Conventional wisdom has equated expatriate managers with increased control of foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Integrating theory from the control, leadership, and organizational change literatures, this paper develops a model that identifies specific conditions in which Host Country National managers (HCNs) can be expected to afford greater control at the subsidiary level than expatriates. Relevant factors considered in the model include cultural (national, organizational, professional) asymmetry, leadership of organizational change, and parent company legitimacy.
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