Towards a better understanding of Strategy and Organization alignment in Multinational Enterprises: a case study on a professional IT services Multinational
Galan Barrero, Francisco (2023)
2023
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023053116516
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023053116516
Tiivistelmä
This research Thesis delves into the intricate setup of organization and strategy in Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and its dynamics. As MNEs sail the complexities of the everchanging global business environment and trends, the alignment between organizational structure and strategic decision-making becomes crucial for sustained success and competitive advantage.
There is extensive academic literature about this topic and different multidimensional approaches to both organization and strategy. Researchers also often debate on the competitive advantages of organization structures to follow the strategy or viceversa, but that subject won´t be part of this research.
This case study research, through a literature review and different research methods, aims to create a framework to determine the organization, the strategy and the interdependencies that shape the relationship between them on an MNE that delivers added value professional IT services. The research method is a mixed approach of quantitative research via an online questionnaire sent to a subset of the MNE´s employees, and qualitative via semistructured interviews with MNE´s executives.
The key findings reveal that the MNE operates with a complex divisional-matrix organization where the regions carry the weight of driving business outcomes under a transnational corporate-wide strategy. This research outlines that the organization is not always aligned to the strategy, and furthermore regions have different degrees of alignments with the strategy. But despite these misalignments, the company demonstrate ability to continuously driving change to achieve operational efficiencies while maintaining its business relevance.
Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the intricate setup and relationship between organization and strategy in MNEs, offering practical implications for executives and top management stakeholders, in hope that these findings can contribute to the broader understanding of organizational dynamics within the everchanging global context and provide a foundation for further research in this field.
There is extensive academic literature about this topic and different multidimensional approaches to both organization and strategy. Researchers also often debate on the competitive advantages of organization structures to follow the strategy or viceversa, but that subject won´t be part of this research.
This case study research, through a literature review and different research methods, aims to create a framework to determine the organization, the strategy and the interdependencies that shape the relationship between them on an MNE that delivers added value professional IT services. The research method is a mixed approach of quantitative research via an online questionnaire sent to a subset of the MNE´s employees, and qualitative via semistructured interviews with MNE´s executives.
The key findings reveal that the MNE operates with a complex divisional-matrix organization where the regions carry the weight of driving business outcomes under a transnational corporate-wide strategy. This research outlines that the organization is not always aligned to the strategy, and furthermore regions have different degrees of alignments with the strategy. But despite these misalignments, the company demonstrate ability to continuously driving change to achieve operational efficiencies while maintaining its business relevance.
Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the intricate setup and relationship between organization and strategy in MNEs, offering practical implications for executives and top management stakeholders, in hope that these findings can contribute to the broader understanding of organizational dynamics within the everchanging global context and provide a foundation for further research in this field.