sverige utifrån svenskt ledarskap, och i så fall hur? 2. Vilken upplevd påverkan har eventuell anpassning eller icke-anpassning på medarbetarna? Metod: För att studera detta har vi genomfört en kvalitativ flerfallsstudie med tre fall. Studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultat: Utifrån vår studie har vi sett att de svenska dotterbolagen använder sig av en filtrering genom det svenska ledarskapet för att göra en anpassning av koncernens styrning och kultur. Filtrering innebär att ledningen i dotterbolagen anpassar kulturen och styrningen som kommer från koncernen så den passar den nationella och organisatoriska kulturen som finns på dotterbolagen i Sverige. En högre grad av anpassning resulterar i att anställda blir mer motiverade och färre interna motsättningar. Kunskapsbidrag: Även om dotterbolag arbetar på olika sätt i förhållande till sin koncern så finns det ett behov av att anpassa kultur och styrning till den nationella kontexten. Anpassningen görs genom ett filter av svenskt ledarskap för att passa svensk kultur. / Title: Swedish leadership, culture and management control - Adaptation of culture and control to Swedish leadership in companies that act in Sweden with foreign ownership Problematization: Between concern and subsidiary, directives are given about how the subsidiary should control its operation. Swedish leadership is unique, and therefore there is a need to study how the relationship between concern and subsidiary works in the Swedish context with the unique leadership. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to contribute to literature about management control and organizational culture by creating an understanding of how a foreign owned concern could need to adapt its management control and culture in their Swedish subsidiary in order for it to work with Swedish culture and Swedish leadership. Research question: 1. Is organizational culture and management control adjusted in a company with foreign ownership when they work in Sweden, based on Swedish leadership, and if so, how? 2. What impact is experienced by the employees by the adaptation or lack of adaptation? Method: In order to study this, we have conducted a qualitative multiple case study with three cases. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews. Results: Based on our study, we have seen that the Swedish subsidiaries use a filtration through the Swedish leadership to adjust the concern’s management control and culture. The filtration is a way for top management in the subsidiaries to adjust the culture and management control in order to make sure that it fits the national and organizational culture in the Swedish subsidiary. A high degree of adjustment results in more motivated employees and less internal disagreements. Contribution of knowledge: Even if subsidiaries work in different ways in relation to their parent company, there is a need to adjust culture and management control to the national context. The adjustment is done through a filter of Swedish leadership to suit the Swedish context.

Yes / We examine how ties with multiple host-country political institutions contribute to MNE subsidiary performance in countries with weak formal institutions. We suggest that forging relationships between subsidiaries and host-country government actors, local chieftains, and religious leaders generates regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive political resources. We integrate institutional and configuration theories to argue that similarity to an ideal configuration of the three political resources contributes to MNE subsidiary performance, and that the more dysfunctional host country institutions, the greater the impact on performance. We test our hypotheses using primary and archival data from 604 MNE subsidiaries in 23 Anglophone sub-Saharan African countries and find support for our hypotheses. In our conclusion we discuss the wider theoretical, managerial, and public policy implications of our findings.

