Hétérogénéité du contrôle des filiales dans les groupes de sociétés: causes, outils et conséquences

This article focuses on how management control is used to resolve tensions between autonomy and integration of subsidiaries in large corporate groups. Practices that shape the type of control exerted on subsidiaries are observed empirically through the efforts of the actors involved in reporting mechanisms. The paper argues that intermediate-level managers, who are simultaneously in the position of parent company and subsidiary, seek to legitimize their position within the firm by demonstrating “group management” skills. Such initiatives trigger reactions from leaders of subsidiaries that range from outright opposition to more or less deliberate endorsement. As a result of those interactions, different types of control arise from one group level to another as well as between subsidiaries of a given parent company.