Title: Further insights into assessing performance in the subsidiaries of MNEs

Authors: Sylva Žáková Talpová; Francesco Scalera

Addresses: Department of Corporate Economy, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic ' Department of Business and Law Studies, Faculty of Economics, University of Bari 'Aldo Moro', Italy

Abstract: International business literature often associates company performance with a wide range of phenomena. However, MNE subsidiary performance is to a certain extent idiosyncratic, often too specific to conform to generalised observations. A consensus on the exact nature of subsidiary performance has yet to be achieved, although various approaches to assessment have been suggested. This contribution examines subjective MNE subsidiary performance measurement as a particular indicator of overall subsidiary performance. Using a sample of 249 MNE subsidiaries, it compares subjective and objective performance measures and explores the specifics of the subjective subsidiary performance evaluation. The results indicate that subjective and objective performance measures might not correlate in MNE subsidiaries, although such a correlation is often anticipated. Furthermore, it reveals the main obstacles to subjective performance assessment in subsidiaries. A summary of matters that should be taken into consideration when evaluating subsidiary performance is provided and promising directions for future research are suggested.

Keywords: subsidiary performance; MNE subsidiaries; MNEs; multinational enterprises; subjective performance measures; objective performance measures; performance assessment; performance evaluation; performance measurement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPM.2015.066039

International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2015 Vol.16 No.1, pp.56 - 66

Received: 21 Apr 2014
Accepted: 05 Aug 2014
Published online: 09 May 2015 *

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