Corporate headquarters

The Continental Center I and the KBR Tower, both part of the Cullen Center complex in Downtown Houston, have the corporate headquarters of Continental Airlines and KBR, respectively.[1][2][3]

Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology.[4][5] Corporate headquarters takes responsibility for the overall success of the corporation and ensures corporate governance.[6] It is sometimes referred to as the head office, which is the location where the executives of a business work and where many of the key business decisions are made. Generally, corporate headquarters acts as a core when the business is operating.

The corporate headquarters includes: the CEO (chief executive officer) as a key person and their support staff such as the CEO office and other CEO related functions; the "corporate policy making" functions: Include all corporate functions necessary to steer the firm by defining and establishing corporate policies; the corporate services: Activities that combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) customers and business partners; the interface: Reporting line and bi-directional link between corporate headquarters and business units.[7] Most other divisions and branches report to the corporate headquarters and staff may visit there periodically for training or other instructions".[8] The corporate services are often relocated into a separate legal entity called shared services center.[9] Research shows that the city in which a company is headquartered has a significant influence on the company's activities, including its business practices and its corporate philanthropic giving.[6]

  1. ^ "Headquarters Location Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine." Continental Airlines. Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
  2. ^ "Locations Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine." KBR. Retrieved on August 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Eriksen, Helen. "Will KBR ditch its Houston headquarters for Katy suburbia?." Houston Chronicle. April 30, 2008. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
  4. ^ M. Menz, S. Kunisch, D. Collis (2015): The Corporate Headquarters in the Contemporary Corporation. Academy of Management Annals 9(1): 633-714. [online] Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7UTgqgrWfnB4GUDfZfJZ/full
  5. ^ Wanner, Herbert (2006): "Global and regional corporate headquarters"; in: Kählin, Christian, H. (Editor): Switzerland Business & Investment Handbook; Orell Füssli and Wiley
  6. ^ a b Marquis, Christopher; Tilcsik, András (2016-10-01). "Institutional Equivalence: How Industry and Community Peers Influence Corporate Philanthropy". Organization Science. 27 (5): 1325–1341. doi:10.1287/orsc.2016.1083. hdl:1813/44734. ISSN 1047-7039.
  7. ^ Wanner, Herbert, LeClef Xavier, Shimizu, Hiroshi (2004): Global Headquarters on the Move: From Administrators to Facilitators. Prims Second Semester 2004; Arthur D. Little
  8. ^ wiseGEEK, (2014). What Are Corporate Headquarters? (with picture). [online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-corporate-headquarters.htm [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014].
  9. ^ Wanner, Herbert, Quirina, Mireille J. (2004): DuPont, Philip Morris, Hewlett-Packard & Co – "Wohin mit der Konzernzentrale" (Whereto with the Corporate Headquarters)?; in: Odenthal, Stefan and Wissel, Gerhard (Hrsg): Strategische Investments in Unternehmen: Wie Sie Werte schöpfen, Kunden binden und Risiken managen; Gabler Verlag. ISBN 3-409-12313-X