For some time now, the EU has worked on managing the tax issues that have spawned from companies establishing subsidiaries in various Member States. These tax issues have concerned that of double taxation leading to the conception of the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (2011/96/EU, the PSD). One of the main purposes of the PSD is to prevent double taxation. The PSD aimed to create a mutual taxation system for parent companies, with subsidiaries in other Member States, as it was deemed essential. However, it was a mutual taxation system with regards to dividends paid from subsidiaries to parent companies, which meant there were still discrepancies to be found – and, as it turned out, exploited by companies seeking to gain an illegitimate tax advantage. Consequently, the EU announced the ‘de minimis’ anti-abuse rule in the PSD, whereby adoption was mandatory, for all Member States, so long as a Member State’s current tax legislation does not meet the requirements set forth by the anti-abuse rule. One of the main purposes of the anti-abuse rule was to ensure an improved legal clarity and security as well as preventing the abuse of the provisions as established in the PSD. The idea behind the anti-abuse rule is, thereby, perceived as well meaning although remarks have been made, by various authorities, regarding the prevalent flaws the anti-abuse rule is plagued by. There have been remarks against the anti-abuse rule’s conception to begin with, as it goes against the general principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Furthermore, there have been remarks regarding the vagueness of the prerequisites and wording in the anti-abuse rule, contrary to the main purposes of the anti-abuse rule as established by the EU.   In this study, the author will examine whether or not the criticism is justified, primarily by focusing on the possibilities of concretising the wording in the anti-abuse rule. This will be achieved by examining six Member States to determine how their respective adoption has fared. Also, the anti-abuse rule’s contribution to legal clarity and security will be determined, to discern whether or not the anti-abuse rule functions in accordance with its main purpose.   The author has found that the anti-abuse rule is indeed in accordance with the general principles of subsidiarity and proportionality given the proven inability of the individual Member States to devise a common solution to the aforementioned tax issues, as well as the fact that the extent of the measure is appropriate, considering the issue at hand. Furthermore, six Member States have been examined, to determine how their respective adoption of the anti-abuse rule have fared. Three Member States have chosen to adopt the anti-abuse rule whereas the remaining three have chosen to refrain on the grounds that it has been deemed superfluous, seeing as their current legislation already meets the minimum requirements as established in the provisions of the anti-abuse rule. The Member States that have chosen to implement the anti-abuse rule have done so by adopting the vague wording verbatim, giving credence to the notion that they refrained from interpreting and/or rephrasing the wording as it is perceived as not only vague but also occasionally abstract, thus difficult to concretise. Not only does this mean that the anti-abuse rule should be regarded as that of inferior standard, as far as legal clarity and security go, but also that it lacks transparency and should thereby be regarded as nigh counterproductive. / EU har sedan länge arbetat med att hantera de beskattningsfrågor som uppkommer i takt med att bolag etablerar dotterbolag i en annan medlemsstat. Dessa frågor berör exempelvis dubbelbeskattning varpå EU upprättade Moder- och Dotterbolagsdirektivet (2011/96/EU, nedan benämnt PSD) som avsåg hjälpa bolag undslippa denna problematik. Direktivet tog sikte på att skapa gemensamt beskattningssystem för moderbolag och dotterbolag hemmahörande i olika medlemsstater – då det ansågs viktigt med enhetliga beskattningsregler inom EU. Det ska observeras att denna enhetlighet enbart sträcker sig till vinstutdelning som lämnas från dotterbolag till moderbolag i en annan medlemsstat, vilket innebar att olikheter fortfarande förelåg i övriga beskattningsfrågor. Detta ledde sedermera till att multinationella bolag kunde utnyttja medlemsstaternas olikheter genom att företa arrangemang som resulterade i en otillbörlig skattefördel.   Företagandet av sådana arrangemang ledde till att EU valde att upprätta en de minimis-bestämmelse i PSD som var obligatorisk för samtliga medlemsstater att implementera, givet att deras nationella lagstiftningar inte redan uppfyllde bestämmelsens minimikrav. Denna bestämmelse kom sedermera att benämnas anti-missbruksbestämmelsen och ämnade tillföra en högre grad klarhet och säkerhet för att tydligare belysa de arrangemang som anses godtagbara och som inte ämnade missbruka PSD:s bestämmelser, där syftet bakom missbruket av PSD var att anskaffa skattefördelar. Tanken bakom anti-missbruksbestämmelsen är således godartad men likväl är bestämmelsen inte utan brister, samtidigt som den ifrågasätts från olika instanser. Det har påpekats att bestämmelsen inte bör ha upprättats, till att börja med, då den strider mot subsidiaritets- och proportionalitetsprincipen, som är fördragsstadgade. Vidare har det påpekats att rekvisiten i anti-missbruksbestämmelsen är otydliga och tillför således inte den klarhet och säkerhet enligt EU:s syfte.   Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka huruvida den nya anti-missbruksbestämmelsens ordalydelse kan konkretiseras, vilket görs efter att ha klarlagt hur sex utvalda medlemsstater gått till väga med implementeringen av nämnd bestämmelse. Slutligen utreds huruvida anti-missbruksbestämmelsens bidrag till klarhet och säkerhet görs i enlighet med dess syfte. Författaren har i denna uppsats kommit fram till att anti-missbruksbestämmelsen är förenlig med såväl subsidiaritetsprincipen som proportionalitetsprincipen, då medlemsstaterna, till dags dato, inte förmått hitta en lösning utan EU:s involverande samtidigt som EU:s ingripande står i proportion till målet med åtgärden. Det har funnits att medlemsstaterna som implementerat anti-missbruksbestämmelsen har avstått från att tolka och anpassa anti-missbruksbestämmelsen varför bestämmelsens vaga ordalydelse återfinns i respektive lands lagbestämmelser. Anledningen bakom varför de avstått från att tolka bestämmelsen anser författaren bero på att bestämmelsen är vag, stundtals abstrakt, med anledning av de rekvisit som begagnas. Detta medför att bestämmelsen blir svår att konkretisera, varför det kan anses att en av EU:s målsättningar – att bidra till ökad klarhet och säkerhet – inte kan anses uppfyllt. Vidare har anti-missbruksbestämmelsen lett till en minskad förutsebarhet och rättssäkerhet, varför bestämmelsen inte bara bör anses undermålig utan även nära inpå kontraproduktiv.

