Developing Strategy from the Middle:Subsidiary Strategy and the Role of the Subsidiary General Manager

Donal O'Brien; Pamela Sharkey Scott; Patrick Gibbons

doi:10.21427/d72z1v

Developing Strategy from the Middle:Subsidiary Strategy and the Role of the Subsidiary General Manager

Donal O'Brien, Pamela Sharkey Scott, Patrick Gibbons

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

The multinational subsidiary is a unique context to study management processes relating to strategy but so far, there has not been a coherent approach identifiable in the literature. It is recognised that subsidiaries evolve over time and through their own actions and initiatives have the potential to modify the power structures of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) but little is known about the role of the subsidiary manager in this process. We suggest that the tensions between the headquarters perspective and the subsidiary perspective have resulted in the application of inappropriate frameworks to the study of subsidiary managers. This proposal presents an ongoing empirical study, which addresses previous issues, by testing an organising framework to study strategy development at the subsidiary level of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE).

Original language	English
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.21427/d72z1v
Publication status	Published - 2012
Event	Strategic Management Society Conference (SMS) - Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 1 Oct 2012 → 31 Oct 2012

Conference

Conference	Strategic Management Society Conference (SMS)
Country/Territory	Czech Republic
City	Prague
Period	1/10/12 → 31/10/12

Keywords

multinational subsidiary
management processes
strategy
subsidiary manager
headquarters perspective
subsidiary perspective
organising framework
strategy development
Multinational Enterprise (MNE)

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10.21427/d72z1vLicence: CC BY-NC-SA

Cite this

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abstract = "The multinational subsidiary is a unique context to study management processes relating to strategy but so far, there has not been a coherent approach identifiable in the literature. It is recognised that subsidiaries evolve over time and through their own actions and initiatives have the potential to modify the power structures of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) but little is known about the role of the subsidiary manager in this process. We suggest that the tensions between the headquarters perspective and the subsidiary perspective have resulted in the application of inappropriate frameworks to the study of subsidiary managers. This proposal presents an ongoing empirical study, which addresses previous issues, by testing an organising framework to study strategy development at the subsidiary level of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE).",

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language = "English",

note = "Strategic Management Society Conference (SMS) ; Conference date: 01-10-2012 Through 31-10-2012",

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AU - O'Brien, Donal

AU - Sharkey Scott, Pamela

AU - Gibbons, Patrick

PY - 2012

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N2 - The multinational subsidiary is a unique context to study management processes relating to strategy but so far, there has not been a coherent approach identifiable in the literature. It is recognised that subsidiaries evolve over time and through their own actions and initiatives have the potential to modify the power structures of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) but little is known about the role of the subsidiary manager in this process. We suggest that the tensions between the headquarters perspective and the subsidiary perspective have resulted in the application of inappropriate frameworks to the study of subsidiary managers. This proposal presents an ongoing empirical study, which addresses previous issues, by testing an organising framework to study strategy development at the subsidiary level of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE).

AB - The multinational subsidiary is a unique context to study management processes relating to strategy but so far, there has not been a coherent approach identifiable in the literature. It is recognised that subsidiaries evolve over time and through their own actions and initiatives have the potential to modify the power structures of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) but little is known about the role of the subsidiary manager in this process. We suggest that the tensions between the headquarters perspective and the subsidiary perspective have resulted in the application of inappropriate frameworks to the study of subsidiary managers. This proposal presents an ongoing empirical study, which addresses previous issues, by testing an organising framework to study strategy development at the subsidiary level of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE).

KW - multinational subsidiary

KW - management processes

KW - strategy

KW - subsidiary manager

KW - headquarters perspective

KW - subsidiary perspective

KW - organising framework

KW - strategy development

KW - Multinational Enterprise (MNE)

U2 - 10.21427/d72z1v

DO - 10.21427/d72z1v

M3 - Paper

T2 - Strategic Management Society Conference (SMS)

Y2 - 1 October 2012 through 31 October 2012

ER -

Developing Strategy from the Middle:Subsidiary Strategy and the Role of the Subsidiary General Manager

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

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