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The tyranny of the head office? Revisiting corporate headquarters’ (CHQs) role in MNE subsidiary initiatives

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  • Alain Verbeke

    (University of Calgary
    University of Reading
    Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Wenlong Yuan

    (University of Manitoba)

Abstract

What roles should corporate headquarters (CHQs) of multinational enterprises (MNEs) play in foreign subsidiary initiatives? Rather than viewing the MNE’s CHQ as a single, internally homogenous unit, we call for examining the diversity of individual decision-makers who can be driven by a variety of motivations and have different abilities. Motivations and abilities together determine whether or not corporate executives will choose to intervene in subsidiary initiatives and the effectiveness of such intervention. If dysfunctional, the “tyranny of the head office” materializes. We apply the Coleman-boat concept to show how contextual analyses at the MNE level and the proposed analyses of individual decision-makers need to be combined when exploring the underlying micro-foundational mechanisms of decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Alain Verbeke & Wenlong Yuan, 2020. "The tyranny of the head office? Revisiting corporate headquarters’ (CHQs) role in MNE subsidiary initiatives," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jorgde:v:9:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1186_s41469-020-0065-6
    DOI: 10.1186/s41469-020-0065-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Igor Gurkov & Michael J. Morley, 2022. "Anticipated Trajectories Of Development In Global Industries And The Evolution Of Corporate Parenting Styles Of Multinational Corporations," HSE Working papers WP BRP 65/MAN/2022, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    2. Sven Kunisch & Markus Menz & David Collis, 2020. "Corporate headquarters in the twenty-first century: an organization design perspective," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-32, December.
    3. Alain Verbeke, 2021. "The long-term energy transition and multinational enterprise complexity: A BJM–JIBS Joint Initiative," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 803-806, July.
    4. Grazia D. Santangelo & Alain Verbeke, 2022. "Actionable guidelines to improve ‘theory-related’ contributions to international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 1843-1855, December.
    5. Reichstein-Scholz, Harriet & Giroud, Axèle & Yamin, Mo & Andersson, Ulf, 2021. "Sales to centre stage! Determinants of the division in strategic sales decisions within the MNE," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).

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