Publications

1972
Book

Managing the Multinational Enterprise: Organization of the Firm and Ownership of the Subsidiary

By: John M. Stopford and L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Ownership

March 2020
Case

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

This case describes a difficult choice faced by Victor Wang, Managing Director of Singapore-based Eurasian Brewing Company (EBC), concerning the competing product launch plans of Le Jie, Vice President of EBC's China and East Asian operations, and Vivian Chin, EBC's... View Details

Keywords: Subsidiary Management; Craft Brewing; Strategy; Decision Making; Organizational Structure; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Management Style; Food and Beverage Industry; China; East Asia

March 2011
Case

United Cereal: Lora Brill's Eurobrand Challenge

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

The case, set within the European organization of a giant multinational breakfast foods company, describes a launch decision for a new cereal product. As the case evolves, the decision has major strategic and organizational implications for Lora Brill, European VP. The... View Details

Keywords: Subsidiaries; Market Entry; Multinational Corporations; Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Managerial Roles; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe

October 2020
Article

Corporate Legal Structure and Bank Loan Spread

By: Anywhere (Siko) Sikochi

This study examines how a corporate legal structure may affect borrowing costs. Corporate legal structure refers to the legal fragmentation of a firm into multiple, separately incorporated entities. This fragmentation is bound to be a factor when lenders determine the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Legal Structure; Subsidiaries; Bank Loans; Minority Interest; Credit Risk; Organizational Structure; Business Subsidiaries; Financing and Loans

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March 2011
Teaching Note

United Cereal: Lora Brill's Eurobrand Challenge (Brief Case)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

Teaching Note for 4269. View Details

Keywords: Subsidiaries; Market Entry; Multinational Corporations; Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Structure

September 2012
Article

The Size and Composition of Corporate Headquarters in Multinational Companies: Empirical Evidence

By: David J. Collis, David Young and Michael Goold

Based on a six-country survey of nearly 250 multinationals (MNCs), this paper is the first empirical analysis to describe the size and composition of MNC headquarters and to account for differences among them. Findings are as follows: MNC corporate headquarters are... View Details

Keywords: Headquarters; Subsidiaries; Multinational Corporations; Organization Design; Administrative Heritage; International Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Organizational Design; Multinational Firms and Management; Size; Business Headquarters; Global Strategy

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October 2011
Case

Levendary Cafe: The China Challenge

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Arar Han

Just weeks into her new job, Mia Foster, a first time CEO with no international management experience, is faced with a major challenge at Levendary Cafe, a $10 billion US-based fast food chain. Strategically, many of her corporate staff have become concerned that the... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; International Management; Foreign Subsidiaries; General Managers; Strategy; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Adaptation; Entrepreneurship; Relationships; Standards; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China; United States

September 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Turkish Airlines: Widen Your World

By: Juan Alcácer and Esel Çekin

This case tracks Turkish Airlines' transition from regional player to global powerhouse. With an order for 212 aircraft in the first half of 2013, the airline had moved to double its size and become one of the industry's top-ten players. Growing its fleet would allow... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Operational Complexity; Capacity Constraints; Profitable Growth; Subsidiary Management; Externalities; Emerging Market; Globalized Firms and Management; Competition; Air Transportation; Alliances; Corporate Strategy; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; Turkey

May 2010
Supplement

Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy, Spreadsheet for Instructors (Brief Case)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Benjamin H. Barlow

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; International Business; Subsidiaries; Project Management; Multinational Corporations; Implementing Strategy; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Behavior; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizations; Labor Unions; Organizational Culture; Product Development

May 2013
Supplement

Can PACIV (Puerto Rico) Serve European Customers?

This is the Spreadsheet Supplement HBS Case #808099 (PACIV). Includes Exhibit 1a, Exhibit 1b, Exhibit 1c, Exhibit 1d, Exhibit 1e, Exhibit 1f, Exhibit 5, Exhibit 6, and Exhibit 8. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Foreign Subsidiaries; Global Business; International Business; International Entrepreneurial Finance; International Operations; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; International Finance; Operations; Finance; Pharmaceutical Industry; Technology Industry; Puerto Rico; United Kingdom; Europe; United States

June 2012
Case

Microsoft IT India

By: Willy C. Shih, Margaret Pierson, Alexander Down, William Gustave Jair-Shemuel Jurist, Diego Medicina and Helen Wang

Raj Biyani faced tough challenges managing Microsoft IT India: leading a remote development organization in which key decisions were made in Redmond, and managing an organization that was perceived as less strategic than its sister Microsoft India Development Center... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Development; Cross-functional Management; Foreign Subsidiaries; Strategy Alignment; Organizational Behavior; Indian Software Development; Global Distributed R＆D; Software Industry; Organizational Structure; Research and Development; Operations; Leadership; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Industry; India

March 1992 (Revised June 1992)
Case

Thermo Electron Corp.

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

George Hatsopoulos, CEO at Thermo Electron Corp., is considering whether to issue shares in a subsidiary via an initial public offering (IPO). The company has developed an unusual corporate structure in which subsidiaries fund new ventures by raising debt and equity in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Organizational Structure; Business Headquarters; Initial Public Offering; Capital Structure; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Semiconductor Industry; Technology Industry

January 2011
Supplement

Shar Matin (C)

By: David A. Thomas and Elisa Farri

The head of the subsidiary of a US company faced the decision to present an aggressive growth plan despite his CFO's lack of support. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Planning

March 2014
Article

Information Environment and the Investment Decisions of Multinational Corporations

By: Nemit O. Shroff, Rodrigo S. Verdi and Gwen Yu

This paper examines how the external information environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate affects the investment decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). We hypothesize and find that the investment decisions of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Multinational Firms; Cross-border Frictions; Agency Frictions; Transparency; Financial Reporting Quality; Information Quality; Information; Multinational Firms and Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment

SSRN

January 1993 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Warner-Lambert Ireland: Niconil

By: John A. Quelch and Susan Smith

The marketing director of Warner-Lambert's Irish subsidiary is completing the marketing plan for the launch of Niconil, a transdermal skin patch to facilitate smoking cessation. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Republic of Ireland

December 1997 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Describes the efforts of the new managing director of Merck's subsidiary for Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to transform the organization and its culture. Focuses on a critical decision: whether to offer the son of a high-ranking official in the government's national... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Ethics; Decision Making; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Conflict of Interests; Argentina; Uruguay; Paraguay