Study on the impact of the culture of the host country on the management style of the subsidiaries of multinational firms

Abstract

The globalization of trade and the international situations it generates require reflection on the subsidiaries of multinational firms around the world and the influence that the culture of the country of establishment can cause on the choice of the style of management to adopt.

Indeed, within the subsidiaries of multinational firms, the confrontation with people from different cultures can have an impact on the way of managing the subsidiary, therefore the culture through its three dimensions, namely the national culture, the organizational culture and the culture of the leader can have an effect on the choice of the management style to be adapted within the subsidiaries of multinational firms.

Tunisia, by its geographical position and its competitive costs attracts foreign investors. In order to know the perceptions of individuals from different cultures, we chose the subsidiary CAT COLACEM Tunisia, which is one of the subsidiaries of the Italian group Financo, in which we spent a week in order to carry out semi-structured interviews with foreign managers and local employees.

The objective of this study is to understand the impact of the culture of the country of establishment on the management style of the subsidiary of the multinational firm.