Locus of decision making in multinational corporations and its relationship to subsidiary performance

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6828976

Goehle, D G

A conceptual model was developed which drew from the existing research in organization theory, comparative management, and international business which assisted in the delineation of the relevant variables and suggested the nature of their relationship to the locus of decision making. The conceptual model incorporated certain corporate and subsidiary factors considered an influence on the determination of the locus of decision making. Corporate factors included product line or industry, size and complexity of international operations, organization structure, availability of managerial talent, and corporate philosophy. Subsidiary characteristics included subsidiary age and size, availability of local managerial talent, geographic distance from headquarters and other affiliated units, and subsidiary environmental characteristics. The locus of desicion making was measured by the level of participation the headquarters and subsidiary management had in decision making for twenty-nine decisions, representing six functional areas. Levels of participation for headquarters and subsidiary managers were measured for each decision based on responses to a five-point scale of decision process categories which indicated varying levels of headquarters and subsidiary participation. The sample included ten US multinational corporations representing five industries: pharmaceuticals, tire and rubber, automobiles, capital equipment, and food processing.

• OSTI ID: 6828976
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
DECISION MAKING
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES
NORTH AMERICA
PERFORMANCE
USA