How does digitalization affect headquarters and what does it mean for CEE-focused headquarters in Austria?

Headquarters (HQs) represent central units within corporationsi and their goal is to add value to the firm and its respective subunits. They do so by taking over various responsibilities, such as allocating resources within the firm, coordinating and monitoring subunits, and identifying and realizing synergies, among others. HQs are also important for the economy of the countries they are located in, as they offer for example high-value employment, increased demand for related business services (e.g., legal and financial services), and represent a non-trivial source of tax income. Additionally, there is scientific evidence suggesting that the location of the HQ influences its investment decisions and consequently adjacent economies (e.g., investments that are in regions close to the HQ are favoured). Thus, many countries consider it important to attract and maintain HQsii. In this article, we will focus on a topic that has not received much attention yet. Specifically, we discuss how digitalization (i.e., recent advancements in areas such as big data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, etc.) influences HQs in Austria, most of which have a strong focus on CEE countries. Companies are dealing with a variety of issues stemming from digitalization, which results in changes to business models, firm processes, and company culturesiii. Yet, digitalization also affects the role and value added of the HQs but we still lack a clear understanding of thativ. In the following, we first discuss Austria as a location for HQs, then the impact of digitalization on HQs, and finally, we explore how the digitalization might influence the attractiveness of Austria for CEE-oriented HQs. Thereby, we refer to recent empirical material that we have collected

Headquarters involvement, socialization, and entrepreneurial behaviors in MNC subsidiaries

Headquarters of multinational corporations can be involved in their subsidiaries and help with the development and transfer of innovative ideas. However, headquarters involvement might not always be desired or needed, and it can thus be perceived as interference with local activities, potentially reducing local willingness to go the extra mile. We address the lack of knowledge about subsidiary manager behavior by answering the following question: How does headquarters involvement influence the proactive behavior of subsidiary managers to push for new and innovative ideas? Using data from 120 top managers in subsidiaries of multinational corporations, we find that the negative relationship between headquarters involvement and their subsidiary managers' support for initiatives can be reduced when socialization mechanisms such as a common corporate culture or rotation programs are put in place

The dynamic response process to conflicting institutional demands in MNC subsidiaries - An inductive study in the Sub-Saharan African e-commerce sector

In this paper, we examine responses to the conflicting institutional demands faced by an e-commerce subsidiary located in Sub-Saharan Africa and headquartered in Europe. Following an inductive approach, we gathered data from a 6-month participant-observation study and interviews with local managers. Our findings show that the subsidiary managers responded to conflicting institutional demands in a dynamic way, taking one response after the other. In some cases, the subsidiary managers responded in a way that they thought would be satisfactory but subsequent pressures from their headquarters or their local environment pushed them to adopt a new response. In other cases, the subsidiary managers intentionally adopted responses knowing that they would (have to) adopt another response later in the process

How corporate headquarters add value in the digital age

How will digitalization influence the role of corporate headquarters (CHQs) and their relationships with their operating units? We recently asked 67 senior CHQ managers this question. The results suggest that CHQs expect to become more powerful and more involved in their operating units. These conclusions seem to be driven by perceptions that the ongoing digitalization will provide CHQ managers with more timely and better information. In this "Point of View", we discuss the potential pitfalls of such a narrative. We also offer ideas for how to avoid mistakes and ensure that CHQs increase their value-added in times of digitalization. In particular, we suggest that CHQs place emphasis on social interactions for data to be effectively collected and analyzed, for decision-making power to be adequately allocated, and for CHQ involvement to be informed and necessary

IFMIF suitability for evaluation of fusion functional materials

The International FusionMaterials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is a future neutron source based on the D-Li stripping reaction, planned to test candidate fusionmaterials at relevant fusion irradiation conditions. During the design of IFMIF special attention was paid to the structural materials for the blanket and first wall, because they will be exposed to the most severe irradiation conditions in a fusion reactor. Also the irradiation of candidate materials for solid breeder blankets is planned in the IFMIF reference design. This paper focuses on the assessment of the suitability of IFMIF irradiation conditions for testing functionalmaterials to be used in liquid blankets and diagnostics systems, since they are been also considered within IFMIF objectives. The study has been based on the analysis and comparison of the main expected irradiation parameters in IFMIF and DEMO reactor

How senior managers use name-based heuristics to allocate financial resources in multinational corporations

Funding Information: We thank the Guest Editors and three anonymous reviewers for detailed and constructive comments. We are grateful to Owen Powell for his help with the experiment. This paper greatly benefited from discussions with and comments of Fernando Anjos, Olivier Bertrand, Ben Greiner, Alison E. Holm, and Randi Lunnan. We are thankful to seminar participants at IESE, University of Valencia, and WU Vienna as well as reviewers and participants of the Academy of Management Annual Meeting and of the Academy of International Business Annual Meeting for their valuable inputs. This study received funding from WU Vienna, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020 and Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016), POR Lisboa and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Management Studies published by Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.The allocation of financial resources to entrepreneurial initiatives in subsidiaries of multinational corporations is crucial to their realization. When allocating resources to these initiatives, senior headquarters managers face uncertainty that they attempt to address using various heuristics, which may bias allocation. Name-based heuristics – cognitive shortcuts based on names associated with a decision-making situation – have been shown to influence financial decisions ranging from food purchase to stock investment. Yet little is known about name-based heuristics in the allocation of financial resources to entrepreneurial initiatives. We analyse 1308 resource allocation decisions made by 109 senior managers in an experiment in which we vary subsidiary country and subsidiary manager names. We find that psychic distance to the subsidiary country is negatively related to resource allocation when subsidiary managers' names express a potential expatriate status. In contrast, this relationship is positive when subsidiary managers' names express a potential local status. We contextualize our results by interviewing senior managers and discuss how reliance on name-based heuristics to infer the context of an initiative or the interests and competences of subsidiary managers can lead to biased decisions.publishersversionpublishe

