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By integrating literature on proactive behavior, in particular voice behavior theory, with the attention-based view of the firm, we examine how the use of a set of initiative selling tactics influences the acceptance of subsidiary initiatives by MNC headquarters. The findings suggest that the initiative selling tactics that matter most for the headquarters acceptance of subsidiary initiatives are related to proactive efforts such as the preparation and the packaging of the subsidiary initiative. The paper contributes to academia and practice by providing a richer un- derstanding of proactive behavior among subsidiaries in terms of the “voice tactics” used to get their subsidiary initiatives recognized and accepted by headquarters. The study uses data from a questionnaire survey of 110 MNC subsidiaries and qualitative interview data.

Purpose

By the view of attention-building activities as “tools of power,” the authors investigate the impact of subsidiary involvement in attention-building activities on the strategic influence of subsidiaries within multinational corporations (MNCs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on survey data from 110 international subsidiaries located in Sweden. Five hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling with linear structural relations.

Findings

The study shows that organizational commitment and external scouting activities, as two attention-building activities, do not directly affect the ability of subsidiaries to gain a strategic influence in MNCs. Rather, the results provide support for the importance of headquarters’ positive attention as a mediator between such activities and subsidiary strategic influence. This implies that subsidiaries do not receive any strategic influence through these activities unless they receive explicit positive attention from the corporate headquarters.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the micro-political view of the MNC by offering insights into the impact of attention-building activities of subsidiaries as a potential source of strategic influence for MNC subsidiaries.

The multinational corporation (MNC) has evolved into a proactive, entrepreneurial, and decentralized organization that seeks to incorporate and leverage knowledge from its foreign subsidiaries. Subsidiary initiatives have thus become a central activity for MNC success in foreign locations. However, prior research suggests few initiatives ever secure headquarters endorsement and are fully realized, while most others fail. While there is a range of relational and contextual conditions potentially conducive to explaining why subsidiary initiatives might be accepted, research has been dispersed and piecemeal, offering a limited theoretical understanding of when such conditions are associated with initiative acceptance. Using a neo-configurational approach as a theoretical and empirical apparatus, we identify five equifinal configurations leading to subsidiary initiative acceptance. We advance the theory on subsidiary management and subsidiary initiatives by uncovering how subsidiary activities gain traction within the MNC.

Purpose – This study aims to move beyond the macro-level and instead in-vestigate managerial actions in detail; what managers actually do that allows their initiatives to strive and survive in the organization. Specifically, the pa-per examines the negotiation process and addresses politicking behaviors be-tween managers seeking approval/recognition of their initiatives as well as the influence of environmental contingencies.

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study of a European au-tomotive manufacturer is used to empirically showcase and conceptualize the multinational corporation as a politicized arena. The ongoing industrial trans-formation into the digital domain has called for new ways of innovating prod-ucts, methods and services, which has resulted in the creation of new bound-ary-spanning teams in charge of developing ideas where new knowledge is needed at a rapid rate.

Findings – Although initiatives that cause a high degree of dissonance in the organization suffer disadvantages in acquiring resources from decision-mak-ers compared to better-adjusted alternatives, they seem to continue surviving within the organization (in smaller boundary-spanning teams) due to the po-litical behaviors of individual managers. Thereby presenting an alternative ex-planation to the innovative success of bottom-up activities managed across boundaries, explicating the ‘initiative renewal journey’ as a micro-political process.

Originality/value – The authors develop the perspective of the MNC by ad-dressing the role of micro-politics within it; how bottom-up actors within the MNC engage in politicizing actions towards higher authority to reach mana-gerial attention/selection of initiatives. Consequently, the paper adds to a more dynamic view on the management of bottom-up initiatives.