Subsidiary Units Research Articles

Critical perspectives on GVC theory: uncovering GVC resilience through non-lead power

Critical perspectives on GVC theory: uncovering GVC resilience through non-lead power

Evaluation of iron and manganese removal effectiveness by treatment plant modules based on water pollution index; a comprehensive approach.

Groundwater is a viable alternative when access to surface water resources is limited. Iron and manganese are known ions in soil and naturally in groundwater sources. However, human activities also are responsible. To identifying the best module for removing manganese and iron in the water treatment plant (WTP) of Mazandaran, 516 samples were taken from raw and treated water. The concentration of manganese, iron, was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and turbidity was used with the nephelometry method. The water pollution index (WPI) was applied for categorizing the status of pollution in treated water. The effect of seasonal temperature and backwashing (At flow rates of 3.5, 9.2, and 15.3m h-1) on the sand filter efficiency was also investigated. The highest concentrations of manganese, iron, and turbidity in raw water were 0.744, 6.70mg L-1, and 41.8 NTU, and in treated water were 0.67, 1.09mg L-1, and 5.58 NTU, respectively. The mean concentration of manganese and iron in raw and treated water were 0.24 ± 0.1, 0.93 ± 0.91, 0.105 ± 0.06 and 0.18 ± 0.14mg L-1 respectively. The WPI statuses in drinking water were excellent for manganese and iron in 95.74 and 53.88 % of the samples and very poor in 1.16 and 12.01 % of the samples, respectively, and its classification for drinking water for manganese and iron was excellent ˃ good ˃ extremely polluted ˃ polluted and the concentration of iron was more than manganese in treated water. The study of temperature's effect on sand filters showed that the removal efficiency in warm seasons was higher than in cold seasons. Also, the turbulence in the backwash with the 9.2m h- 1 rates, is lesser than other speeds, and in this flow, after 270s, the turbidity decreases to less than 10 NTU. Spearman correlation comparison showed that the parameters amounts after filtration decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.0001) in comparison to raw water. The results showed that module #1 that used open-aeration and chlorine as oxidations, was most effective in removing iron and manganese. In the end, the WTP couldn't diminish the parameters completely and need subsidiary units.

Beyond Flypaper: Unconditional Transfers and Local Revenue Generation in the Philippines, 1992–2016

ABSTRACT This article argues that fiscal decentralization hinged on unconditional central to local transfers, as in the case of the Philippines, induces overreliance on central government support and defeats the principle of fiscal autonomy. Examining Philippine fiscal and electoral data from 1992 to 2016, two empirical observations are made. First, unconditional transfers in the form of internal revenue allotments (IRA) crowd out local revenue generation and creates fiscal dependency among local government units. Second, local government units that rely less on IRA not only tend to be more active in raising their own income sources but also tend to allocate more for public welfare. As an implication, the findings suggest that federalism as a mode of decentralization will not necessarily create a more efficient and equitable system of fiscal governance if its institution is abrupt and if it does not take into account the coordination of subsidiary units as direct stakeholders.

Implementing supplier management strategies for supply chain sustainability risks in multinational companies

PurposeIn a time where stakeholders increasingly demand social, environmental, and economic sustainability, mismanaging suppliers can impose substantial sustainability risks for a company and harm its reputation and business severely. This research explores the implementation of a corporate sustainable supplier strategy designed to cope with such risks from an agency theory perspective.Design/methodology/approachA case study of a multinational enterprise, a provider of leading mobility solutions in the realm of escalators, moving walkways and elevators, is conducted. Data is collected from multiple sources of evidence, including strategy documents, a focus group and semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe study identifies several implementation challenges and coping mechanisms in firstly, the agency relationships between the headquarter and the regional subsidiary units and secondly, the relationships between the regional subsidiary units and their suppliers.Research limitations/implicationsA framework conceptualising the implementation of sustainable supplier strategies is proposed. The framework positions the topic at the interface between supply chain sustainability risk, supplier quality management as well as agency relationships and identifies avenues for further research. The key limitations refer to the single case study methodology and the exclusion of suppliers in the data collection approach.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework can support multinational enterprises in developing corporate sustainability strategies and in implementing them in the supplier network.Originality/valueThe originality of the framework lies in the integrated approach combining supply chain sustainability risk, supplier quality management and triadic agency relationships.

