This paper examines the potential diversity in the relationships established between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries within multinational corporations (MNC). Indeed, MNCs face many challenges, considering the geographic dispersal of subsidiaries which can induce a differentiated management among the various subsidiaries of the same group. The empirical study is based on three in-depth case-studies of French multinationals : France Télécom, Schneider Electric and Publicis. The findings of the study indicate a possible uniform or differentiated management of subsidiaries in MNC, they identify the different factors to be considered, and they question the role of the headquarters and foreign subsidiaries.