Due to the dispersion of headquarters’ activities across organizational and geographical boundaries, intermediate units (IUs) are emerging as a key actor in international business. These units are intermediate structural layers between headquarters (HQ) and local subsidiaries with specific HQ responsibilities. Through a systematic review of 68 studies published between 1996 and 2020, we develop a conceptual framework that integrates complementary streams of theoretical and empirical research with IUs as the focal unit of analysis. Our aims are to disentangle how the main theories in this field address the antecedents of IU creation, and explain the dynamism in the roles and functions of IUs and their outcomes. We also propose a conceptualization of IUs as co‐parents in a dynamic system in which parenting functions are shared by IUs and headquarters. Finally, we highlight avenues for future research, emphasizing opportunities to advance the understanding of IUs using different theoretical lenses that may help scholars position their work within the broader stream of literature.

中文翻译：

---

跨国公司中级单位：关于其共同父母角色，动态和结果的先进理论

由于总部的活动分散在组织和地域范围内，因此中间部门（IU）逐渐成为国际业务中的关键角色。这些单位是总部（HQ）和具有特定总部职责的本地子公司之间的中间结构层。通过对1996年至2020年间发表的68项研究的系统评价，我们建立了一个概念框架，该框架将理论和实证研究的互补流与IU作为分析的重点单位相结合。我们的目标是弄清该领域的主要理论如何解决IU创建的先例，并解释IU的作用和功能及其结果的动态性。我们还提出了在动态系统中将IU定义为共同父母的概念，其中育儿功能由IU和总部共享。最后，我们重点介绍了未来研究的途径，强调了使用不同的理论视角来增进对IU的理解的机会，这可能有助于学者将其工作定位在更广泛的文献流中。