Кельтиберы в римской армии на рейнско-германском лимесе

The article analyses the role of the military units of the Spanish Celtiberian tribes in the Roman military structures at the Germanic frontier (Limes Germanicus) in the I-III centuries A.D. There is a lack of special historical works on this issue both in the world and domestic historiography. The guides mention briefly subsidiary units of the Roman army that were recruited in Spain. Seven subsidiary units of the Roman army that were formed in Asturias, the territory in the Province of Hispania Tarraconensis where the Celtiberians resided, were accommodated along the Germanic frontier (Limes Germanicus), in the provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, Raetia and Noricum.

The Search for Order in Municipal Administration: Herman A. Metz and the New York City Experience, 1898–1909

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the administrative and accounting reforms coordinated by Herman A. Metz around the turn of the 20th century in New York City. Reform efforts were motivated by deficiencies in administering New York City's finances, including a lack of internal control over monetary resources and operational activities, and opaque financial reports. The activities of Comptroller Metz, who collaborated with institutions such as the New York Bureau of Municipal Research, were paramount in initiating and implementing the administrative and accounting reforms in the city, which contributed to reform efforts across the country. Metz promoted the adoption of functional cost classifications for city departments, developed flowcharts for improved transaction processing, strengthened internal controls, and published the 1909 Manual of Accounting and Business Procedure of the City of New York, which laid the groundwork for transparent financial reports capable of providing vital information about the city's activities and subsidiary units.JEL Classifications: H72, M41, N91.Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.

Performance Evaluation of MSMEs During Pre- and Post-liberalisation Era

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities. These are more vibrant in countries like India where population is more and labour-intensive manufacturing establishments are huge in number. In general, these firms are established in rural and economically backward regions, thereby a regional balance may be achieved through the equal distribution of wealth. MSMEs are considered complementary to heavy industries as subsidiary units and provide enormous socio-economic development to the nation. MSMEs contribute about 8 per cent of the country’s GDP, with 45 per cent of manufacturing yield and 40 per cent of exports. After the agricultural sector, MSMEs provide lion’s share of employment for the jobless. Further, they provide a diverse range of goods and services that satisfy the needs of local, national and international supply chains. Globalisation is said to be a necessary evil. The advent of the WTO brings a variety of challenges to developing nations as these are frail in bargaining capacity against their counterparts. As a result, developing nations like India are subjected to all those adverse effects of globalisation, and the MSMEs sector is not exceptional. The existing literature in the subject indicates that there is a considerable fall in the growth rate of the number of units, output, exports and employment generation after post-globalisation, and this trend is the matter of serious concern for the policymakers and decision-makers. In this junction, the present article is intended to investigate the impact of globalisation on the performance of MSMEs. The study is divided into three sections. The first section devotes to introduce the study area of the present article, review of the literature and objectives and methodology of the research. The growth and trend of MSMEs in India during the pre- and post-globalisation eras are discussed in the second section. The summary and conclusion of the study is given in the last section.

Subsidiary survival: a case study from the Portuguese electronics industry

PurposeThe existing literature suggests that multinational corporations (MNCs) divest subsidiary units whenever they cease to enjoy the advantages of ownership, location or internalization. However, not all MNCs divest under these conditions. This paper aims to explore the factors that contributed to the survival of a particular subsidiary and prevented it from being divested.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis focuses on an individual subsidiary of a large foreign MNC in the electronics industry, which divested other subsidiaries from Portugal. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe subsidiary’s diverse customer base, specificity and high level of efficiency, the local advantages, the existing governmental agreements and the parent MNC’s previous unsuccessful relocation experiences seem to have contributed to the survival of the subsidiary.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the results of the case study are not generalizable to the entire population of firms, the featured case study is a rare survival success story in the Portuguese electronics industry.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework may offer public authorities measures to create conditions to encourage firms to retain their investment in a particular site. For corporate strategists, new perspectives on subsidiary survival are provided.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few qualitative studies in the field of subsidiary survival. The results offer an integrative framework on which factors contribute to the survival of a subsidiary located on a comparatively unfavorable labor cost location and support the role of the organizational learning and of previous failed relocation experiences and relocation barriers when a parent MNC decides whether to retain a unit.

