Strategy and structure in multinational corporations: A revision of the stopford and wells model

Abstract

Abstract The Stopford and Wells study of strategy and structure in multinational corporations produced a now familiar model relating certain types of structure to certain elements of a firm's international strategy. This paper re‐examines the important relationships expressed by the model, using data from a recent study of 34 large U.S. and European multinationals. While some of the relationships are supported, others are not. A new element of strategy, the relative size of foreign manufacturing, is introduced, and found to be an important predictor of structure. Based on the findings, a revised model for relating strategy and structure in MNCs is proposed.