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bind it to the headquarters. The majority of the subsidiaries belonging to this
star formation are in small, often-partitioned national markets (Morocco, Bulgaria,
Congo, etc.). Nearby, we notice in each one of these graphs, sub-centers of control
corresponding to the following:
National branches, directing the activity of each subsidiary company in countries
or small areas (e.g., Germany, Scandinavia or other countries and regional areas);
More rarely, branches by product (e.g., Nestle waters, United Biscuit)
The three graphs of governance of the motor industry are different. Fiat and
Toyota present strongly decentralized models (respectively, 11.75 and 22.62 % of
betweenness centrality held by the headquarters of FIAT and Toyota). These models
present branches organized by products at a global scale. These branches have
strong connections between each other. On the other hand, PSA and its equipment
supplier Faurécia have organized all of their global production around the Parisian
headquarters, and hold 53.97 % of the total betweenness centrality of the graph.
Through this sectorial distinction of the governorship modes of the companies,
we can distinguish two organizational models:
An organizational model of agro-food companies, which articulate production-
oriented strategies and market-oriented strategies inside each network. The
strategies of localization for the subsidiaries mainly follow market dimensions
of the territories. The general structure of each of these networks is relatively
simple, with a concentration on the most important functions at the top and
a weak specialization of the affiliated companies downstream. These mega-
structures articulate affiliates involved in micro-strategies that are adapted to the
markets, which can be drawn as vertical strategies (global geographical division
structure (
Dicken
,
1992
)).
An organizational model of companies of the motor industry, where the strategies
are articulated on a worldwide scale, according to branches organized by
products. The networks have diversified morphologies because the strategies of
the multinational corporations of the motor industry are complicated on a global
scale. The complexity and the diversity of the organizational forms revealed
by these graphs, according to a “federal” model (
Veltz
,
1998
), attest to an
organization by project, which is accompanied by a strong specialization of
subsidiaries (
Francfort et al.
,
1995
) (global products division structure (
Dicken
,
1992
)).
A part of the firms' governance is explained by the economic sector to which
it belongs. As we can clearly see in these two examples, economic logic drives
the governance of a firm depending on the sector. The multinational firms of
the agro-food industry usually choose strategies of multi-localization. Indeed,
they are constrained by strong market segmentation due to extremely diverse
cultural practices. On the other hand, the companies of the automotive sector,
compelled by a strong competitive climate at the global level, instead follow a
“central logic of the globalization which consists in creating synergies in more
and more widened geographical
scales
”(
Veltz
,
1998
, p. 26). The activities within
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