Headquarter and Subsidiaries: Analyzing a Social Media Platform Within MNCs

Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer within the corporation form an important source of knowledge capital within multinational corporations (MNCs). With the development of social media technologies, more and more MNCs are adopting knowledge sharing platform to facilitate the knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer in their global network, and break the knowledge silo across geographical boundaries. The adoption of this new technology is expected to improve MNCs’ competitive advantage by reducing manufacturing cost, improving employee performance, facilitating product development and localization, and advancing innovation. In this research, we employ a unique dataset from a social media knowledge sharing platform within a leading multinational manufacturing company headquartered in Europe. We estimate a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that explicitly allows employee latent engagement to drive employee knowledge sharing decisions on this social media platform, and examine the dynamics of knowledge flow between corporate headquarter and subsidiaries). We illustrate that by contributing more answers and high quality answers on the platform, receiving unit members can improve peers’ engagement towards them, and obtain higher knowledge benefit in the long run. In addition, while social media platform is employed to break the knowledge silo, our results suggest that colocation has a positive impact on knowledge sharing, thus lead to formation of knowledge silo along the boundary between headquarter and subsidiary units. However, engagement and knowledge sharing towards receiving unit can moderate the colocation effect thus break the knowledge silos. Our results provide important managerial implications for implementation of future knowledge sharing platforms.

Challenges of Utilizing the Primary Health Safety Index Tool for Assessing the Vulnerability of Healthcare Centers to Disasters.

As important infrastructures in every community, hospitals and healthcare centers are required to continue their operation during normal and disastrous situations and respond to the situation and provide services for the injured. In 2008, the hospital safety index (HSI) was proposed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for evaluating the safety of hospitals and healthcare facilities in potential hazardous situations. The hazards threatening these facilities can be identified using a checklist, and categorized as structural, non-structural and functional vulnerability while considering their likelihood of occurrence, frequency, harmful outcomes and numerical estimate of damage. In 2016, risk and safety assessments in disasters were performed in 280 healthcare centers affiliated to Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran, including 204 medical homes, 66 comprehensive urban and rural health centers and 10 district health centers. The present research was conducted using the hazard assessment guidelines developed by the Iranian Ministry of Health. The results revealed that geologic hazards, climatologic threats, epidemics and traffic accidents were respectively the most frequent hazards threatening healthcare centers in Ilam province. Moreover, the levels of the structural, non-structural and functional safety of the healthcare centers were respectively found to be 20.34%, 27.67% and 21.53%. The overall safety of the health centers was also estimated at 22.79%. In fact, the safety level received a score of 3 out of 10. Hatami et al. obtained a safety index of 4 out of 10, and found the level of functional safety to be 51.48%, that of structural safety 33.97%, that of non-structural safety 54.82% and that of overall safety 43.72%. Moreover, an evaluation of the safety level of Iranian health centers in the face of disasters in 2015 reported a functional safety level of 29%, a structural safety level of 36%, a non-structural safety level of 21% and an overall safety level of 29%. The safety levels of healthcare centers in Ilam province were therefore lower than those reported as the national mean safety indices. In addition, the present results were expressed through their root cause analysis. The unsatisfactory preparedness level of healthcare centers in Ilam province on a national scale based on the hazard assessment guidelines developed by the Ministry of Health can be attributed to the following factors: The very old building structures of the health centers contributing to lower safety and higher risks Failing to complete the checklists according to the instructions provided for national assessment tools; the checklists should have been completed by skilled, well-educated experts who were informed of how to use the instruments and how to complete the checklists. The invalidity of the obtained results associated with completing the checklists by experts of the Deputy of Health and subsidiary units, who lacked knowledge about structural engineering and building architecture. In fact, the intrinsic features of some of the instruments required asking for assistance from engineering experts such as architects, civil engineers and urban engineers to complete the checklists; nevertheless, financial limitations prevented the use of specialist expertise. Failing to take the necessary measures to promote the safety and efficiency of the healthcare centers despite the neglect reflected in the annually-completed preparedness assessment tools; the annual status of safety and preparedness of healthcare centers in Ilam was reported to be unsatisfactory. As a major component of management, control is a combination of actions required for identifying strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities through monitoring and evaluating the processes and solving the system problems by performing appropriate intervention. The improvement of the status quo is not guaranteed unless controls lead to interventions. The results obtained through assessing the preparedness and safety of hospitals appear to have not affected the strategic programs, policies and procedures of the health system authorities in a way that safety levels are enhanced in healthcare facilities. The policy makers are therefore recommended to revise the methods used to take advantage of this information.

