Dear SSJ-Forum members,

The Maison franco-japonaise research Institute is pleased to invite you to its :

Lunch Seminar on Japanese Economy and Society "Clusters and Regional Management Structures of French Multinational Companies in Asia"

Friday 14 december 2012 12: 30 - 14 :00 more information on http://www.mfj.gr.jp/agenda/2012/12/14/resume_r/

Speaker:
Jacques JAUSSAUD (University of Pau)

Summary:
Recent literature suggests that multinational companies
(MNCs) pursue regional rather than global strategies.
Regionalisation of MNCs has key implications for regional structures and rganization. This article investigates the regional management centres that French MNCs set up in Asia, considering the following research question: what kind of regional management structures French MNCs set up in Asia to fit their regional strategies? This study develops five hypotheses from prior literature and then tests them through interviews with 77 expatriated managers of subsidiaries of 47 French MNCs located in 10 Asian countries. One-third of the sample clusters the Asia-Pacific region into homogeneous sub-regions, where they locate regional management centres with important functions and roles. This regional organization depends on the size of the MNC and its sales in Asia; the localisation of manufacturing activities does not influence regional rganizations.
Smaller MNCs, even if most of their sales occur in Asia, still centralise regional decisions and control procedures at headquarters.