Abstract
** This is a summarized version of the abstract to meet the word count requirements **
Purpose: This paper aims to explore the complexities of managing operations and strategies across diverse countries and business units. The study builds on existing theories of knowledge management as a critical factor to level up performance and drive excellence across the group, capturing lessons learnt from the company’s corporate transformation program, aimed at creating a consistent governance framework and standardizing the approach towards affiliate management.
Methodology/Approach: The paper uses a case study of a large oil and gas company that manages more than 55 affiliates across the globe, with a significant geographical footprint and business scope. The study is based on an initiative to standardize 387 policies and standards across the group, including multiple functions such as finance, legal, engineering, operations, HSSE, operational excellence, and cybersecurity. The data used for this study is qualitative, collected from more than 40 focus group meetings and discussions among the 55 affiliates and the 14 corporate entities that are in charge of the corporate governance. This has been capture in a playbook that contains all Shared Way of Workings (SWOWs).
Findings: The results show that the Affiliate Alignment initiative has the potential to unlock synergies, mitigate risks, and create a common language across the group. Furthermore, the initiative's emphasis on legal compliance and regulatory adherence has significant implications for affiliates operating in different countries, particularly with varying percentages of share ownership. The affiliates' agreements provide a mechanism for the partner to share best practices and requirements, which offering a venue for the affiliates to align with Company governance framework. Regular meetings and clarification sessions to explain the value of these requirements have been found to positively impact the adaptability rate of affiliates, with a notable increase in compliance and adherence to the SWOWs.
Research limitations/implications: One challenge of this study is the complexity of navigating legal framework across regions, which was addressed by engaging legal teams and Affiliates management in focus group meeting. Another implication of this research is that the scope of this AFAL project did not include the initial phases of the M&A process like the due diligence which could offer an early solution to the challenges. These areas offer opportunities for future research
Keywords: Affiliate Alignment, Post Integration Phase, Mergers and acquisitions, (M&A), Corporate Transformation, Governance, Knowledge Management, Organizational Culture, Group Operating Model.