Subsidiary’s Network Competence: Finnish Multinational Companies in Russia

Abstract

Multinational companies tend to have resources and be capable of establishing subsidiaries across national borders, yet successful foreign operations also require that the established subsidiaries are able to become locally embedded in host-country networks. This study contributes to the international business research by investigating how and when the subsidiary’s ability to develop and manage their local network relationships developed as subsidiaries are established abroad. The empirical part is based on interviews from two Finnish companies operating internationally and in Russia. The findings provide insight into the network competence’s development process in the Russian business environment and in international business.