Title: Divinity rules: towards a revised typology of multinational corporate parenting styles

Authors: Igor Gurkov; Michael J. Morley

Addresses: Faculty of Business and Management, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Myasnitskaya, 20, 101000 Moscow, Russia ' Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Abstract: We advance a revised and extended typology of multinational corporate parenting styles designed to capture different approaches identifiable in multinational headquarter - subsidiary interactions. Invoking ancient Greek mythology, we propose a four-way classification of the observed dominant styles. Multinational corporations pursuing a Cronus parenting style emphasise exploitation and demonstrate a proclivity for continuously extracting value from their subsidiary units. Multinationals following a Rhea parenting style focus on adding value to their subsidiaries and place a strong emphasis on care and accommodation in parent-subsidiary interactions. Zeus style multinational parents encourage heroism among their offspring, something that is commonly leveraged through adding financial value to the subsidiary and extracting a range of other types of value in return. Those multinational parents pursuing an Athena parenting style place an emphasis on developing and safeguarding wisdom in their subsidiaries and display a continuous desire for a balanced exchange of value in their on-going interactions.

Keywords: multinational companies; corporate parenting styles; headquarters; subsidiaries; Russia.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2017.085579

European Journal of International Management, 2017 Vol.11 No.4, pp.490 - 510

Received: 04 Jul 2015
Accepted: 20 Apr 2016
Published online: 31 Jul 2017 *

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