Deborah Mireles
National University of Ireland Galway
Deborah Mireles, who recently completed a Msc in International Business Management, is a PhD candidate in Subsidiary Innovation at the National University of Ireland in Galway. A focused and determined individual, with a passion for research who aims to make valuable contributions in the field of Business Management.
The question which this PhD study will address is as follows: Is multinational subsidiary autonomy a ‘help or hindrance’ in the context of MNE evolution. The study adopts a network perspective, to understand how the subsidiary utilises autonomy or indeed influence to grow its subsidiary. The study will focus on the Medical Device cluster in Galway and Mexico, so as to derive unique insights into how autonomy has enabled growth of the subsidiary in these different economic and social contexts.
Research Rationale
The concept of autonomy and in particular subsidiary autonomy is not new (Young, 2004). It is generally accepted found that subsidiaries pursuing initiatives enhanced their roles within the MNE thus achieving more autonomy and increasing its strategic significance within the corporation Birkinshaw et al, 1998, 2000, 2005). However more recent research has indicated that high internal embeddedness in the past may help subsidiaries gain higher levels of autonomy in the future, whereas high external embeddedness may lead to lower levels of autonomy in the future (Ambos et all., 2011). This is an interesting and nascent area for future research activity (McDonald, 2012; Tuselmann et al 2012), particularly in the contexts of successful Medical Device companies in two different host economies.
Elimination of the centralised chain of command towards a more federative and heterarchical structure presented growth opportunities for subsidiaries (Pearce and Papantassiou, 2006). However, the nature and type of autonomy required and actually utilised by subsidiary managers has changed in recent years (McDonald, 2012). In the context of recent role changes arises the question of assumed freedom of such important subsidiaries to undertake independent activities or initiatives. Resonating with this questions is that fact that recently, it has been argued but not empirically verified that highly autonomous subsidiaries may be at a disadvantage due to a lack of coordination between headquarters and the subsidiary which could lead to isolation from the rest of the organisation; thus the subsidiary could weaken its intra-firm position (Cantwell and Mudambi 2005, p. 1114).
Relevant Literature
Analysis of this literature on subsidiary autonomy has neglected gaps. Subsidiary autonomy is envisaged as a requirement for the subsidiary to develop and exploit its capabilities (Holm and Pedersen). However more recent research has indicated that increased levels of autonomy can have a counterproductive impact on the subsidiary in the future as highly autonomous subsidiaries may be more connected to their external environment and less connected internally, which might be disadvantageous. A number of studies have investigated autonomy, the network relationships of subsidiaries, and the influence of these elements on performance. However, most of the research has not combined autonomy, interorganizational relationships, and intra-organizational relationships. Vernaik, Midgley, and Devinney (2005) independently examined interorganizational networking and subsidiary autonomy.
In addition to theory development, it is posited that placing a greater emphasis on subsidiary autonomy; examining the conditions under which conditions autonomy is an obstacle to achieving network benefits between intra- and inter-organizational networks would be very much of practical valuable to subsidiary management with associated policy implications.
