Den ekonomiska globaliseringen och ökade världshandeln har lett till att multinationella företag till viss del fått ta sig an den roll som stater tidigare har haft och många företag har börjat använda sig av corporate social responsibility (CSR) som ett verktyg för detta. Frågan är om utvecklingen har gjort att andra aktörer, såsom fackföreningar, som tidigare varit en självklar aktör på den politiska arenan och en given del av den svenska företagssfären, nu kommit i skymundan. Det leder vidare till frågan om vad fackföreningar i så fall har för roll idag. Det föreligger ett gap i forskningen vad gäller fackföreningarnas roll i CSR-diskursen samt levnadslöner i utvecklingsvärlden, som kan ses som en del av CSR-konceptet. Ambitionen är att denna kvalitativa flerfallsstudie ska kunna bidra till den kunskapsbrist som tycks finnas gällande svenska fackföreningar och deras syn och roll vad gäller CSR och specifikt levnadslöner. Resultatet av studien visar att svenska fackföreningar överlag är skeptiska till CSR och att ett införande av levnadslöner är komplext. Vidare visar resultatet att det som står i vägen för levnadslöner är en svag stat och en ovilja bland företag och länder att införa konceptet. Studien avslutas med en diskussion om fackförbundens framtida roll som intressent till företagen samt vilka implikationer som föreligger i ett potentiellt införande av levnadslöner. / Economic globalization and increased world trade have resulted in multinational corporations (MNCs) having to take on the role that states previously possessed and as a response many companies have started to use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a means to manage the task. The question is whether this development has put other players in the global arena aside, such as labor unions, which historically have been a given stakeholder group in the political arena as well as in the field of Swedish business. This further leads to the question of what the role of labor unions is today. There is a gap in the research regarding the role of labor unions in the CSR-discourse as well as living wages in the developing world, which can be seen as a part of the CSR-concept. Based on a qualitative study of how Swedish unions perceive CSR and in particular living wages, we aim to fill this gap. The result of the study shows that unions are skeptical towards CSR and that an implementation of living wages is complex. In addition, part of the obstacles that stands in the way of an implementation of living wages is a weak state and an unwillingness among corporations and countries to adopt the concept. The study concludes with a discussion about the future role of labor unions as a stakeholder of corporations as well as the implications that exist in a potential adoption of living wages.

The MNC literature treats the (parent) HQ as entirely benevolent with respect to their perceived and actual intentions when they intervene at lower levels of the MNC. However, HQ may intervene in subsidiaries in ways that demotivate subsidiary employees and managers (and therefore harm value-creation). This may happen even if such intervention is benevolent in its intentions. We argue that the movement away from more traditional hierarchical forms of the MNC and towards network MNCs placed in more dynamic environments gives rise to more occasions for potentially harmful intervention by HQ. Network MNCs should therefore be particularly careful to anticipate and take precautions against "intervention hazards". Following earlier research, we point to the role of normative integration and procedural justice, but argue that they also serve to control harmful HQ intervention (and not just subsidiary opportunism). (authors' abstract)

Research Questions: How does the different aspects of administrative heritage influence the internal acceptance of a rebranding? What are the main determinants of administrative heritage for the internal acceptance of a rebranding?  Purpose: The purpose is to investigate how administrative heritage affects multinational corporations in order to leverage strengths and counterbalance limitations when striving for internal acceptance of a rebranding.  Method: This study applied a qualitative research with an abductive approach. A single case study was conducted and data was collected using semi-structured interviews from employees at different departments of an organization.  Conclusion: The result of this study has developed the concept of administrative heritage in relation to rebranding and have presented how and what aspects to leverage and counterbalance within strategy, structure and culture. The study has come to the conclusion that an MNC can leverage the strengths of strategy, structure and culture through communication which essentially creates inclusion, shared beliefs, brand champions, trust and headquarters culture. The aspect of strategy mostly affects rebranding on a general level whilst structure and culture have more direct influence on the internal acceptance of a rebranding.

