Conditions influencing headquarters and foreign subsidiary roles in marketing activities and their effects on performance

Abstract

In this study, we examine the extent to which foreign subsidiaries are responsible for the development and implementation of marketing activities, as compared with these activities being controlled by headquarters. We propose and test a model of conditions that affect such headquarters and subsidiary roles, and explore the extent to which the alignment of these roles with certain conditions is associated with product performance. Our findings suggest that the more closely headquarters and subsidiary roles in marketing activities are aligned with relational, industry, and market conditions, the greater market share tends to be.