Dynamique de constitution des compétences d'innovation dans une FMN : Le cas Valeo

Thesis  defended on the 3rd of July at 2:00pm  at  Campus de l'École polytechnique, bâtiment ENSTA, 828 Boulevard des Maréchaux 91120 Palaiseau in room 1.4.13.

This thesis focuses on the way multinational corporations (MNCs) develop and manage the required competences to sustain their innovation strategy when their market dynamism is shifting towards Asia. The literature presents various models to organize innovation processes globally but does not answer the question of their dynamic constitution based on a given situation. Drawing upon an interactive research conducted within Valeo – a worldwide automotive supplier – this thesis focuses on that dynamic dimension. It sheds light on how (i) China constitutes a disruptive experience for the Western MNC because of the speed and scale of the phenomenon, as well as the context, (ii) the strategy implemented by the MNC in China from Europe has helped to deal with the difficult situation in the short term, but is not the best way to develop the necessary competences locally to enable the local teams to become autonomous. We thus suggest: (i) at the micro level, a new way of designing training programs that involves shifting from a teachingcentered approach to a learning-centered approach, (ii) at the macro level, a trajectory to improve the constitution of R-I-D (Research, Innovation, Development) competences in the global firm, on the one hand in China via the coaching of local trainers and the development of communities of practice, and on the other hand globally via the constitution of an organizational vehicle such as a Corporate University, to address simultaneously learning and talent management issues – both individually & collectively, locally & globally, in-house & in link with the outside world.

Keywords: competence, innovation, R&D, multinational, training, learning,

Jury: