Subsidiary network context in international firms

Abstract: Like all other companies, the type of company focused upon in this thesis performs its important operations in the relationships that form its network context. At the same time, the company is part of a division of an international firm, a subsidiary. This situation, in which the subsidiary is simultaneously operationally bound and dependent on its network context and the division of an international firm is the starting point for this thesis. The five papers included use extensive empirical data to show, that the network context of the subsidiary is unique and probably hard to comprehend by division management when they are not directly involved in the subsidiary's operations. The network context is also linked to the subsidiary's functional role in the division, implying that the phenomenon of network infusion has to be taken into account by the division management. The subsidiary's dependencies on its network context have also provided some explanations for the subsidiary's power in the division. On the other hand, the results also indicate that the division management still has the ability to control and coordinate the subsidiaries, although the subsidiary's operative situation with dependencies upon both the network context and the division, plays en important role in this process. In all, this means that the subsidiary network context must be considered to be an important element in the strategic development of the division of the international firm.