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The paper advances our understanding of managerial identity work in the context of HQ-subsidiary relations. We argue that a key part of this identity work is related to cultural stereotypes. On the basis of an analysis of two Finland-based MNCs operating in Russia, the paper elucidates three forms of stereotype-based identity work with enabling or constraining power implications. The first form, stereotypical talk, refers to identity work whereby managers enact their stereotypical conceptions of 'the other' to bolster their self-image and 'inferiorize' 'the other'. The second form, reactive talk, is identity work that emerges as a reaction to stereotypical talk whereby managers aim at renegotiating the proposed social arrangement for their own benefit. Finally, the third form, self-reflexive talk, refers to identity work whereby managers attempt to go beyond the social arrangement produced through stereotypical and reactive talk by distancing themselves in a self-reflexive manner from essentialist cultural conceptions. Overall, the paper offers an initial attempt to elucidate how stereotype-based identity work is used to justify or resist existing power structures and power asymmetries in HQsubsidiary relations within the MNC.

Even while attempting to explain the same outcomes, research on leadership and on human resource management (HRM) have largely progressed on parallel trajectories. We extend recent efforts to bring these fields closer together by testing how employee perceptions of a high‐performance work system (HPWS) and transformational leadership (TL), independently and jointly, influence four important employee attitudes. Analyses of 308 subordinates of 76 managers in five multinational companies suggest that a HPWS substitutes for much of the independent influence of TL and constitutes an important boundary condition for some of this influence. Implications for future research on HRM and leadership are discussed.