Abstract
Managing a regional headquarters is not an easy task. In this chapter, we will draw attention to a few factors that are germane in managing a regional headquarters. These issues include managing the dual tension between subsidiaries on the one hand and corporate headquarters on the other hand. Furthermore, we will explore how much autonomy regional headquarters need to fulfil their tasks. We will then take a look at the roles and responsibilities that regional headquarters fulfil and how firms distribute their value-added activities across the network.
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Notes
See Chini, T., Ambos, B. and Wehle, K. (2005) “The Headquarters-Subsidiary Trench: Tracing Perception Gaps within the Multinational Corporation,” European Management Journal, 23(2), pp. 145–53.
Asakawa, K. (2001) “Organizational Tension in International R&D Management — The Case of Japanese Firms,” Research Policy 30, pp. 735–57;
Chini, T., Ambos, B. and Wehle, K. (2005) “The Headquarters-Subsidiary Trench: Tracing Perception Gaps within the Multinational Corporation,” European Management Journal, 23(2), pp. 145–53.
The distinction between entrepreneurial and integrative functions of headquarters goes back to Chandler (1962, 1991) and has been applied in many studies including, Bikinshaw, Julian, Braunerhjelm, Pontus, Holm, Ulf, and Terjesen, Siri (2006) “Why Do Some Multinational Corporations Relocate Their Headquarters Overseas?” Strategic Management Journal, 27, pp. 681–700;
Lasserre, P. (1996) “Regional Headquarters: The Spearhead for Asia Pacific Markets,” Long Range Planning, 29, pp. 30–7 and many others. For Chandler’s original work, see
Chandler, Alfred (1991) “The Functions of the HQ in the Multibusiness Firm,” Strategic Management Journal, 12, pp. 31–50.
Chandler, Alfred (1962) Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Industrial Enterprise, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.
Asakawa, K. and Lehrer, M. (2003) “Managing Local Knowledge Assets Globally: The Role of Regional Innovation Relays,” Journal of World Business, 38, pp. 31–42.
See Yeung, H., Poon, J. and Perry, M. (2001) “Towards a Regional Strategy: The Role of Regional Headquarters of Foreign Firms in Singapore,” Urban Studies, 38(1), pp. 157–83.
Enright, Michael (2005a) “Regional Management Centers in the Asia Pacific,” Management International Review, Special Issue, pp. 59–82;
Enright, Michael (2005b) “The Roles of Regional Management Centers,” Management International Review, Special Issue, pp. 83–102.
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© 2010 Björn Ambos and Bodo B. Schlegelmilch
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Ambos, B., Schlegelmilch, B.B. (2010). Managing Regional Headquarters. In: The New Role of Regional Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230273870_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230273870_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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