Headquarters Attention, Social Networks and Managerial Careers (WITHDRAWN)

Abstract

Integrating insights from the literature on headquarters attention in the multinational corporation and the social capital of brokering and closed networks, we argue that the career performance of subsidiary managers depends on whether the manager’s individual social network is complementary with the level of headquarters attention received by the subsidiary in which the manager is located. By so doing, we expound on an “attention paradox,” in which we contend that that the same condition of operating in a subsidiary receiving a given level of headquarters attention could in principle facilitate as well as hamper the career performance of the individual managing that subsidiary. Our theory moves beyond the conventional view that links headquarters attention to unidirectional effects on performance, and offers a non-deterministic perspective that suggests that similar levels of attention may lead to opposite outcomes for the individual manager depending on the structural properties of the manager’s network.