Control and Organizational Learning in MNCs: Proposal of a Framework

Summary form only given. For many companies the process of internationalization strategy leads them to operate in many countries spread over whole continents; they are then confronted with the increasing risks related to uncertainty which rapidly developing countries present (e.g. Argentina in 2001 or Asia in 1997). The MNCs must thus deal with a great number of local heterogeneous situations, fast growth in one, crisis elsewhere, which require local adaptive capacities, but at the same time require the implementation of coordination mechanisms or effective control systems, which do not paralyse initiative and innovation. While considering that "the suitability of the control systems to desired forms of learning within the strategy framework ensures a certain organizational performance", we will reformulate the traditional integration/differentiation dilemma in terms of control/learning interactions. This change has the advantage of posing a traditional problem in a more dynamic way. We will describe these interactions in order to propose an analysis grid