Abstract
Subsidiary managers influence multinational strategy through framing initiatives and situating organisational attention, yet how these dynamic managerial capabilities are learned remains unclear. Drawing on dynamic managerial capabilities and situated learning theory, this qualitative critical realist case study examines a university-led leadership programme in a large multinational corporation. Based on 54 interviews and Gioia-based retroductive analysis, findings show that socially embedded learning mechanisms—dialogue, network interaction, strategic artefacts, and reflexive sensemaking—enhanced managerial cognition, social capital, and human capital. These developments strengthened attention and framing capabilities. The study identifies situated learning as a generative microfoundation of subsidiary manager’s strategic influence.