本論文基於在區域整合的趨勢下，國內學界及業界對於台灣市場可能被邊緣化感到憂慮，以及在國際企業理論的領域裏，與區域策略搭配的區域組織設計之探討仍不足的動機下，探討當多國公司的母公司為因應環境的改變而採取區域策略時，會如何進行區域內的組織結構設計。研究著重在區域總部、次區域總部與子公司角色的定位與演變。本論文採用質性研究，研究十家母國在美國或歐洲的多國公司的區域組織設計，這十家多國公司均為全球五百大公司之列，且在產業內有極高的市場佔有率排名。本論文以台灣做為地主國，上述各多國公司的台灣子公司均為擁有良好能力與知識的子公司，且過去均有足可證明的事件佐證該子公司在多國公司內部具有重要的策略地位。 本論文共分為四個研究。在第一個研究，本論文探討台灣子公司成長過程中的重要網絡，以了解內外部網絡對於多國公司在台子公司角色演化的影響。本論文發現影響貢獻型子公司成為卓越中心或託管中心的內外部網絡因素主要有四大方面：(1)多國公司內部資源流；(2)地主國市場策略重要性；(3)子公司打破規則；(4)母公司政策。而貢獻型子公司成為卓越中心或託管中心後，可以進一步地影響地主國的共生與競食系統共同發展，並使母公司賦予其更多的任務，因此是一種正向循環的效果－有能力與負責重要責任的子公司，因網絡的影響，將愈有能力與負責更多任務。 第二個研究著重探討多國公司的經營策略與子公司角色改變的關係。本論文發現當多國公司擬從全球策略或複國內化策略改變成區域策略時，就會產生授權程度的改變，亦有可能增加或減少組織層級，使台灣子公司的自主權受到影響，台灣子公司角色重要性可能會提高或減低。若台灣子公司的角色上升，代表多國公司會運用台灣子公司的能力知識到整個區域市場，這種情形可能有三個原因：（一）當產業的關鍵成功因素之一是與外部網絡的鑲嵌程度有關，且貢獻型子公司與外部網絡的鑲嵌程度高時。這是因為台灣子公司具有中國子公司較欠缺的管理外部網絡的知識，而這種知識對於建立產業遊戲規則是很重要的。（二）當台灣的消費者在區域內具有領先指標意義時。具有領先指標的台灣子公司的知識被中國子公司「借用」的部分愈大，則台灣子公司的角色愈重要。（三）當母公司愈不了解中國市場，而台灣市場跟中國市場的性質很相近時。一旦母公司認為台灣子公司是一個中介者的角色時，就會依賴這種溝通的機制，而不會輕易抽離這個導管。 第三個研究探討多國公司為執行區域策略所做的組織層級的調整。本論文發現多國公司會在原本的組織結構裏增加一個新的組織層級。如：原本為母公司、亞太區域總部、子公司等三個層級的多國公司，現在可能變成母公司、亞太區域總部、大中華次區域總部、子公司等四個層級。本論文發現次區域總部的設立是一種普遍的現象，且次區域總部會取代區域總部去管理其所屬區域內的各子公司。本論文發現次區域總部的設立可以使得多國公司更有效地平衡全球整合效率與地主國回應壓力等二股力量。本論文亦發現多國公司的許多功能別政策，在次區域總部成立後，已改由次區域總部做決策，取代了過去由子公司或是由區域總部作決策的現象，且次區域總部取代子公司或區域總部作決策的替代程度，受到二個因素的影響而有程度不等的現象：一為該產業的整合與回應壓力，一為該多國公司在亞太地區的銷售表現。 第四個研究探討區域策略動機、區域組織結構與子公司角色的關係。本論文發現多國公司為了追求區域的規模經濟而採用區域策略，則市場銷售量較小的邊緣地主國的子公司成為被整合者，（次）區域總部成為強力整合者。多國公司若為了掌握地區的機會而採用區域策略，則擁有挑剔的消費者的子公司成為機會提案者，（次）區域總部成為機會執行者。多國公司若為了掌握地主國的大客戶而採用區域策略，則擁有挑剔的大客戶的子公司成為客戶服務者，（次）區域總部成為服務子公司者。多國公司若為了促進子公司之間的能力知識流通而採用區域策略，則擁有特殊能力與知識的子公司成為一個整合性玩家，（次）區域總部成為能力發掘者與知識交換促進者。當多國公司的區域整合動機主要是為了追求效率與回應的平衡時，則區域總部扮演一個整合平台的角色，宜較為集權；當多國公司區域整合的動機是為了將各項要素更有效地流通到子公司時，區域總部較為分權。區域總部的設立位置是取決於與它互動最密切的內外部網絡的地點，因此當多國公司的價值活動佈局與利益關係人的地理位置愈分散，區域總部就愈有可能呈現出虛擬式的型態。次區域總部是個次層級的整合平台，多國公司是否須設次層級的整合平台，取決於該平台欲整合的標的物（如產品、知識）在該次區域內的互動程度是否遠大於與其他次區域內的子公司的互動程度。 總結來說，本論文對於多國公司的組織設計提出具體的理論與實務上的建議。在不同的環境前提與能力條件前提的考量下，多國公司可考慮在母公司或子公司進行目標、環境認知、決策、流程、能力、資源等的整合，也可以設立一個新的平台－即區域總部或次區域總部－來進行目標、環境認知、決策、流程、能力、資源等的整合。多國公司的母公司可以透過設立區域總部、劃分次區域、以及設計以下三個組織層級─區域總部、次區域總部和子公司─的分權程度及所扮演的角色，將區域的競爭優勢達到最大。 / The thesis explores the roles and responsibilities change of regional headquarters, sub-regional headquarters and subsidiaries when MNCs change to adopt regional strategy in accordance to the environmental changes by a qualitative research method. Ten MNCs among the top 500 enterprises with good performance and operation in Taiwan are investigated in order to understand how they design their regional organizations in the host region and what the roles Taiwan subsidiaries play along with the change to regional strategy. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study explores how network resources influence MNCs subsidiary to gain, maintain or lose the roles of center of excellence or mandates in Taiwan by grounded theory. The study finds that policies of headquarters, flows of resources within a MNC, the importance of a host country, the cooperative and competitive local players and initiative-taking by subsidiaries are important factors for the evolution of subsidiaries roles. When a subsidiary becomes a center of excellence or has a mandate, it may improve its ability and then in turn further enables it to gain more responsibilities – a subsidiary will become stronger and stronger and get more and more charters. Using a case study approach, the second study explores how