Combinations of Mechanisms for an Effective Global Integration of Business Processes within Multinational Companies

Multinational company theory broadly considers mechanisms for global integration of headquarters-subsidiaries relationships. But only few studies analyze mechanisms for individual global integration of firms' components and adopt a systems approach to examine multiple mechanisms simultaneously with different levels of intensity. In this research we derive hypotheses on an ideal combination of centralization-based, formalization-based, people-based, and information-based mechanisms for each of eight supply chain business processes. Based on organization theory we argue that the combination of integration mechanisms used to individually integrate a given business process globally has to fit with the conditions of that process to positively affect corporate performance.