Nieuw perspectief op relatie tussen hoofdkantoor en dochteronderneming [PhD Dut Vo, 20 January]

The distribution of decision-making autonomy over headquarters and subsidiaries is an important strategic decision that many firms need to make. The study of Dut Van Vo disentangles causes and consequences of decision-making autonomy with special reference to subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The overall conclusion is that multinational enterprises face a trade-off: when distance to the host country increases it is likely that the headquarters relies on the subsidiary for local expertise and knowledge, especially in institutionally thick countries where local embeddedness is important. With increasing distance, however, the degree of decision-making autonomy will go down, whereas to increase innovation both low or high levels of subsidiary decision-making autonomy are actually best, especially when subsidiary's external embeddedness is high.

This overall conclusion is a reflection of a well-known tension in the corporate reality of international business and management, namely how to balance local responsiveness with global coordination and integration. This study provides novel insights on how subsidiary decision- making plays a pivotal role in understanding this tension and formulating an appropriate response to it.

Curriculum vitae

Dut Van Vo graduated in the Research Master Economics and Business at the University of Groningen. He conducted his PhD at the department of Global Economics and Management of FEB. Vo will be awarded his PhD on Monday 20 January (14.30h). Thesis supervisor is prof.dr. S. Beugelsdijk. Thesis title: Subsidiary decision-making autonomy in multinational enterprises. Vo is currently employed by Can Tho University in Vietnam.