Perceived senior leadership opportunities in MNCs: The effect of social hierarchy and capital

Drawing on the structural perspective in organizational theory, this study develops a conceptual framework of the social hierarchy within the multinational corporation (MNC). We suggest that parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs), and third country nationals (TCNs) occupy distinctively different positions in the social hierarchy, which are anchored in their differential control or access to various forms of capital or strategically valuable organizational resources. We further suggest that these positions affect employees’ perceptions of senior leadership opportunities, defined as the assessment of the extent to which nationality and location influence access to senior leadership opportunities. Using multilevel analysis of survey data from 2039 employees in seven MNCs, the study reveals two significant findings. First, HCNs and TCNs perceive that nationality and location influence access to senior leadership opportunities more than PCNs. Second, three moderating factors – gender, tenure, and education – increase the perception gaps between PCNs on the one hand and HCNs and TCNs on the other, although these results are inconsistent. These findings indicate that the structural position of PCNs, HCNs, and TCNs in the social hierarchy affect sense-making and perceptions of access to senior leadership opportunities.