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Firm bosses or helpful neighbours? The ambiguity and co-construction of MNE regional management mandates
McGaughey, S.L. Clegg, L.J.
McGaughey, S.L.
Clegg, L.J.
Publication Date
2017-12
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© 2017 Wiley
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Alfoldi EA, McGaughey SL and Clegg LJ
(2017) Firm bosses or helpful neighbours? The ambiguity and co-construction of MNE regional
management mandates. Journal of Management Studies. 54(8): 1170-1205, which has been
published in final form at [http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12287]. This article may be used for
non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
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openAccess
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28/06/2017
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Abstract
As multinational enterprises (MNEs) increasingly disaggregate and disperse corporate
headquarters (CHQ) activities, the allocation of regional management mandates (RMMs) to
local operating subsidiaries is becoming more common. RMMs explicitly break with the
traditional assumption of a clear separation between centralised and local decision-making.
Yet we know little of how RMMs are enacted by the units involved, or how they evolve over
time. Based on a case study of Unilever, we find that RMMs are inherently ambiguous, and
identify circumstances under which ambiguity manifests and triggers cycles of sensemaking
and sensegiving about the meaning of the mandate. These cycles result in the co-construction
of the mandate by multiple units, with changes in RMM scope and governance over time. We
also find that sensemaking and sensegiving are most intense among boundary-spanning
middle managers. Our work challenges prevailing assumptions that mandates are largely
unambiguous when assigned and are unilateral or dyadic accomplishments; demonstrates the
importance of sub-unit level analysis in MNEs; and highlights the potential of structuration
theory to enrich our understanding of sensemaking and sensegiving in organisations.
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Accepted manuscript
Citation
Alfoldi EA, McGaughey SL and Clegg LJ (2017) Firm bosses or helpful neighbours? The ambiguity and co-construction of MNE regional management mandates. Journal of Management Studies. 54(8): 1170-1205.
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