EFFECTIVELY CONCEIVING AND EXECUTING MULTINATIONALS WORLDWIDE STRATEGIES

This study addresses one of the most compelling questions in the field of international management: How can a multinational simultaneously p ursue the double-ended objective of effectively conceiving and executi ng its worldwide strategy? Here we examine the ways in which the dynam ics of the strategy-making process between head office and subsidiary units influence the multinational's ability to achieve these two objec tives. Specifically, we introduce the concept of procedural justice, t he intellectual root of which is grounded in social psychology and law , into international management and explore the impact of process fair ness on multinationals' ability to conceive and execute effective worl dwide strategies. The results of this research are based on a two-phas e longitudinal study of the decision-making dynamics of nineteen multi nationals. They provide support that the exercise of procedural justic e is indeed a powerful way to organize the multinationals' strategy-ma king process. Procedural justice was found to significantly augment mu ltinationals' ability to achieve this double-ended objective.