Centralization and autonomy in international-marketing decision making: A longitudinal study (1973-1993) of US. MNEs in the European union

The evolution of decision-making centralization in MNEs’ international marketing has not been sufficiently researched-especially in contrast to the many studies of standardization versus adaptation in international marketing. This study, based on 1973-1993 survey data, reveals a striking increase in the relative power of regional-headquarters for many MNE international-marketing decisions. It also shows that the link between the centralization and standardization of marketing policies is not as steady over time as is generally thought. Besides, the company- specific factor most linked to the decentralization of international-marketing decisions (that is, subsidiary autonomy) is the relative weight of subsidiaries’ own production in their total sales. Research and managerial implications are drawn from these findings and their analysis.