Firms often organize themselves into business units when they serve different markets and need to be responsive to the differing customer requirements and competitive dynamics encountered in each market. Each business unit will develop its own specific business strategy, while the firm as a whole will formulate a corporate strategy.
The business units will typically report to a headquarters, called a corporate center, that in turn will steer the business units in a particular way, which is called corporate management. There are different approaches to steering that the corporate center can take, referred to as styles.
The Corporate Management Styles framework outlines five different approaches to steering the business units, along a continuum from a high level of corporate control to a high level of business unit empowerment. The styles higher up the continuum are used when the corporate center needs to take the lead and integrate the business strategies to ensure that the important synergies are realized. The styles lower down the continuum are used when the business units need to take the lead and differentiate their business strategy to ensure responsiveness to their specific challenges.
The five corporate management styles are the following: