ABSTRACT

Multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries can take on various responsibilities and roles, due to corporate role assignment, subsidiary choice, and external environmental changes (Birkinshaw et al., 1998; Birkinshaw, 2000; Rugman & Verbeke, 2001). Internal changes or external environmental shifts may drive these roles to evolve over time. The literature on subsidiary dynamics has focused most of its attention on the impact of internal, organizational changes, while largely ignoring the influence of supranational, environmental changes (Rugman, Verbeke & Yuan, 2011; Verbeke & Yuan, 2013). Even when environmental characteristics are considered, researchers tend to limit themselves to parameters such as local competition at the level of single country (Birkinshaw et al., 1998). Meyer’s co-authored study in 2009 called for the analysis of direct linkages between macro-level institutional environments and firm-level strategies; however, broader environmental factors, especially regional integration schemes, have been underemphasized and occupy only a minor position in most mainstream theoretical frameworks (Rugman, 2000, 2005).