Resource allocation in divisionalized groups : a survey of major Swedish groups

This article describes how corporate managers of major Swedish groups exert control over investment requests and the direction of the investments of their groups. Resource allocation procedures have been studied mainly by postal surveys focused on project evaluation techniques. This article applies a partly different approach as the conclusions are based on analyses of capital budgeting manuals and interviews with corporate level financial managers. This enables us to form a better image of the resource allocation system of divisionalized and multinational groups and the role of different kinds of administrative routines in their resource allocation system. Comparisons will be made with other studies of practice in U.K., U.S. and Swedish groups