regional strategy adopted by MNCs influences the role of contribution subsidiaries. A contribution subsidiary will be more important to a MNC in the following situations: when a key successful factor of the industry is network embeddedness; when sophisticated consumers in the host market are opinion leaders within the region; and when a parent does not have enough knowledge about the host country of a black hole while the nature of the market served by the contribution subsidiary is similar to that host market. A MNC can adopt three kinds of organizational design to explore the ability of contribution subsidiaries, namely, virtual, charismatic and focused centers of excellences. The more important a contribution subsidiary is, the more knowledge it integrates, and the more functional activities it is in charge. Subsidiary autonomy increases with the increase of subsidiary importance, too. The third study explores the organizational adjustments within MNCs following the trend of regional integration. The result shows that MNCs set up sub-regional headquarters (e.g., Greater China sub-regional headquarters) under a regional headquarters (e.g., Asia-Pacific regional headquarters). A sub-regional headquarters replaces a regional headquarters in order to directly manage subsidiaries within the sub-region. The emergence of sub-regional headquarters is in response to the need for a balance between integration and local responsiveness. An increasing number of decisions are made by sub-regional headquarters, instead of by subsidiaries, parent companies, or regional headquarters. Although the emergence of sub-regional headquarters is a trend, industry characteristics and the degree of the transfer of a firm’s specific advantages (FSAs) from home to a host region both affect the delegation of authority to a sub-regional headquarters. The fourth study explores the motivation of MNCs in adopting regional strategies and the reaction of MNCs to design regional organization and assign subsidiary roles. When a MNC adopts a regional strategy for the purpose of economies of scale, a contribution subsidiary becomes a periphery and the regional headquarters becomes a strong integrator. When a MNC adopts a regional strategy for the purpose of regional opportunity, a contribution subsidiary becomes an opportunity provider and the regional headquarters becomes an opportunity executor. The two motivations mentioned above make a regional headquarters more centralized. When a MNC adopts a regional strategy for the purpose of following the customer, a contribution subsidiary becomes a service provider and the regional headquarters becomes a supporter. When a MNC adopts a regional strategy for the purpose of facilitating the knowledge transfer, a contribution subsidiary becomes an integrated player and the regional headquarters becomes a knowledge facilitator. The two motivations mentioned above make a regional headquarters more decentralized. The location of a regional headquarters is decided according to the location of the most important stakeholders. The decision whether to set up sub-regional headquarters is made according to the frequency of the interaction with the cross subsidiaries in that sub-region. MNCs can design a regional organization to make sure the regional strategy can be executed in the most efficient way. MNCs can gain competitive advantage through the assignments of the roles of regional headquarters, sub-regional headquarters and subsidiaries under the regional strategy.