More effective solutions? Senior managers and non-routine problem solving

Research Summary Solving non-routine problems—problems for which current organizational, recurrent action patterns do not offer a predetermined, effective solution—can be an important source of value creation. When these problems occur in subsidiaries of multinational corporations, senior headquarters managers can potentially help solve them. However, whether their involvement is beneficial rests upon the assumptions that they know which knowledge is appropriate and that their involvement does not negatively influence the problem solving process. We challenge these assumptions and theorize that the involvement of senior headquarters managers is negatively related to solution effectiveness, unless senior subsidiary managers are also involved, and especially if problems have an external locus (i.e., primarily relate to the firm's products and services). Our robust results are consistent with our theory. Managerial Summary Companies are often faced with new problems, which represent an opportunity for organizational improvements. But how different types of senior managers influence problem solving effectiveness has remained unclear. Studying problems occurring in foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations, we find that the involvement of senior headquarters managers is negatively related to problem solving effectiveness. Two reasons explain this result: senior headquarters managers often lack necessary understanding of their subsidiaries' contexts; and their involvement diminishes active participation of subsidiary employees. The negative relationship is especially strong when problems relate to products and services (as opposed to internal processes). Furthermore, we find that senior subsidiary managers can mitigate the negative consequences related to senior headquarters managers' involvement

Diagnostic Components in Harsh Radiation Environments: Possible Overlap in R&D Requirements of IC and MF Systems

The next generation of large scale fusion devices--ITER/LMJ/NIF--will require diagnostic components to operate in environments far more severe than those encountered in present facilities. This harsh environment will be induced by fluxes of neutrons, gamma rays, energetic ions, electromagnetic radiation, and in some cases debris and shrapnel, at levels several orders of magnitude higher than those experienced in today's devices. For several years the question of possible synergy between inertial and the magnetic confinement research has been pursued by members of the respective communities. A first joint workshop specifically devoted to the identification and promotion of these synergies was organized in France, at Aix-en-Provence from June 27th to 29th, 2007. The workshop was attended by about 50 invited specialists. The participants identified a number of subject areas where common overlapping interests could benefit from additional interactions and meetings: windows, optical fibers, mirrors, cables, electronic components and 14 MeV neutron sources. In this paper we summarize the findings of these working groups. We put the discussion into context by including a brief description of the environments and the physical effects that have to be handled

Experimental contribution to thermodynamics of Ag-Zr and Ag-Cd-In phase diagrams

En cas d’accident grave dans un réacteur nucléaire à eau sous pression, l’alliage absorbant Ag-Cd-In est susceptible d’interagir à haute température avec leurs tubes guides en zircaloy. L’étude thermodynamique du liquide et des équilibres impliquant cette phase dans les systèmes Ag-Zr et Ag-Cd-In est une étape pour une estimation des relâchements de produits de fission. Le système Ag-Zr est difficile à étudier en raison de la réactivité du zirconium, à l’état liquide et avec l’oxygène, et de la difficulté à atteindre l’équilibre et enfin car les stabilités des phases intermédiaires AgZr et AgZr2 sont faibles. Après la mise en place de protocoles expérimentaux, les réactions invariantes du système sont établies en couplant l’analyse thermique différentielle avec des caractérisations par MEB. Un diagramme de phases Ag-Zr est proposé. Des mesures de calorimétrie de dissolution en bain aluminium sont effectuées à 723°C dans le but de déterminer l’enthalpie de formation de AgZr et AgZr2. Les résultats montrent la difficulté de dissoudre le zirconium dans l’aluminium liquide. Un modèle est développé pour quantifier la cinétique de dissolution. L’enthalpie de formation de AgZr est déterminée par calorimétrie de dissolution en bain acide à 25°C. L’extension dans le diagramme Ag-In-Cd du domaine de stabilité de la phase liquide est précisée en combinant une méthode isotherme de recuit et trempe d’échantillons biphasés solide/liquide avec la calorimétrie différentielle à balayage . La cohérence de ces nouveaux résultats entre eux et avec les données de la littérature est testée par le biais d’une optimisation thermodynamique suivant la méthode CALPHAD.During a severe accident in a Pressurized Water Reactor, the Ag-In-Cd absorbing alloy is likely to interact at a high temperature with their guide tubes or with the fuel rod cladding, both in Zry. The thermodynamic study of liquid phase and its equilibria in the Ag-Zr and Ag-Cd-In systems is a necessary step for an estimate of the fission product release and of the corium progression. The aim is to bring an experimental contribution to this thermodynamic study. The Ag-Zr system is difficult to study experimentally for various reasons. Zirconium, especially when liquid, is reactive with oxygen. Equilibria often prove difficult to reach. Last, the stabilities of AgZr and AgZr2 are low. After the establishment of experimental protocols, the invariant transformations of the system were established by coupling differential thermal analysis with characterization by metallography and scanning electron microscopy. A Ag-Zr phase diagram is proposed. Solution calorimetry measurements in an Al bath were performed at 723°C to determine the enthalpy of formation of AgZr and AgZr2. Results show the difficulty of dissolving solid zirconium in aluminum. A model was developed to quantify the dissolution kinetics. The formation enthalpy of AgZr was determined by solution calorimetry in an acid bath at 25°C. In the Ag-In-Cd system, the extension of the liquid phase stability domain is specified by combining an isothermal method of annealing and quenching of biphasic solid / liquid samples with differential scanning calorimetry. The consistency of the new results between them and compared to the literature has been tested by means of a thermodynamic optimization following the CALPHAD method