Determinants of Control Strategies and
Organisational Structures of Multinational Enterprises

von: Silke Frey

Content

1. Introduction 1

2. Organisational Strategies 1

2.1. Determinants of Control Strategies 1

2.1.1. Internal Environment 1
2.1.2. External Environment 2

2.1.2.1. PEST Analysis 2
2.1.2.2. Porter’s Five Forces 3

2.2. Locus of decision making 4
2.3. Control strategies 5

2.3.1. International Strategy 5
2.3.2. Global Strategy 6
2.3.3. Multidomestic Strategy 6
2.3.4. Transnational Strategy 7

3. Organisational Structures and Mechanisms 7

3.1. Organisational Structures 8

3.1.1. International Division Structure 8
3.1.2. Functional Division Structure 9
3.1.3. Global Product Division Structure 10
3.1.4. Global Area Structure 11
3.1.5. Global Matrix Structure 12

3.2. Integrating Mechanisms 13
3.3. Control Mechanism 13

4. Synthesis 14

5. Cases 15

6. Conclusion 19

1. Introduction

“The fundamental purpose of any business firm is to make a profit” (Hill, 2002, p. 379). Especially for multinational companies it is difficult to operate due to the distance, dynamic and diversity. To reach this aim and to compete effectively in an international environment a multinational enterprise has to pursue an appropriate strategy. In the following, factors that determine the strategy a company pursues will be regarded. In addition, different strategies will be explained as well as different structures for implementing those strategies. Moreover, two companies will be compared regarding their strategies and structures.

2. Organisational Strategies

The strategy, which a Multinational Enterprise chooses, must be appropriate to its environment. Therefore the determinants must be considered.

2.1. Determinants of Control Strategies

The environment of a company consists of many different influences. For identifying them a company must consider its internal and external environment.

2.1.1. Internal Environment

A SWOT analysis can be used as an instrument to inform a company about its environment. SWOT stands for Strengths Internal Weaknesses analysis Opportunities External Threats analysis In the following, only the strengths and weaknesses will be regarded, because they relate to the internal factors. The strengths of a company provide a significant market advantage. They can be found in the finance, human resource, production, R&D or marketing sector as well as in the firms operations (Smith, p. 12-13). The strengths of BMW for instance are “its skilled workforce, innovative engineers, and reputation for producing high-quality automobiles” (Griffin & Pustay, 1995, p. 356). The weaknesses can usually be found in the above-mentioned sectors as well. They hinder a company’s competitiveness. An example for the weaknesses of BMW is its high labour cost (Griffin & Pustay, 1995, p. 356).

2.1.2. External Environment

For identifying the influence factors of the external environment, two different analysis can be used. The PEST analysis deals with the remote environment, whereas Porter’s five forces handles with the competitive environment.

2.1.2.1. PEST Analysis

The objective of the PEST analysis is to identify through which environmental influences the development or performance of a company in a foreign country could be affected. Therefore the political, economical, socio-cultural and technological influences are considered (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, p. 98). Political factors Political factors include for example the system, government stability, law and regulations (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, p. 104). Economical factors For the economical situation, among others the unemployment rate, growth prospects, inflation and interest rate as well as the availability of resources and the disposable income should be regarded (Smith, p. 14). Socio-cultural factors Socio-cultural factors include for instance the population demographics, consumerism, level of education attitudes, values and beliefs as well as income distribution (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, p. 104). Technological factors Technological factors include for example the level of industrialization, level of information and communication technology and the transportation standard like railways, shipping or air travel (Stonehouse et al., 2001, p. 33). 2.1.2.2. Porter’s Five Forces

According to Porter is the competition in an industry influenced by five forces. These forces are the

• threat of new entrants to the industry
• threat of substitute products
• bargaining power of customers
• bargaining power of suppliers and
• rivalry among current competitors in the industry.

To some extent, all of these competitive forces reflect environmental factors which are facing the company. Together they determine the performance of the company and the attractiveness of the industry. However, with the appropriate strategy a firm can influence these factors (Rugman, Lecraw, Booth, 1985, p. 332). In the following those forces will be regarded in more detail:

Threat of new entrants to the industry The easier it is for competitors to enter a market, the more intensify the competition will be, which might have a further impact on pricing and profitability. The ability to enter a market depends on the entry barriers an industry has. Typical barriers for example are:

• Economies of scale. They are very important for instance in the fast-moving consumer goods industry for sales and marketing.
• Differentiation and brand loyalty. The user regards a product or service as more valuable than that of a competitor.
• Required start up capital. Which is important for example in the pharmaceutical industry for the high R&D costs.

An example for entry barriers is the luxury car market. In this industry a brand name or reputation is extremely important as well as a network of suppliers and distributors (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, pp. 115-118). Threat of substitute products There are different types of substitutes. Examples therefore are the product-for-product substitution, which can be seen regarding fax and e-mail, or the substitution of needs (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, p. 120). Butter and margarine satisfy for instance the same needs of customers (Stonehouse, et al., 2001, p. 87).

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