L’objet de ce mémoire est de comprendre les logiques de localisation des entreprises multinationales au Québec. À l’aide de deux études de cas, basées sur cinq investissements, nous avons examiné les facteurs qui ont permis à deux filiales d’entreprises multinationales étrangères d’obtenir un investissement ou un réinvestissement. La littérature sur la localisation des entreprises multinationales à l’étranger nous a aidé à identifier trois types d’attributs qui sont susceptibles d’influencer l‘obtention d’un investissement par la filiale locale : les attributs internes à la filiale, les attributs liés à la relation qu’entretient la filiale avec son siège social et les attributs liés aux contextes d’affaires dans lesquels la filiale exerce son activité. Nos résultats permettent d’établir plusieurs constats. Premièrement, les facteurs pris en compte dans les décisions d’investissement varient selon les échelles internationales, nationales, provinciales et locales. Les sièges sociaux des entreprises multinationales procèdent à une sélection successive de facteurs dans la perspective d’arriver à un meilleur compromis. Par conséquent, un facteur ne peut à lui seul expliquer un investissement. Le poids et la diversité des facteurs peuvent varier en fonction des situations. Deuxièmement, la complémentarité des attributs internes de la filiale avec son contexte d’affaires local a fortement contribué à l’obtention d’investissements. La technologie de production, les compétences des employés ainsi que la capacité de la direction locale à promouvoir les atouts de la filiale auprès des comités d’investissement représentent des éléments clés. La présence d’institutions locales fortes et coordonnées est également à prendre en compte dans le soutien apporté au développement de la filiale. / This research tries to understand the location of multinational corporations (MNCs) activity in Province of Quebec. Using a case study of five investments, we examined the factors that led two subsidiaries of foreign multinationals to obtain an investment or reinvestment. A review of the literature on foreign investment and multinational localization led us to identify three types of advantages which explain how investments are gained or lost by the local subsidiary: the internal advantage of the subsidiary, advantage related to the subsidiary's relationship with its headquarters and advantage related to business contexts in which the subsidiary operates. Our results lead to several conclusions. Firstly, we note that the factors taken into account in investment decisions differ according to the international, national, provincial and local scales. The MNC’s headquarters conduct a successive selection of factors in the context of achieving a better compromise. Therefore, a single factor can not explain an investment. The weight and nature of the factors may vary depending on the situation. Secondly, the complementarity of internal attributes of the subsidiary with its local business context has strongly contributed to investments. Production technology, employee skills, and the ability of management to promote the local subsidiary’s assets to investment committees were important. Potentially, strong and coordinated local institutions can be improved by the local subsidiary’s development.

