A New Look at Corporate Parenting: Linking Structure and Cognition in the Multibusiness Firm

Abstract

This symposium offers a new look at corporate parenting in the multibusiness firm. Building on recent work on corporate parenting and renewed interest in organizational architecture, we explore the growing demands place on the corporate center and uncover corporate parenting’s role in learning and adaptation in multibusiness firms. As a new research program, this symposium seeks to go beyond the planning and monitoring roles traditionally associated with the corporate center. We augment current research by examining the link between structure, cognition and behavior in the design of headquarters-subsidiary relationships and, in particular, highlight the attention-directing and interpretive aspects of the corporate parent’s role in shaping the decision-making within component business units. We feature Ranjay Gulati as an opening speaker and Andrew Campbell as a discussant; each will provide their own insights about existing work and critical questions for the future research in this area. The Dark Side of Corporate Attention Presenter: Cyril Daniel Bouquet; IMD Presenter: Orly Levy; IMD A Behavioral Theory of Multiunit Firms Presenter: Metin Sengul; Boston College Presenter: Tomasz Obloj; HEC Paris Corporate Structure and Technology Introductions Presenter: John Joseph; Duke U. Presenter: Ronald Klingebiel; Warwick Business School Presenter: Kevin Du; Duke U. Attention to Member Firm Performance in Hierarchical Business Groups Presenter: Seung-Hyun Rhee; Northwestern U. Presenter: William Ocasio; Northwestern U. Presenter: Tae-Hyun Kim; KAIST