Strategic Management for Global Firms: A Conceptual Discussion

Global organizations have to proceed with a global and strategic perspective in order to be effective. This is in contrast to domestically or regionally focused organizations. Global organizations would benefit from simultaneously pursuing: (a) led by headquarters (HQ) selectively-fostered integrative, global and strategic approaches, and, (b) decentralized foreign subsid­iary tactical and operational initiatives. The simultaneous pursuits of the two divergent approaches require capable management teams at both levels: (a) the global HQ, as well as, (b) the foreign subsidiary units. The unique task environments of each foreign subsidiary make it compelling for the HQ to delegate the operational decision making to the foreign subsidiary. For the combined and well-coordinated global vision, choices, goals and strategy, the HQ must take the strategic leadership role.The partnership and collaborative efforts among the HQ and foreign subsidiaries’ executives will foster a together-ness feeling and better ownership of the responsibility among the foreign subsidiaries’ executives. The hierarchical, top-down approach would then be replaced by a joint, information-sharing approach that would engender an era of trust and mutual respect. There would be closer to power equality rather than disproportionate distribution of power. Power would then be posited to where most information and direct skills reside.

Taking archives to the people

PurposeDespite the availability of the mandate of public archives repositories to “take archives to the people in South Africa”, archives in South Africa remain largely the domain of the elite. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of social media in South Africa as a tool for taking archives to the people especially young people between the age of 13 and 34. The researchers confined the study to all ten public archives repositories in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study collected data using survey questionnaires and web-based content analysis of social media presence of public archives repositories.FindingsThe study revealed that few public archives repositories are using Facebook, followed by Twitter and LinkedIn to engage users. The public archives repositories rely mostly on social media platforms operated by their mother bodies as they are subsidiary units within arts and culture departments in government. As a result, public archives repositories are restricted to operate their own accounts on social media. It is argued that public archives should be allowed by their mother departments to operate their own accounts on social media platforms. Failure to change this restriction could lead to public archival institutions continuing to take archives away from the people, instead of taking archives to the people.Research limitations/implicationsThe study sought to provide useful practical implications for public archives repositories as it would serve as a benchmarking tool to enable the development and reporting on the visibility and accessibility of archival material, and thus ensure an increased public knowledge of archives.Originality/valueThe study triangulated data collection instruments that helped to collect as much and as diverse data as possible, which generated the best possible insights into the phenomenon of interest. Previous similar studies in South Africa utilised only survey method with either interviews or questionnaires as data collection tools.

