''Managing the Contemporary Multinational'' explores the role of headquarters in different structures of multinational firms and shows how this role is affected by the complexity of contemporary research. This topical book illustrates that contemporary research has added complexity to the attributes of the multinational, with implications for the role of headquarters. It examines claims that subsidiaries contribute to the overall competitiveness of the corporation, that they are organized in corporate networks spanning country borders, and that they depend upon specific relationships in the external network. It is stressed that headquarters' knowledge of the multinational and its business environment is crucial, but also problematic. The eminent contributors question whether headquarters have become more or less important given the complexity of contemporary research, and argue that the answer to this question depends on the theoretical foundation adopted on the multinational. Based on empirical studies, this invaluable book will be a captivating read for students and researchers interested in international business and international management.
Author(s): Ulf M Andersson, Ulf Holm
Series: New Horizons in International Business
Publisher: Edward Elgar Pub
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 333
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Figures......Page 8
Tables......Page 9
Contributors......Page 10
Preface and acknowledgements......Page 12
1. Introduction and overview......Page 14
PART I Headquarters’ role and structures of the multinational......Page 44
2. Beyond heterarchy: emerging futures of the hypermodern MNC......Page 46
3. The role of headquarters in the global factory......Page 73
4. Commander- in- chief or absentee landlord? Key perspectives on headquarters in multinational corporations......Page 98
5. Evaluating the role of parent HQ in a contemporary MNC......Page 119
PART II Headquarters’ monitoring and value- creating roles......Page 136
6. A critical assessment of the business network perspective on HQ control in multinational companies......Page 138
7. Governance costs in headquarters–subsidiary relationships......Page 151
8. Headquarters’ potential value addingby cherry- picking sub- unit technology development projects......Page 173
9. Determinants of HQs’ involvement in innovation transfer......Page 195
10. Internal versus external knowledge sourcing of subsidiaries and the impact of headquarters control......Page 224
11. Managing the transfer of externally embedded subsidiary knowledge: the role of headquarters’ control mechanisms......Page 244
12. The role of national culture in the headquarters–subsidiary relationship in the multinational corporation: the effect of power distance......Page 267
PART III A dialogue about the Uppsala model of internationalization......Page 294
13. A dialogue about the Uppsala model of internationalization......Page 296
14. The Uppsala model of internationalization: a comment......Page 318
Index......Page 324
