From Rocking the Boat to Wagging the Dog: A Literature Review of Subsidiary Initiative Research and Integrative Framework

Schmid, Stefan; Dzedek, Lars R.; Lehrer, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.intman.2013.06.001

Cited by 63 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The significance of the subsidiary's strategic location (Cantwell & Mudambi, 2011) or an enhanced global network (Andersson et al 2007) for example can add 'weight' to the subsidiary's attention attracting efforts (Birkinshaw et al 2007;Bouquet & Birkinshaw, 2008a). Studies also consider the way subsidiaries may use subtle relational approaches to attract attention such as profile building (Barsoux & Bouquet, 2013), initiative taking Schmid et al 2014) or micro-political strategies (Geppert & Dorrenbacher, 2014), to 'vocalise' the subsidiary's achievements, depicting it as a valuable contributor the MNE (Bouquet & Birkinshaw, 2008a).…”

Section: Positive Chq Attentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legitimacy of subsidiary issue selling: Balancing positive & negative attention from corporate headquarters

Conroy

Collings

2016

Journal of World Business

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We consider how in issue selling, subsidiaries draw on different forms of legitimacy to attract corporate headquarters' (CHQ) positive attention and minimise negative CHQ attention.Through case study evidence, we find that directing CHQ attention to subsidiary issues needs to be executed as a balancing act through forms of subsidiary legitimacy, namely; the personal legitimacy of key individuals at the subsidiary; consequential legitimacy vis-à-vis peer subsidiaries; and linkage legitimacy in the local environment. We develop a typology of subsidiary issue-selling roles and illustrate how negative CHQ attention results from a failure to legitimise issue selling.

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Section: Positive Chq Attentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legitimacy of subsidiary issue selling: Balancing positive & negative attention from corporate headquarters

Conroy

Collings

2016

Journal of World Business

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“…First, the entrepreneurial orientation of the subsidiary (BIRKINSHAW, 1997;BIRKINSHAW et al, 1998a;SCHMID et al, 2014) which assumes the support of the MNC so that the affiliate can commit to risky and innovative decisions on their own. The entrepreneurial orientation would be essential to create innovation in subsidiaries (KEUPP; GASSMANN, 2009;GIBBONS;COUGHLAN, 2010;WILLIAMS, 2009).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most of the literature, the initiatives are seen as a source of competitive power within the MNC (BOUQUET; BIRKINSHAW, 2008;MUDAMBI et al, 2014) through the possibility of creating resources, capabilities and global-mandate gain (Schmid et al, 2014). However, when considering the entrepreneurial orientation an autonomous activity of the subsidiary, many studies advocate that developing their own initiatives without the embeddedness with the headquarters can be risky for the detachment of the subsidiary (DIMITRATOS, LIOUKA; ROSS; YOUNG, 2009).…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this case it is likely that local innovation has an internal focus to meet the requirements established by the corporation (BIRKINSHAW, 1997;BIRKINSHAW;RIDDERSTRÅLE, 1999;DELANY, 2000;SCHMID et al, 2014;WILLIAMS, 2009) and thus create the possibility of it becoming a global innovation. Thus, the first global innovation development process of the subsidiaries can be described by the hypotheses below.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, the innovations of the subsidiary do not always meet the internal demand of the MNC, i.e., it can be a market initiative to solve a specific problem of the external competitive market demand (BIRKINSHAW, 1997;FLEURY;FLEURY;DELANY, 2000;SCHMID et al, 2014). This entails a second course in the development of the global innovation process.…”

Section: H1a: Entrepreneurial Orientation Of the Subsidiary When Modmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Global Innovation in Foreign Subsidiaries: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Corporate Networks

Costa¹,

Borini²

2017

BBR

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The microfoundations of subsidiary initiatives: How subsidiary manager activities unlock entrepreneurship

O’Brien

Scott

Andersson

et al. 2018

Global Strategy Journal

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Research Summary: We use a microfoundations lens to challenge the assumption of a simple relationship between organizational‐level context (subsidiary entrepreneurial orientation) and entrepreneurial outcomes (initiative realization). Drawing on middle manager and subsidiary literature, we argue that the strategic activities of the subsidiary's central actor, the subsidiary CEO (referred to as the subsidiary manager), translates the benefits of subsidiary entrepreneurship for initiative realization. We test this mediating effect of subsidiary manager micro‐level activities on data from 186 individuals. The results of our multilevel mediation analysis show that micro‐activities of subsidiary managers mobilize subsidiary entrepreneurship for initiative realization, “downward” through facilitating subsidiary adaptability and “horizontally” through enabling embeddedness in the local environment. Our findings also challenge the accepted value of “upward” championing alternatives. Revealing the centrality of subsidiary manager activities for unlocking entrepreneurship demonstrates the value of adopting a microfoundations lens for understanding organizational phenomena. Managerial Summary: Multinational companies (MNCs) increasingly expect their subsidiary units to contribute through realizing initiatives, such as new product, service, or process designs. Such outcomes are encouraged through a supporting organizational context for entrepreneurship. But to understand how an entrepreneurial context translates into realized initiatives demands that we apply a microfoundations lens and consider the activities of the subsidiary's central actor, the subsidiary chief executive officer—referred to as the “subsidiary manager.” The subsidiary manager is responsible for mobilizing the subsidiary to develop relationships to access the knowledge, ideas, and opportunities implicit in the initiative process. Revealing the impact of these micro‐activities advances our understanding of how to liberate the benefits of entrepreneurship for realizing initiatives. This study offers key insights for both subsidiary managers and headquarters.

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From Rocking the Boat to Wagging the Dog: A Literature Review of Subsidiary Initiative Research and Integrative Framework

Cited by 63 publications

References 59 publications

The legitimacy of subsidiary issue selling: Balancing positive & negative attention from corporate headquarters

The legitimacy of subsidiary issue selling: Balancing positive & negative attention from corporate headquarters

Global Innovation in Foreign Subsidiaries: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Corporate Networks

The microfoundations of subsidiary initiatives: How subsidiary manager activities unlock entrepreneurship

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