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Download fileWhither national subsidiaries? The need to refocus international management research on structures and processes that matter
journal contribution
posted on 2021-03-29, 14:14 authored by Antony Edwards, Luda Svystunova, Phil Almond, Philipp KernPhilipp Kern, Kyoungmi Kim, Olga TregaskisThe notion that multinational companies (MNCs) are comprised of multiple subsidiaries in different countries is one that underpins voluminous research in international management. This body of research was recently the subject of an authoritative and comprehensive review in this journal (Meyer, Li and Schotter, 2020). However, we share the concerns about the prevalence of the term ‘subsidiary’ within academic writing expressed by some others (MeesBuss, Welch and Westney, 2019) and take this further by questioning the assumptions of authority and control on which it is based. We argue that the role of national subsidiaries in how MNCs are organized has been eroded by developments ‘from above’ and ‘from below’ the national level such that it cannot be assumed that national subsidiaries are important influences on how MNCs govern and coordinate their production and service provision and how work is organized. We set out the implications for theory and methods in international management (IM).
History
School
- Loughborough University London
Published in
Journal of International Business StudiesVolume
53Issue
1Pages
203 - 210Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature)Version
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© Academy of International BusinessPublisher statement
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of International Business Studies. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Edwards, A. Whither national subsidiaries? The need to refocus international management research on structures and processes that matter. Journal of International Business Studies, 53 (1), pp.203-210 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00437-y.Acceptance date
2021-03-19Publication date
2021-06-01Copyright date
2021ISSN
0047-2506eISSN
1478-6990Publisher version
Language
- en