The aim of this thesis is to identify the key roles of expatriates in a major Japanese MNE and factors influencing formation of their roles. It also examines to what extent expatriates have discretion in forming their roles. The thesis uses empirical data from 109 interviews and 5 years of action research (44 advisory board meetings and 144 Human Resource Management (HRM) workshops, 19 research sites in 9 countries and 17 additional meetings on specific topics) that enabled the researcher to carry out insightful and in-depth analysis with cross-national and multi-layer perspectives. The study applies organisational design theory to unveil the mechanisms of role formation, significantly expanding the understanding of these issues in Japanese business and the international business literature. The findings suggest that the process of role formation of expatriates can be explained by combining contingency theory and strategic choice theory in a framework that argues that the roles of expatriates are the result of a political process of organisational design (Child, 1997). This includes adaptation to the environment (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967) but also the relationship between organisational agents and the environment in the process of strategic choice (Child, 1997). The major contribution of this study is to provide evidence that expatriates are not merely agents of HQs in international business as traditionally understood, but that their role is more complex and multifaceted. The study empirically identifies five key roles of expatriates – two more than previously identified in the literature – and unveils six contingency factors and two strategic choice factors influencing role formation. The thesis demonstrates that expatriates strategically select their roles, although internal and external factors can act either as enhancers or obstacles to their making of choices and role formation.

La subsidiarité qui constitue un principe directeur du droit européen a aussi sa place en droit privé. C’est une notion fonctionnelle qui ne peut être appréhendée que d’après ses applications ; la recherche de la place qu’elle occupe en droit privé passe par l’analyse des différentes fonctions qu’elle remplit. C’est une notion autonome qui doit être distinguée de situations voisines où il existe un concept qui s’élabore par rapport à un autre dit principal ou premier. Il faut donc la distinguer notamment des rapports qui régissent le principal et l’accessoire, de la supplétivité et de l’équivalence. Révélée et connue comme étant une caractéristique de l’action de l’enrichissement sans cause, elle s’étend à diverses matières du droit privé. La subsidiarité y remplit deux fonctions : la première, c’est celle de préserver la primauté du principal, la deuxième, c’est celle d’assurer la suppléance du principal. Sa première fonction est illustrée par l’obligation de la caution, l’obligation des associés au passif social dans les sociétés civiles et les groupements assimilés, ainsi que la subsidiarité des voies d’exécution, plus précisément, celle de la saisie-vente. A côté de ces illustrations relatives au droit substantiel, la subsidiarité est également illustrée dans le droit processuel ; c’est celle qui se concrétise dans la marche du procès. Sa deuxième fonction est illustrée par l’action en enrichissement sans cause, en tant que voie de droit subsidiaire, par les recours-nullité, en tant que voies de recours subsidiaires, ainsi que par la vocation subsidiaire du droit commun, illustrée par le droit commun de la responsabilité civile. La subsidiarité est employée pour éviter toute subversion de l’ordre juridique. Elle contribue à combler les lacunes du Droit et à garantir l’efficacité du système juridique. / Subsidiarity which constitutes a leading principle of European Union law has also its place in private law. It is a functional notion that can only be comprehended through its applications, the search of the place that it occupies in private law passes through analyzing the various functions which it has. It is an autonomous notion which has to be distinguished from close situations where there’s a concept that is elaborated according to another one said to be principal or primary. It has to be for instance distinguished from the links existing between the principal and the accessory, from suppletivity and from equivalence. Revealed and known as a characteristic of the legal action of enrichment without just cause, it has spread to various topics of private law. In private law subsidiarity performs two functions: the first one aims to preserve the primacy of the principal, and the second one, aims to assure the substitute of the principal. Its first function is illustrated by the obligation