The Role of Headquarters in the Contemporary MNC: A Contingency Model

Abstract

The role of HQ in the contemporary MNC has recently received a good deal of research attention. This article argues that the contemporary MNC requires an organizational model that can embrace different perspectives of the HQ role. The same HQ must at times hierarchically lead the firm and at other times assume a more passive, facilitative role that allows direct interaction and decision making among the subunits to coordinate interdependency within the firm. To achieve this integration, the article proposes a contingency model that specifies when the HQ should assume a hierarchical role and when it should assume a facilitative role.

Citation

Egelhoff, W.G. and Wolf, J. (2017), "The Role of Headquarters in the Contemporary MNC: A Contingency Model", Multinational Corporations and Organization Theory: Post Millennium Perspectives (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 49), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 71-98. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20160000049003