From Global to Local - An exploratory case study of how global strategy is balanced with the need for local adaptation in a multinational company

Abstract: Using an exploratory case study, this thesis explores how a global strategy is balanced with the need for local adaptation in the management control system at the subsidiary level. Through the use of exploration and exploitation, the tensions inherent in Simons' (1995) levers of control framework are operationalized to shed light on how the management control system within the case company LocalTech balances the implementation of global strategy (exploitation) with flexibility for local adaptation (exploration). The analysis reveals that the management control system within LocalTech emphasises exploitation over exploration, which facilitates global strategy implementation but gives limited room for taking advantage of local opportunities. Concluding the findings, it is shown that global strategy implementation and local adaptation can under exploitative circumstances sometimes overlap.