Organizing for worldwide eff ectiveness: the transnational solution

This chapter explores the theoretical implications for several important domains of international management and organization theory. In terms of organization theory, people research contributes to a deeper understanding of how the allocation of attention can influence a broader realignment of priorities and investments within a multiunit organization. Theories of intraorganizational power suggest that the structural configuration of multinational enterprise (MNE) network, a subsidiary's weight in a system, influences headquarter's attention. The relational perspective explores whether there are conditions that moderate the strength of people voice arguments. A relational process in which the subsidiary's voice is used to emphasize its existing or potential contribution to the MNE as a whole also shapes headquarters attention. Two variables, geographic distance and downstream competence, described as contributing to the strategic isolation of a subsidiary, although these links have not always been supported empirically.