Essays on multinational enterprises' within-host-country strategy and structure in an emerging market

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to study multinational enterprisesa?? (MNEs) within-host-country strategy and structure with a focus on an MNEa??s foreign group subsidiary, a form of host country headquarters in an emerging market. It contributes to MNE research by addressing three questions in three essays: (1) Why do some MNEs form group subsidiaries in a large emerging market? (2) How does the group subsidiary facilitate an MNEa??s within-host-country business expansion? and (3) What factors influence the location choice of an MNEa??s group subsidiary? Being among the first to shift the research attention toward the totality of MNEsa?? foreign subsidiaries in a host country, it may inspire a new wave of MNE subsidiary research. I used longitudinal data on the Fortune Global 500 firms in China (1979-2005) and the empirical findings will have substantial implications for policy makers, business managers, and academics alike.