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.

Economia / Master in Economics / The relevance of foreign direct investment (FDI) (UNCTAD, 2007) is recognised by a vast body of literature. However, until recently most studies and policy-making initiatives were focused on the mere magnitude of FDI inflows (i.e. the quantity), neglecting the quality of these investments. Recent literature on subsidiaries roles and evolution is shedding light on the asymmetric quality of multinationals (MNEs) operations, hence helping to understand their differentiated impact on host economies. This dissertation contributes to this literature by investigating empirically the quality of foreign subsidiaries activities located in Ireland and Portugal. Using data from a purposely designed questionnaire survey, the following questions will be analysed. First, which characteristics of multinational subsidiaries are conducive to innovation? This study will consider the impact of age, education and R&D intensities, among other characteristics, on innovation. This question will be analysed using a probit model. Second, do foreign subsidiaries based in Ireland and Portugal differ in a systematic way with regard to these characteristics and with regard to the motivations that led to their establishment? This question will be studied using nonparametric methods. The empirical results (first application) corroborate the hypotheses that age, education and R&D intensities of the subsidiary impact positively on innovation. The results are consistent with previous studies that emphasise the time dependent aspect of multinational subsidiaries evolution (Young, Hood and Peters, 1994; Birkinshaw and Hood, 1997, 1998) and those that highlight the importance of human capital (Bartel and Lichtenberg, 1987; Narula and Marin, 2003) and R&D activities (Cohen and Levinthal, 1989, 1990) for technology absorption and creation. It was also found (the second empirical application) that the asset-seeking motivation played a more important role in attracting investors to Ireland than to Portugal and that subsidiaries based in Ireland tend to display greater education and R&D intensities than those based in Portugal.

Japanese-style management and Japanese companies have been popular targets of management studies since the 1970s. Many studies have been devoted to the examination of Japanese companies in Japan. By comparison, less understanding has been achieved about how Japanese companies conduct business in their international operations and how famous Japanese management has been transferred to Japanese subsidiaries. This thesis contributes to an ongoing academic debate about the internationalization processes within Japanese multinational companies. The processes involved in interaction between the parent company and subsidiaries address the research question of how subsidiaries of Japanese multinational firms perceive the relationship with their parent companies. The parent-subsidiary relationship is conceptualized within the boundaries of communication and information exchange theory. The conceptual framework creates a tool for research inquiry into the parent-subsidiary relationship. The framework conceptualizes the relationship between facilitating factors and perceived parental influence. Access to the parent company, motivation to engage with the parent company, and ability to engage with the parent company are conceptualized as factors facilitating the parent-subsidiary relationship. National/country and organizational/industry characteristics are identified as attributes moderating the relationship. Information outflow, inflow, and intraflow are derived components of the parental influence. The study presented here is exploratory with findings based on two sequential comparative research stages. The Czech Republic and New Zealand, although different in terms of national and country characteristics, are argued as a suitable comparable base for conducting research within subsidiaries ofJapanese firms. In stage one, 18 Czech and 17 New Zealand subsidiaries of Japanese companies participated in a questionnaire survey. In stage two, 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted for case studies within Czech and New Zealand subsidiaries of six Japanese parent companies. The case studies provided further insights into the subsidiary-parent relationship. This research seeks contribution to the internationalization literature by offering a new useful framework for the examination of the parent-subsidiary link. The self-identity of Japanese subsidiaries was found to give meaning to the parental relationship as perceived by the subsidiary. This relationship was influenced by the subsidiary�s country location, the industry in which the subsidiary operates, and the presence of expatriate management in the subsidiary. This research also found significant commonalities among the perceptions of parental influence in all Japanese subsidiaries involved in the study. The observed commonalities indicate that Japanese companies might have moved away from the internationalization processes ascribed to them by previous academic research. The change triggered by collapse of stock markets in mid-1990s has resulted to a recent reduction of expatriate staff reported little parental guidance, independence, and the strong self-identification of subsidiaries with their local environment. Keywords Internationalization, Japanese Multinational Company, Subsidiary, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Information, Parent-Subsidiary Relationship

<p>The basic principle for limited companies is that the owners are not liable for the debts of the company. To protect the creditors of the company, however, a theory of personal liability for the owners has evolved, the so called piercing the corporate veil theory. For decades there have been disagreements wether or not it would be motivated to legislate the theory of piercing the corporate veil, and what this legislation might look like. The basic problems in my essay are: Is there a need to legislate the theory of piercing the corporate veil in Sweden? What would such a legislation look like in Sweden? To answer these questions I analyzed cases regarding the piercing the corporate veil theory, examined the theory in the USA and Germany and described how authors would like to answer these questions. My results are that there is a need to increase the liability that a parent company has for the debts of its subsidiary companies. This should be done by changing the rule in 15:3 ABL.</p>

The basic principle for limited companies is that the owners are not liable for the debts of the company. To protect the creditors of the company, however, a theory of personal liability for the owners has evolved, the so called piercing the corporate veil theory. For decades there have been disagreements wether or not it would be motivated to legislate the theory of piercing the corporate veil, and what this legislation might look like. The basic problems in my essay are: Is there a need to legislate the theory of piercing the corporate veil in Sweden? What would such a legislation look like in Sweden? To answer these questions I analyzed cases regarding the piercing the corporate veil theory, examined the theory in the USA and Germany and described how authors would like to answer these questions. My results are that there is a need to increase the liability that a parent company has for the debts of its subsidiary companies. This should be done by changing the rule in 15:3 ABL.

