The American MNC and in particular the CEO at that time Frits van Paasschen managed to overcome this challenge thanks to an unusual and creative approach of organizing temporary HQ relocations. In this way, Starwood tapped into promising market opportunities in fast-growing emerging markets and engaged in a variety of structural, processual, and cultural changes.

Our colleagues Jan Schmitt and Phillip C. Nell received the opportunity to talk with parts of the previous management team of Starwood about their experiences in Starwood’s strategic transformation and collected their insights in a new case study available via The Case Centre.

The research project around this case took place in the context of the “Headquarters in Austria” (HiA) initiative. HiA is an umbrella project which is sponsored by eXplore!, OeNB Anniversary Fund, Austrian Business Agency, and Vienna Business Agency (among others). The research project around this specific case was financially primarily supported by the OeNB Anniversary Fund.

The case investigates the role of MNCs’ headquarters (HQs) and especially of top management teams (TMTs) in initiating and driving strategic changes. By solving this case study, students will be able to (i) critically discuss the value-adding parenting role of HQs in MNCs, (ii) analyze the key dynamics for successfully managing subsidiaries in growth markets, and (iii) develop recommendations for how to successfully set up MNCs to operate in a dynamic international context.

If this sounds interesting to you and might be relevant for your teaching, check out the case study via the following link: Starwood Teaching Case.

We would like to also take that opportunity to especially thank Frits van Paasschen for the great collaboration and for supporting us in writing this case study.

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