The Size, Structure, and Performance of Corporate Headquarters

Abstract

Corporate headquarters have not been extensively researched. This paper reports on a survey of the structure and staffing of over 600 corporate headquarters in Europe, USA, Japan and Chile and explores the extent to which they are contingent on corporate strategy (corporate portfolio, structure and policies), ownership and regulation, and country of origin. The results confirm that factors in each of these areas are important determinants of the size and structure of headquarters. The dependence of corporate performance upon the structure and staffing of headquarters is also explored. Although the results are capable of alternative interpretations, they provide no support for the view that "lean and mean" leads to better performance.

Keywords: corporate center, corporate headquarters, corporate strategy, staff, performance