As a part of multinational corporations (MNCs), subsidiaries operate in distinct host countries and have to deal with their external context. Host country political embeddedness, in particular, helps subsidiaries to obtain knowledge and understanding of the regulatory and political context, and to get access to local networks. Moreover, they get some guidance and support from their headquarters. Distance between MNC home and host countries, however, alienates subsidiaries from the MNC and influences the extent of subsidiary host country political embeddedness. We suggest that the host country political and regulatory context moderates the effect of distance on subsidiary host country political embeddedness by reducing the need and/or value of headquarters support. Using a sample of 124 European manufacturing subsidiaries, we find that distance (space) and context (place) matter jointly: the impact of distance is stronger for subsidiaries that operate in host countries with low governance quality and low political stability in place.

Vietnam has experienced a rapid economic growth during the last decades. However, this rapidgrowth is not only positive. Working conditions in many factories are poor and insufficient wagesare very common. As a response to this and the increased external pressure from stakeholdersregarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), many multinational companies (MNCs) haveconstructed codes of conduct which acts as guidelines for the suppliers. The purpose of this studyis to explain and contribute to an increased understanding of how complying with a code ofconduct set up by an MNC affects a Vietnamese shoe supplier’s view of committing to CSR as away of increasing its profitability. This multiple case study was conducted using a qualitativeresearch approach and is based on data that was gathered from mainly semi-structured interviews.As a way of getting access to Vietnamese suppliers we cooperated with a MNC that had theirproduction outsourced to producers in Vietnam. By using the information in the theoreticalframework we analyzed the empirical findings and found that a collaborative partnership betweensuppliers and MNCs when implementing CSR practices deriving from a code of conduct iscrucial if the supplier don’t have any prior knowledge of such implementation. Benefits thatsuppliers have reaped from committing to CSR are decreased employee turnover, morecommitted workers and improved reputation. We also found that when experiencing thesebenefits gained from committing to CSR the commitment increases even more. The suppliers arealso aware of the importance of CSR practices to achieve long term profitability. In the future,Vietnam may only attract customers that order high quality products. To be able to handle thesenew demands commitment to CSR and new technology are of grave importance.This thesis will continue to be in English. / Program: Civilekonomprogrammet

Current research has pointed out that a subsidiary ́s external network, constituted by its suppliers and customers at the local market, is very important for the corporation as a whole. In this study we seek to explore if this is the case for a certain Multinational corporation through exploring the usage of its networks. More specifically how the knowledge within its networks sharing contribute to the company’s innovation development process. A number of interviews have been conducted with personnel at a Multinational corporation, General Electric Healthcare Life Sciences in Uppsala. The results have been analyzed using a theoretical frame of reference covering network theory and a subsidiary’s part in it. Our findings show that even though the external network may play a necessary part, the internal network of a large Multinational corporation is an important resource and should not be ignored.

MNCs face challenges in developing complex strategic and organizational capabilities to meet their global efficiency and local responsiveness needs. Effective competitive strategy involves different management control over its product, functional and geographic diversity, language and culture. There are many options available for MNCs to use to develop models for business operations in different countries. The planning and executing these competitive strategies have significant impact to MNCs and they must be sustainable and successful. Human resources (HR) in MNCs have been playing an increasingly important role to improve organizational capabilities. Organization structure, responsibility, the practices, functions and professionals in the Human Resource management are key factors in creating the organizational capabilities. Meeting the current challenges and laying groundwork for the future calls for the redesign of roles and new competencies among HR professionals. With the aligning of the skills of HR professionals with the changing HR visions, strategies, structures, systems, and processes, the transformation of HR functions will be of value to their organization. Emerging trends in the strategic partner development of HRM is discussed.