The position of the subsidiary CEO is characterized by its complexity in terms of the level of independence and control that s/he possesses. The subsidiary CEO is not only con-trolled by the parent company in certain aspects but in some cases also by the board of directors of the subsidiary. This raises questions about what the subsidiary CEO is left to decide by him/herself and if it is possible to infact categorize him/her as a middle manager? In order to gain more insight into these intriguing questions we formulated our purpose as follows: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the subsidiary CEO controls the subsidiary consider-ing the dual role perspective. In addition, four research questions were formulated to support us in the search for answers to the amount of control that the subsidiary CEO has. The research questions were intended to the highlight the control aspect from different angles, and to discover what the parent company and board of directors controlled. In addition, we were also curious about whether it was possible for the subsidiary CEO to influence his/her superiors. To enlighten us of the situation of the subsidiary CEO we made seven semi-structured interviews, whereof four with subsidiary CEOs. The three additional interviews were made with co-workers to the subsidiary CEOs. This was done to get a different perspective on the role of the subsidiary CEO. With the purpose and research questions as a base we asked questions on these topics and the answers were recorded and transcribed in order to give us a stable foundation to stand on before moving on to the analysis. The findings confirmed our view that the CEOs in some cases, especially when it comes to larger financial decisions, are controlled by the parent company. Further, reports are sent regularly and the overall organizational vision has to be adopted by the subsidiary. On the other hand the subsidiary CEOs regards themselves as very independent when it comes to the management of the subsidiary. Indeed, we were able to see some general characteristics of the job of a subsidiary CEO, such as the freedom of formulating and implementing strategies for the subsidiary. In addition, they solely decide how to run the daily operations as well as deciding on questions concerning the personnel. Further, we conclude that the subsidiary CEOs can neither be categorized as merely a CEO or a middle manager, since our study shows that they are a combination of both. It is their level of independence which decides how to perceive their role and this varies from case to case. Finally, the level of control much depends on their relationship with the parent company as well as the sub-sidiary board of directors.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly competing on their ability to utilise knowledge sourced from various parts of the world. In order to draw full advantage of a multinational presence, harnessing the potential of peripheral knowledge assets is a main strategic imperative. This thesis examines an activity that is central to MNCs use of such peripheral knowledge assets, namely the transfer of knowledge from one subunit to another. The knowledge transfer problem is approached in two ways: the extent to which subunits engage in knowledge transfer to other units in the organisation and the performance of knowledge transfer projects. The evidence provided in this thesis is derived from the analyses of quantitative data collected in two separate projects. A central argument concerns the importance of studying performance of knowledge transfer projects. Knowledge transfer is seen as distinct and purposeful projects. It is suggested that the performance of these transfer projects can be evaluated along the dimensions of transfer efficiency and transfer effectiveness. Results indicate that the extent to which subunits transfer knowledge to other MNC subunits is influenced by the presence of lateral integrative mechanisms as well as the presence of incentives to engage in knowledge transfer and subunit socialisation. Moreover, the operational structure of the subunit influences the extent of outbound knowledge transfer. The present evidence also suggests that subunit capabilities to knowledge transfer can be developed by accumulation of transfer experiences. However, even if subunits engage in knowledge transfer to an increasing degree, it is not self-evident that they become better at the task. In particular, these capabilities seem to be specific to source-recipient dyads, i.e. only experience from previous interactions in this dyad increase transfer performance. Evidence also suggests that authoritative pressure and centralised formal structures can lead to superficial collaboration in knowledge transfer. Finally, it is shown that despite the past years increasing interest in inter-firm networking as means to develop and access knowledge to innovative processes, such external interaction in subunits may compromise the possibilities to subsequently transfer the newly developed knowledge to be exploited in other parts of the MNC.

