Developing a growth strategy for a multinational’s subsidiary in the logistics industry – based on example of Rhenus Logistics Ltd in Ireland

Authors

Bartkowicz, Slawomir Mariusz

Issue Date

2014

Degree

MBA in Business Management

Publisher

Dublin Business School

Rights

Abstract

Logistics companies compete on global and domestic levels, giving significant scope to their subsidiaries for execution of own strategies on local markets, whose development is understood differently by its management, and their viewpoints influence the goals and ambitions concerning growth. In order to illustrate the relevance of this research, the importance of a multinational’s subsidiary growth strategy, as part of the entire corporate business development, will be explored. Although, this research is based on a small non-probability sample, it aims to identify a general concept of growth strategy and evaluate the importance of development of a logistics subsidiary being part of a multinational corporation (MNC). The research literature review presents examples of business growth strategy models and processes, company capabilities, core competences and Porter’s competitive framework. Primary data was obtained through the interviewing of five professionals in order to answer the research questions. Additionally, the paper evaluates the growth process, taking into account internal and external factors and future plans for growth. Finally, the research provides possible growth strategies that might be implemented by a MNC subsidiary. In order to face these factors and become a more competitive and successful branch, a special consideration is taken on the relationship with its customers and the entire MNC’s network. The findings present several conceptual and contextual insights into the role of a subsidiary in the organisation business strategy. The research concludes that whilst it is important to be a strong and vital subsidiary, there is no single path to success. A subsidiary growth strategy should be correlated and supported by the corporate level, and a branch should be an active and integrated part of entire group. Author keywords: Growth, strategy, subsidiary, multinational, logistics