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

Abstract

Based on a review of allied literatures, along with evidence from two waves of research conducted in a range of wholly owned multinational subsidiaries operating in Russia, we seek to reignite interest in corporate parenting theory. In an effort at so doing, we advance a revised and extended typology of multinational corporate parenting styles designed to capture the continuum of 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 emphasize exploitation and demonstrate a proclivity for continuously extracting value from their subsidiary units. In contrast, multinationals following a Rhea parenting style focus on adding value to their subsidiaries. In adopting this posture, they 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. Finally, 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 ongoing interactions. Arising from our revised typology of multinational corporate parenting styles and the illustrative case examples provided, we set down a number of possible lines of inquiry for future research.