This thesis emphasizes the technological evolution of technologically advanced foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations, in order to examine specific and related research questions as to what is the nature of the advanced modern MNC regarding technological growth. In particular, evolutionary paths and potential limits to the development of technological capabilities at the level of individual foreign subsidiaries, and to what extent these subsidiaries serve as significant sources of technological capabilities for other actors in the multinational group are highlighted. More specific, longitudinal patterns and pace in the emergence and diffusion of new technological capabilities by advanced foreign subsidiaries are studied.   Event history analysis of the complete U.S. patenting activity of 23 Swedish multinationals over the 1893-1990 time period reveals accelerated emergence of new technological capabilities by advanced foreign subsidiaries, but at moderate hazard rates. The results also show that there are substantially different probabilities of introducing new technological capabilities depending on the type of entry mode and that acquired subsidiaries are much more important than greenfield subsidiaries as growth engines for the technological renewal of the MNC. Moreover, the findings suggest the presence of an increased pace in reverse diffusion, hence the later into the time period a technological capability emerges in an advanced foreign subsidiary, the faster it is diffused to headquarters. The results also demonstrate that the type of subsidiary has a significant influence on diffusion patterns of new technological capabilities and thus how capabilities are leveraged throughout the MNC network.   To conclude, a balanced view on the creative capabilities of the MNC seems to be called for. The modern MNC does have and display many of the features of the modern MNC as identified in previous literature, but the expectations traditionally and generally expressed in the literature may have been an overstatement of actual conditions and developments. The ultimate technological limits of advanced foreign subsidiaries seem far from reached, and the final word on the ultimate importance of these subsidiaries as significant sources of new technological capabilities for other actors in the MNC is still to be spoken.

Background: One of the main distinguishing factors that we have identified between thedifferent market structures is the level of barriers to entry. Market entry barriers are relevantwhen considering new market entry. The main barriers to entry include Cost advantages ofincumbents, Product differentiation of incumbents, Capital requirements, Customer switchingcosts, Access to distribution channels and Government policy. Purpose: The purpsoe of this paper is to identify factors that may influence entry modedecisions in an oligopolistic market situation. Method: Our thesis is based on a single case study of a Danish company in Sweden. We havechosen to do a qualitative research method. We have gathered our empirical data by doing emails and face-face interviews. Conclusions: We answered our research questions such as, “What factors affect entry modedecisions?” These factors could be both internal and external but we concentrated on factorsrelated to external environment within the new market because they are decisive in the choice ofentry modes strategy within a new market since the firm usually has little or no control overthem. For this study, external factors that affected Strandmöllen AB’s choice of entry modes intothe Swedish market are: business environment, cultural distance, market barriers and competitionintensity. Our second research question is, ‘Which entry modes can a firm use to enter anoligopolistic market situation?’ Strandmöllen AB is a wholly owned subsidiary of StrandmöllenAS. The entry mode strategy was by acquisition of ScanGas, a small Swedish gas supplier. Suggestions for further research: This subject area (oligopolistic) is quite rare. We could notfind much material on entry modes in an oligopolistic situation. Authors think that with moreresources and more time, this could be an interesting area to expand academic research on.

Bakgrund: Som ett resultat av ett förändrat samhälle där fristående rådgivning blivit alltmer efterfrågat har fler problem uppkommit. EU-kommissionen lagt fram ett förslag på ändrade revisionsregler för att hantera dessa påstådda problem. Förslaget antyder att revisorns oberoende och revisionens kvalité hotas av dessa sidotjänster. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att skapa en förståelse för sidotjänsternas betydelse på revisorns oberoende och revisionens kvalité samt öka förståelsen för de nya lagförslagen och dess konsekvenser. Metod: Med utgångspunkt i en induktiv forskningsansats har vi genom en kvalitativ design utfört studien. Primärdata har samlats in genom intervju och öppna frågeformulär som sedans jämförts med tidigare forskning och erkänd litteratur. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens slutsats visar att sidotjänsterna inte har någon betydande inverkan på revisorns oberoende och revisionens kvalité, varken positivt eller negativt. Studien finner att revisorns integritet och egenintresse är så pass starkt att oberoendet inte hotas på grund av sidotjänsternas vara eller icke-vara även om resultaten i viss mån tyder på problem att invända mot en kollega. EU-kommissionens förslag finner studien vara en aning överflödig i sin nuvarande utformning. Syftet med förslaget är bland annat att stärka oberoendet och revisionens kvalité, problem som vi i studien inte kan styrka existerar i den mån att nyttan ska överstiga kostnaden. / Background: As a result of a changed society where non-audit services have been increasingly in demand which has raised new problems. The European Commission presented a revised set of audit rules to address these alleged problems. The proposal suggests that auditor independence and audit quality is threatened by these subsidiary services. Purpose: The aim of this study is to create an understanding of how the non-audit services impact the auditor independence and audit quality. The second purpose is to increase awareness of the new legislative proposals and their consequences. Method: Based on an inductive research approach, we have through a qualitative design conducted the study. Primary data were collected through interviews and open questionnaires which then were compared with previous research and recognized literature. Results and conclusion: The conclusion of the study shows that non-audit services do not have any significant impact on auditor’s independence and audit quality, either positive or negative. The study finds that the auditor's integrity and self-interest is too strong so that independence is not threatened due to non-audit services even if the results to some extent indicate of problems to express objection towards a colleague’s work. The study finds that the EU Commission's proposal to be a bit redundant in its present form. The proposal is to strengthen the independence and audit quality but the study concludes that the benefits will not exceed the cost.