The major purpose of study is to know the main human resource function role which is performed currently by the subsidiary of Multinational Corporation (MNC) in Taiwan and the concept of multiple-role model is adopted in the study. This study is done by the quantative survey to find out the factors which could influence the human resource function role and the current multiple-role model, meanwhile the cluster analysis is used to investigate the main model of current human resource function role. Human resource activities within the subsidiary of MNC in Taiwan are influenced by both external and internal environments, because there¡¦re many environmental factors to be considered and they are not easy to be controlled, so the study focuses on the discussion of the variables of internal environment in the organization. According to the characters of the variables, the study divides the variables into organization character and management character to investigate the influence of internal environment on human resource function role. After passing through the examination and analysis , the study result is presented as here below: 1. The major human resource function role performed by current subsidiary of MNC in Taiwan is Administrative Expert, the next is Strategic Partner, Change Agent and the last is Employee Champion. It represents that the human resource department of the subsidiary of MNC in Taiwan still do lots of works in the administration. But it¡¦s also found from the result that the roles of Strategic Partner and Change Agent are elevated after comparing with the previous studies. So it¡¦s assumed the position of human resource department becomes higher, human resource department involves more in the strategic management. 2. The cluster analysis is used in this study to evaluate the multiple-role model of Business Partner. The samples in the study are divided into 3 groups and named as High Level Business Partner, Middle Level Business Partner, and Low Level Business Partner. 3. The study finds that two variables, ¡§the position of human resource supervisor¡¨ and ¡§if human resource supervisor joins the management team¡¨, influence the performing level of human resource role.

Abstract With regard to the Bayer transnational siting in Taichung during the 1990s, at least 20 theses and literatures are documented. However, due to the different research sects, ideologies, prejudices and/or lack of first hand information, these literatures are mostly with bias despite of the criticism or compliment to Bayer. In light of the biases, the writer as the person in charge of the project, would like to apply the ¡¨ learning history¡¨ case study by using the historical documents to review, explore and analyze the topics that impacted to the project, the analytical structure namely ¡§six structures¡¨- politics and lobbying, media ecology and communication, community ecology and communication, academic circle, decision making of MNC siting and crisis management. The purposes of this research are trying to provide a case study that may help Taiwan to shorten the learning curve under the globalization and the competition and corporation across the strait, at the same time to furnish MNC with an in depth siting project research to reduce the learning cost. Hoping that Taiwan could become the springboard for MNC to enter the biggest market in Asia- China. Conclusions: 1. The event started, dilated and ended because of misunderstanding. 2. Political dispute affected MNC siting project severely. 3. ¡§Anti-nuclear is to opposite autocracy¡¨- ¡§Anti-Bayer is to opposite government¡¨. 4. Bayer¡¦s final decision did not refer to the result of crisis management or local faction. 5. High flexibility of siting - MNCs¡¦ siting options are obviously higher then local enterprises. 6. It is not necessary a negative issue to Taiwan while Bayer abandoned its plan. The new ruling party has adjusted its policy to focus on economic issue is a positive impact. 7. The ¡§six structures¡¨ proved its value by helping researcher review; analyze the interactions among the six structures. 8. The project provides ways learning for both MNC and Taiwan.

This thesis focuses on the largest Transnational MNC in the field of electrical engineering, ABB. It researches the three major changes made in the 13 years since the 1988 merger, analyzing them with respect to the four dimensions of strategy, organization, company-external and company-internal causes. After examining more closely the interaction of these four dimensions and their influence upon the company change, and looking at the underlying factors involved, the thesis investigates the following five points: 1. How can change and globalization be made to advance closely in step, and thereby produce synergy in company operations? 2. How should a company be globalized? Is there a business model or steps that should be followed? 3. How can the model of matrix organization be successfully employed to globalize the strategic targets of a company? 4. What is the key success factor for a transnational MNC? 5. How can domestic companies be transformed into transnational MNCs? Should a business model or steps be followed? The aim of this study is to suggest model and possible directions applicable to the above five points.