Julian Birkinshaw
The purpose of this chapter is to review the large and growing literature on MNE subsidiaries, and to offer some perspectives on how it may evolve in the future. There is clearly some overlap between the content of this chapter, and a number of other chapters—notably those concerned with the strategy and structure of the MNE as a whole, and the chapter about alliances and joint ventures in MNEs. What makes this chapter distinctive is its focus on the wholly-owned subsidiary company as the primary unit of analysis (where the subsidiary is defined as a value-adding activity outside the MNE's home country). The research reviewed here typically is concerned with the activities and/or responsibilities of the subsidiary company, and how the subsidiary company relates to other entities inside and outside the MNE. And from an applied perspective, it is typically directed towards the agenda of the subsidiary president.
-380-
