Global-local dilemmas for a medium-sized firm

In order to operate efficiently on a global scale, business organizations face the dilemma that on the one hand they have to operate globally whereas they also have to be firmly rooted in local cultures, markets and power networks and must accord to local laws. There is abundant literature on the global-local dilemma as expierenced by MNOs, the focus being on Human Resource Management. When studying which management challenges internationally operating SMEs face, one finds little literature. Data in this study mainly come from an Italian SME, Tekno Point, that operates in Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. A focus on HRM was not found. Being small, SMEs adapt themselves one way or another to local conditions and that happens ''automatically''. For a SME the dilemma seems to materialize in the form of insufficient Planning & Control and lack of business information. The dilemma to its director being that he has to run what has the characteristics of a divisionalized firm with the resources of a simple structure. How can he manage and control this? This work provides a study into this problem as well that it offers some solutions.