eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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Objectives of the Thesis: This study contributes to the knowledge of how Finnish multinational companies do business in Brazil, with a perspective of local subsidiary employees. Differences in local business and cultural context were the catalyst to look at the management practices of Finnish MNCs active in Brazil.The theoretic part concentrates on studying management from the part of control, business communication within the MNC, as well as cultural traits in Brazil and Finland. The framework aims to deliver a model, drawing on the connection of the above mentioned areas; hence underlining further the importance of communication between the Finnish headquarters (HQs) and Brazilian subsidiary as to increase understanding of the local context and improve management practices at the same time.

Research Methods: Eleven qualitative, individual face-to-face interviews, were done to local Brazilian employees in the state of São Paulo at the local subsidiary offices of the three Finnish MNCs: Savcor, Valtra and Tecnomen. The interview material together with a concise study on the Brazilian business environment build the empiric part of this study.

Results: The empirical results support that national cultural traits do affect communication and management styles, differences are observable between Brazil and Finland. Hence, communication from the subsidiary to the headquarters needs to be strengthened as to improve cooperation between the former and improve management, control standards, according to the local business context and local cultural environment.