Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Evolution of a Regional Headquarters Population: An Ecological Analysis

  • Chapter
Transnational Corporations and Transnational Governance

Abstract

In recent decades, many of the barriers to conducting international business have disappeared due to globalization, including the abolishment of trade barriers (e.g., WTO) and, as a consequence, internationalization of services, the development of modern information technology, innovations in logistical flows, the use of English as a global lingua franca and the introduction of international accounting standards. However, at the same time many barriers continue to persist such as national boundaries, local language and psychic distance between cultures. The result is a paradox of globalization.

Acknowledgments: We are grateful to ZenTra seminar participants for their comments and ideas. We would like to thank Sarianna Lundan, Jörg Freiling, Sven Laudien and Eleanor Westney for their insightful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts. We also acknowledge the comments from the two anonymous reviewers at the EIBA 2012 conference, and appreciate research assistance from Taina Heimo, Iiris Saittakari and Jaana Sampolahti. Finally, we owe a debt of gratitude to Reijo Luostarinen for making the original data available to us.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aldrich, Howard (1999). Organizations Evolving. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, Howard E. and Pfeffer, Jeffrey (1976). “Environments of Organizations,” Annual Review of Sociology, 2, 79–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alfoldi, Eva A., Clegg, L. Jeremy and McGaughey Sara L. (2012). “Coordination at the Edge of the Empire: The Delegation of Headquarters Functions through Regional Management Mandates,” Journal of International Management, 18, 276–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki and Ylä-Anttila, Pekka (2003). Globalization of Business in a Small Country — Does Ownership Matter? In Ari Hyytinen and Mika Pajarinen (Eds.), Financial Systems and Firm Performance. Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives. Taloustieto Oy: ETLA B 200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambos, Björn and Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. (2010). The New Role of Regional Management. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astley W. Graham (1984). “Toward an Appreciation of Collective Strategy,” Academy of Management Review, 9(3), 526–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balkin, David B. and Montemayor, Edilberto F. (2000). “Explaining Team-based Pay: A Contingency Perspective Based on the Organizational Life Cycle, Team Design, and Organizational Learning Literatures,” Human Resource Management Review, 10(3), 249–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm, Piekkari, Rebecca and Björkman, Ingmar (2007). “Mobility of Headquarters in Multinational Corporations,” European Journal of International Management, 1(3), 260–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Betton, John and Dess, Gregory G. (1985). “The Application of Population Ecology Models to the Study of Organizations,” Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 750–757.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkinshaw, Julian M. (1996). “How Multinational Subsidiary Mandates Are Gained and Lost,” Journal of International Business Studies, 27(3), 467–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkinshaw, Julian M., Braunerhjelm, Pontus, Holm, Ulf and Terjesen, Siri (2006). “Why Do Some Multinational Corporations Relocate Their Headquarters Overseas,” Strategic Management Journal, 27(7), 681–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkinshaw, Julian M. and Hood, N. (1998). “Introduction and Overview.” In J. Birkinshaw and N. Hood (Eds.), Multinational Corporate Evolution and Subsidiary Development. London: Macmillan, pp. 1–19.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Burgelman, Robert A. (1991). “Intraorganizational Ecology of Strategy Making and Organizational Adaptation: Theory and Field Research,” Organization Science, 2(3), 239–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, Glenn C. (Ed.) (1988). Ecological Models of Organizations. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, Glenn C. (1997). “Long-term Evolutionary Change in Organizational Populations: Theory, Models and Empirical Findings in Industrial Demography,” Industrial and Corporate Change, 6(1), 119–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, Glenn C. and Hannan, Michael T. (2000). The Demography of Corporations and Industries. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, J. D. (1986). “Approaches to European Regional Management by Large U.S. Multinational Firms,” Management International Review, 26(2) 27–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delacroix, J. (1993). “The European Subsidiaries of American Multinationals: An Exercise in Ecological Analysis.” In S. Ghoshal and D. E. Westney (Eds.), Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, pp. 105–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dörrenbächer, Christoph and Gammelgaard, Jens (2010). “Multinational Corporations, Inter-organizational Networks and Subsidiary Charter Removals,” Journal of World Business, 45, 206–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, John H. and Lundan, Sarianna M. (2008). Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy, 2nd edition. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enright, M. J. (2005a). “Regional Management Centres in the Asia-Pacific,” Management International Review, 45(1) Special Issue, 59–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enright, M.J. (2005b). “The Role of Regional Management Centers,” Management International Review, 45(1) Special Issue, 83–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferner, Anthony (2000). “The Underpinnings of ‘Bureaucratic’ Control Systems: HRM in European Multinationals,” Journal of Management Studies, 37(4), 521–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren, Mats, Holm, Ulf and Johanson, Jan (1995). “Division Headquarters Go Abroad — A Step in the Internationalization of the Multinational Corporation,” Journal of Management Studies, 32(4), 475–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, John F. and Audia, Pino G. (2006). “Community Ecology and the Sociology of Organizations,” Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 145–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasik, Stanislaw (2011). “A Model of Project Knowledge Management,” Project Management Journal, 42(3), 23–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, Sumantra and Westney, D. Eleanor (Eds.) (1993). Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 105–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabher, Gemot (2004). “Temporary Architectures of Learning: Knowledge Governance in Project Ecologies,” Organization Studies, 25(9), 1491–1514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosse, R. (1981). “Regional Offices in Multinational Enterprise: The Latin American Case,” Management International Review, 2, 48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, Michael T. and Freeman, John (1977). “The Population Ecology of Organizations,” American Journal of Sociology, 82(5), 929–964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, Michael T. and Freeman, John (1978). “The Population Ecology of Organizations.” In Meyer, Marshall W. (Ed.), Environments and Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, Michael T. and Freeman, John (1984). “Structural Inertia and Organizational Change,” American Sociological Review, 49(2), 149–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, Michael T. and Freeman, John (1989). Organizational Ecology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm, Ulf and Pedersen, Torben (2000). The Emergence and Impact of MNC Centres of Excellence. London: MacMillan Press and St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoy, Frank (2006). “The Complicating Factor of Life Cycles in Corporate Venturing,” Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 30(6), 831–836.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazanjian, Robert K. and Drazin, Robert (1989). “An Empirical Test of a Stage of Growth Progression Model,” Management Science, 35(12), 1489–1503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimberly, John R. (1980). “The Life Cycle Analogy and the Study of Organizations: Introduction.” In J. R. Kimberly and R. H. Miles (Eds.), The Organizational Life Cycle: Issues in the Creation, Transformation, and Decline of Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimberly, John. R., Miles, Robert H. and Associates (1980). The Organizational Life Cycle: Issues in the Creation, Transformation, and Decline of Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasserre, Philippe (1996). “Regional Headquarters: The Spearhead for Asia Pacific Markets,” Long Range Planning, 29(1), 30–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laudien, Sven M. and Freiling, Jörg (2011). “Overcoming Liabilities of Foreignness by Modes of Structural Coordination: Regional Headquarters and Their Role in TNCs.” In Christian Geisler Asmussen, Torben Pedersen, Timothy M. Devinney and Laszlo Tihanyi (Eds.), Dynamics of Globalization: Location-Specific Advantages or Liabilities of Toreignness? (Advances in International Management, Volume 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 107–125.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, Mark and Kazuhiro Asakawa (1999). “Unbundling European Operations: Regional Management and Corporate Flexibility in American and Japanese MNCs,” Journal of World Business, 34(3), 267–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lunnan, Randi, Benito, Gabriel R. G. and Tomassen, Sverre (2011). “Moving Abroad: Factors that Motivate Foreign Location of Headquarter Activities.” In Christian Geisler Asmussen, Torben Pedersen, Timothy M. Devinney and Laszlo Tihanyi (Eds.), Dynamics of Globalization: Location-Specific Advantages or Liabilities of Toreignness? (Advances in International Management, Volume 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 127–151.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Luostarinen, Reijo (2000). “Finland as a Business Center to Central and Eastern European Transitory Economies,” Research report, Helsinki: Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mannio Pekka, Vaara, Eero and Ylä-Anttila, Pekka (Eds.) (2003). Our Path Abroad. Exploring Post-war Internationalization of Finnish Corporations. Helsinki: Taloustieto Oy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mizruchi, Mark S. and Schwartz, Michael (1987). “The Structural Analysis of Business: An Emergin Field.” In Mark S. Mizruchi and Michael Schwartz (Eds.), Intercorporate Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nell, Phillip C., Ambos, Björn and Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. (2011). “The Benefits of Hierarchy? — Exploring the Effects of Regional Headquarters in Multinational Corporations.” In Christian Geisler Asmussen, Torben Pedersen, Timothy M. Devinney and Laszlo Tihanyi (Eds.), Dynamics of Globalization: Location-Specific Advantages or Liabilities of Toreignness? (Advances in International Management, Volume 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 85–106.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Oertel, Simon and Walgenbach, Peter (2009). “How the Organizational Ecology Approach Can Enrich Business Research on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises — Three Areas for Future Research,” Schmalenbach Business Review, 61, 250–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piekkari, Rebecca, Nell, Phillip and N. Ghauri, Pervez (2010). “Regional Management as a System — A Longitudinal Case Study,” Management International Review, 50 (Aug. 4), 513–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rugman, A. M. and Bennett, J. (1982). “Technology Transfer and World Product Mandating in Canada,” Columbia Journal of World Business, 17(4), 58–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schütte, Hellmut (1997). “Strategy and Organisation: Challenges for European MNCs in Asia,” European Management Journal, 15(4), 436–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W. Richard and Davis, Gerald F. (2007). Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems Perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Ven, Andrew H. and Poole, Marshall Scott (1995). “Explaining Development and Change in Organizations,” Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 510–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Ven, Andrew H. and Sun, Kangyong (2011). “Breakdowns in Implementing Models of Organization Change,” Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(3), 58–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, Catherine and Rebecca Piekkari (2006). “Crossing Language Boundaries: Qualitative Interviewing in International Business,” Management International Review, 46(4), 417–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westney, D. Eleanor (2009). “The Multinational Firm as an Evolutionary System.” In Simon Collinson and Glenn Morgan (Eds.), Images of the Multinational Firm. Chichester: Wiley, pp. 117–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. E. and Poynter, T. A. (1984). “Strategies for Foreign-owned Subsidiaries in Canada,” Business Quarterly, Summer, 59–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, Ruth C. (1988). “Is Population Ecology a Useful Paradigm for the Study of Organizations?” American Journal of Sociology, 94(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Perttu Kähäri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebecca Piekkari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bremen, Germany

    Sarianna Lundan

Copyright information

© 2015 Perttu Kähäri and Rebecca Piekkari

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kähäri, P., Piekkari, R. (2015). The Evolution of a Regional Headquarters Population: An Ecological Analysis. In: Lundan, S. (eds) Transnational Corporations and Transnational Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137467690_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation