The performance effects of headquarters' involvement in lateral innovation transfers in multinational corporations

• Developing an analytical framework to help examine the impact of HQs direct involvement in lateral innovation transfers on efficiency and effectiveness of • Develop hypotheses which are tested by multiple regression analyses on data relating to 129 lateral innovation transfers in multinational corporations • Three key findings: dyadic willingness positively affects transfer efficiency and effectiveness willingness HQ involvement negatively effects transfer efficiency; HQ involvement negatively moderates the effect of willingness on transfer effectiveness • HQ face a dilemma in managing lateral transfers: on the one hand, the network structure that typifies many MNCs has beneficial impacts on the performance of the transfer process; on the other hand the HQ need to ensure that lateral transfers initiated by subsidiaries ('organic' transfers) are in line with MNC strategy. However the findings from our study strongly suggest that HQ direct involvement in the transfer process is at best a very blunt instrument for achieving a resolution of this dilemma. © Gabler-Verlag 2011.