Subsidiary decision-making authority-Review and future research frontier

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature concerning the determinants of subsidiary decision-making autonomy. Based on this, we offer future research guidance which includes a set of common determinants relating to the following factors: subsidiary’s strategic role, organizational complexity, decision control structure, and multinational firm characteristics. For each of these clusters of determinants we identify a core set of independent variables and their measures. This leads to a new determinant-model of subsidiary decision-making autonomy. Our new model makes it easier to specify the research frontier in this field.