The Relocation of Functional Headquarters

In order to stay competitive in an ever-changing global market, companies need to learn to adapt to changes in the market by transforming or developing their organization. As the external environment changes in an ever faster pace, strategic alterations should become more frequent to a point where change management in itself becomes a constant. Evolutionary change is thereby complemented by revolutionary change such as in the case of Outokumpu Oyj, a large Finnish multinational corporation that has relocated its functional headquarters from Helsinki to Brussels. The relocation not only helps the company to stay close to important markets and customers, but also increases the diversity of the headquarter function. The relocation of functional headquarters is particularly interesting and important for MNCs from small economies with a limited local market leading to an increased external focus. The case of Outokumpu Oyj should help shed some light on the strategic drivers and organizational implications of change, and should be especially useful to professionals in the field of Management, or anyone else who may be interested in headquarter relocation.