Managerial implications of the research on centers of excellence - a conceptual view

In the last few years there has been a significant stream of research on multinational companies (MNCs) and centers of excellence (CoEs). Scholars recognize the critical role of subsidiaries for the success of the whole corporation. Centers of excellence are organizational units which have strong competencies and which are recognized by other units of the corporate network The research on CoEs has been focused on: (1) the definition of the concept of CoEs; (2) the determinants enabling their development; (3) the earning path of the CoE status; (4) the life-cycle of a CoE; (5) various typologies of CoEls; as well as (6) the effects of CoEs on the MNC and on the external environment. However, not much information about the issues that managers have to face concerning the concept of CoEs can be found in the literature. This paper wants to add some considerations to this gap and is built around two main questions: (1) what should be managed in a CoE; and (2) how can these issues be managed.