Title: Institutional development and subsidiary decision making autonomy: theory and evidence from Taiwan

Authors: Sven Dahms

Addresses: Department of International Business Administration, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, 840, Taiwan

Abstract: This article investigates the effects of differing institutional contexts in which multinationals operate and their impact on decision making autonomy of subsidiaries located in an emerging economy. The research builds on a unique dataset of all known foreign-owned subsidiaries in Taiwan. Our results indicate that differences in formal institutional development and informal institutions are positively associated with overall decision making autonomy in foreign-owned subsidiaries. Factor markets and infrastructure, on the other hand seem to play a lesser role.

Keywords: country context distance; decision making autonomy; institutional distance; foreign-owned subsidiaries; institutional development; Taiwan; multinationals; multinational corporations; MNCs; emerging economies; informal institutions; factor markets; infrastructure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2017.083358

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2017 Vol.9 No.2, pp.124 - 147

Received: 27 Sep 2015
Accepted: 22 Jun 2016

Published online: 24 Mar 2017 *

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