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The Battle of the Cow : Conflicting Interests of Standardization vs Local Adaptation Within the MNC

The relationship between the MNCs organizational units, HQ and subsidiaries, has beencharacterized as an inherently conflictual arena and conflicts may arise due to the counterpartsnot being completely aligned and having conflicting interests. This is often caused by thedifferent pulls towards global standardization by the HQ and local adaptation by thesubsidiaries, and different internal and external pressures and factors. Through a case study ofthe MNC Arla Foods, the causes and consequences of the conflict regarding the HQ desire forthe discontinuation of the local Swedish brand, Arla Cow, in favor of global standardization hasbeen discussed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with managers from theHQ and Swedish subsidiary and a microethnographic study on-site at the Swedish subsidiary.The results show that the primary causes of the conflict are due to bounded rationality by theHQ, which results in problems related to communication and knowledge transfer between theSwedish subsidiary. Institutional or cultural aspects did not seem to be an influencing factor inthe conflicting interests.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-532732
Date January 2024
CreatorsStrömberg, Leonthin, Azizsson, Robin
PublisherUppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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