of the guarantor, by the obligation of the partners for the liability of debts in civil companies and other assimilated societies, and also by the subsidiarity of the enforcement proceedings, more precisely, the one related to the seizure of goods. In addition to these illustrations related to substantive law, subsidiarity is also illustrated in civil procedure; it is the one which is revealed to the course of the process. Its second function is illustrated by the legal action of enrichment without just cause, as of a subsidiary legal action, and by the nullity recourses, as of subsidiary remedies at law, and also by the subsidiary vocation of the common law, illustrated by the common rules of civil liability. Subsidiarity is employed to avoid any subversion of the legal order. It contributes to fill the gaps of Law and to make the legal system more efficient.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:29:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Cazarini Ribas de Oliveira.pdf: 917745 bytes, checksum: 349021c52a86f3e4e8e51d7761e20155 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-21 / This work for the Master´s degree has the aim of analyzing the topic of the parents´ responsibility for the damage caused by their children under majority. It is based on the Civil Code from 2002 that introduced two important changes: the straight responsibility of parents and in case they are not able of doing it or do not have enough possessions for satisfying this duty, the law hold responsible the incapable for the compliance with the obligation for the reparation of the victim. Such changes concerning the constitutional principles of the human being´s dignity, solidarity, equality, liberty and psychophysics integrity, the principle of the whole reparation for the damage suffered by the victim and the principle of the whole protection of the rights for the minor, according to the Child and the Teenage Statute combine with the aim of the general civil responsibility, allow the law to give the rules, that the matter is based on, a different comprehension concerning its content and covering. It is said that parents are responsible by the damage caused by their minor children because they were given cause, therefore they must afford the duty that might appear, independently of their marital status whether they are married (the fact or the right), separated, divorced or even if they were removed from the family power or whether it had been suspended. In any case, there will be solidarity between parents for the compliance with the obligation for the reparation. In this context, hypotheses that move away the parents´ responsibility are reduced. The chances of the victim to obtain the reparation for the damage suffered increase at the same time that there is the guarantee for more protection to the minor who might have his own property reached in case parents neither answer to the obligation of the reparation nor are responsible for it / Esta dissertação de mestrado tem por escopo analisar o instituto da responsabilidade civil dos pais pelos danos causados por seus filhos menores sob o enfoque do Código Civil de 2002, que introduziu, nesta seara, duas importantes modificações: fixou a responsabilidade objetiva dos pais e responsabilizou o incapaz pelo cumprimento da obrigação de reparar a vítima, caso os pais não sejam responsáveis ou não tenham bens suficientes para satisfazer esta obrigação. Tais alterações, associadas aos princípios constitucionais da dignidade da pessoa humana, da solidariedade, da igualdade, da liberdade e da integridade psicofísica; ao princípio da reparação integral do dano sofrido pela vítima e ao princípio da proteção integral dos direitos do menor, fixados pelo Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, combinados com a finalidade da responsabilidade civil geral, permitem atribuir às regras que regem a matéria uma interpretação diferente quanto ao seu conteúdo e alcance. Sustenta-se que os pais são responsáveis pelos danos causados por seus filhos menores porque lhes deram causa, devendo suportar os ônus daí decorrentes, independentemente do estado civil, ou seja, se casados (de fato ou de direito), separados ou divorciados entre si e ainda que sejam destituídos do poder familiar ou tenham este poder suspenso. Em qualquer desses casos haverá solidariedade, entre os pais, pelo cumprimento da obrigação de reparar. Neste contexto, as hipóteses que afastam a responsabilidade dos pais são reduzidas, aumentam as chances de a vítima obter a reparação de seu dano, integralmente, ao mesmo tempo em que se garante maior proteção ao menor, que poderá ter seu próprio patrimônio alcançado se os pais não satisfizerem a obrigação de reparar ou não forem por ela responsabilizados