A Nurturing HQ Is Good for the MNC

Good parenting, nurturing, training and close networking within the organization by the headquarters are very vital for the overall MNC. An MNC’s HQ must pursue better nurturing and fostering developmental and networking approaches in its relationships with its foreign subsidiary units. A well supported and nurtured constellation of foreign subsidiaries will perform more cooperatively and harmoniously within the framework of the overall MNC organization. In turn, these approaches will generate more effective strategies for competitive performance because of the improved cross-fertilization of ideas. This is for younger and mature organizations because of the inherent hierarchical difference between the HQ and the foreign subsidiaries. The HQ must pursue a spirit of collaboration and partnership that would generate a feeling of near equality among the partners. HQ may give the final assent even so, only after good deliberations and factual and rational analyses. Good nurturing and close communications would likely align the values and views of the many disparate foreign units, given the diverse environments of operations. Learning in an MNC organization, which has these collaborative, closer internal and stakeholder networking, communicative attributes, is multi-directional: HQ learns as much from the foreign subsidiary units as the units learns from the HQ. Closer internal and external stakeholder networking in an MNC and good parenting and nurturing involve good, continuous expatriate training. These activities result in better organizational effectiveness and competitiveness.

The Intra-MNE Dynamics of Multinational Firms and Subsidiary Mandate Change

This research examines the intra-dynamics in multinational enterprises (MNEs) that reconfigure subsidiary mandate portfolio. In particular, we pay attention to the fact that heightened complexity stemming from heterogeneous business operations makes parent- or subsidiary- driven explanations less valid to understand how a subsidiary’s mandate portfolio changes. In this paper, we aim to offer a complete picture of intra- MNE dynamics by identifying how subsidiary-subsidiary dynamics also affect mandate portfolio change. In particular, drawing on multimarket contact literature, we identify that both cooperative and competitive conditions between subsidiary units affect mandate portfolio change. Based on a sample of 4,509 Japanese subsidiaries from 1991 to 2014, the findings confirm that subsidiaries redefine their mandate portfolio in response to strategic moves of other subsidiaries.

КЕЛЬТИБЕРЫ В РИМСКОЙ АРМИИ В ПРОВИНЦИИ БРИТАНИЯ В ЭПОХУ ПРИНЦИПАТА

The article analyzes the role of the military units of the Spanish Celtiberian tribes in the Roman military structure in the Province of Britain in the Principate epoch. There is a lack of special historical works on this issue both in the world and domestic historiography. The guides mention briefly the subsidiary units of the Roman army that were recruited in Spain. From the sixteen subsidiary units of the Roman army, which were accommodated in the Province, six were formed in Asturias, the territory in the Province of Hispania Tarraconensis where the Celtiberians resided.

The microfoundations of subsidiary initiatives: How subsidiary manager activities unlock entrepreneurship

Research Summary: We use a microfoundations lens to challenge the assumption of a simple relationship between organizational‐level context (subsidiary entrepreneurial orientation) and entrepreneurial outcomes (initiative realization). Drawing on middle manager and subsidiary literature, we argue that the strategic activities of the subsidiary's central actor, the subsidiary CEO (referred to as the subsidiary manager), translates the benefits of subsidiary entrepreneurship for initiative realization. We test this mediating effect of subsidiary manager micro‐level activities on data from 186 individuals. The results of our multilevel mediation analysis show that micro‐activities of subsidiary managers mobilize subsidiary entrepreneurship for initiative realization, “downward” through facilitating subsidiary adaptability and “horizontally” through enabling embeddedness in the local environment. Our findings also challenge the accepted value of “upward” championing alternatives. Revealing the centrality of subsidiary manager activities for unlocking entrepreneurship demonstrates the value of adopting a microfoundations lens for understanding organizational phenomena.Managerial Summary: Multinational companies (MNCs) increasingly expect their subsidiary units to contribute through realizing initiatives, such as new product, service, or process designs. Such outcomes are encouraged through a supporting organizational context for entrepreneurship. But to understand how an entrepreneurial context translates into realized initiatives demands that we apply a microfoundations lens and consider the activities of the subsidiary's central actor, the subsidiary chief executive officer—referred to as the “subsidiary manager.” The subsidiary manager is responsible for mobilizing the subsidiary to develop relationships to access the knowledge, ideas, and opportunities implicit in the initiative process. Revealing the impact of these micro‐activities advances our understanding of how to liberate the benefits of entrepreneurship for realizing initiatives. This study offers key insights for both subsidiary managers and headquarters.

Фонд селища як форма участі населення в управлінні допоміжних підрозділів комуни

Фонд селища як форма участі населення в управлінні допоміжних підрозділів комуни

State and Social Regulation of Informal Sector Labour: Silkreeling Industry of Ramanagaram, Karnataka

This paper presents analysis of the relationship between state and social regulation in the silk-reeling cluster in the town of Ramanagaram in Karnataka. This cluster has been a site for silk-reeling since its birth and it currently contains over a thousand home-based reeling and subsidiary units and they, together, employ a majority of the population. The discussion we present here draws from in depth conversations with various stakeholders in the sector – reeling unit owners, the workers in this sector, the various agents involved in this trade, officials managing state-run markets, and the bureaucrats involved in the development and implementation of policy. Production units in the silk reeling industry come under the category of the informal: exempt from systematic enforcement of labour legislation pertaining to factory work because of their location within entrepreneur's homes. However, the state is certainly not absent from the sector as a whole and in fact plays a crucial role in key activities located outside the site of production. We argue that in the context of an economy where owners of production units often run units with their own labour and that of their families or work alongside hired labour, state policy for the sector and the process of its implementation as a whole is a form of regulation of work. Our work analyses the complex relationship between socio-economic hierarchy of production units and the ability of firms to accumulate a surplus, in order to understand both why (i) the silk-reeling industry has seen lags in technological advancement and very little expansion despite the growing demand for silk yarn and why (ii) state support for the sector is becoming even more concentrated towards elite entrepreneurs than it was in the past.

Theorizing subsidiarity: Towards an ontology-sensitive approach

In the context of definitional confusion, it might seem recklessly counterproductive to suggest that what we agree on in relation to subsidiarity is perhaps more problematic than what we disagree on. Nonetheless, the purpose of this article is to challenge the uncontroversial starting-point of much subsidiarity analysis: that subsidiarity allocates functions between “higher” and “lower” levels. Recent scholarship on subsidiarity in political philosophy expresses a frank concern about a decontextualized and dogmatic use of those terms and reminds us that subsidiarity is premised on a preexisting social ontology. In order to recognize subsidiarity’s ontological commitments, this paper proposes an ontology-sensitive approach to subsidiarity, and the use of the terms primary units (in place of “lower levels”) and subsidiary units (in place of “higher levels”). Through the fictional example of the Good Fight Club, the practical implications of an ontology-sensitive theory of subsidiarity are discussed, revealing four precepts which direct the interaction between primary and subsidiary units. These four precepts are then used as benchmarks against which to appraise the European principle of subsidiarity.

Divinity rules: towards a revised typology of multinational corporate parenting styles

Based on a review of allied literatures, along with evidence from two waves of research conducted in a range of wholly owned multinational subsidiaries operating in Russia, we seek to reignite interest in corporate parenting theory. In an effort at so doing, we advance a revised and extended typology of multinational corporate parenting styles designed to capture the continuum of different approaches identifiable in multinational headquarter-subsidiary interactions. Invoking ancient Greek mythology, we propose a four-way classification of the observed dominant styles. Multinational corporations pursuing a Cronus parenting style emphasize exploitation and demonstrate a proclivity for continuously extracting value from their subsidiary units. In contrast, multinationals following a Rhea parenting style focus on adding value to their subsidiaries. In adopting this posture, they place a strong emphasis on care and accommodation in parent-subsidiary interactions. Zeus style multinational parents encourage heroism among their offspring, something that is commonly leveraged through adding financial value to the subsidiary and extracting a range of other types of value in return. Finally, those multinational parents pursuing an Athena parenting style place an emphasis on developing and safeguarding wisdom in their subsidiaries and display a continuous desire for a balanced exchange of value in their ongoing interactions. Arising from our revised typology of multinational corporate parenting styles and the illustrative case examples provided, we set down a number of possible lines of inquiry for future research.