The Effects of Headquarters’ Levels of Control and Subsidiaries’ Local Experiences on Competency in Foreign Subsidiaries: A Quadratic Model Investigation of Korean Multinational Corporations

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to overcome the limitations of existing studies, which linearly determine the precedence factors of competency in overseas subsidiaries. The research objectives are as follows. First, what kind of nonlinear effects does the level of control held by Korean headquarters over foreign subsidiaries have in terms of competency in the subsidiaries? Second, what kind of nonlinear effects do the local experiences of overseas subsidiaries have on their competency Design/methodology – With data on Korean multinational corporations (MNCs), this paper analyzes the effects of control levels of headquarters (HQs) and host-country experiences of foreign subsidiaries regarding competency in overseas subsidiaries. In particular, this study focuses on nonlinear models, differentiating it from previous studies. In order to examine research hypotheses, this study conducted a survey of overseas subsidiaries of Korean corporations. Surveys were conducted through various methods including e-mail, online questionnaires, fax, and telephone calls. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to a total of 2,246 overseas subsidiaries, and 409 completed responses were collected. Excluding 15 copies that were insufficiently answered, responses from a total of 394 copies were used for analysis. Findings – This study presents the following results. First, there is a U-shaped relationship between levels of HQ control and competency in foreign subsidiaries. This means that higher levels of HQ control negatively impact the competency levels of subsidiaries because strict control undermines autonomy in subsidiaries. However, if the level of HQ control exceeds a certain point, then the transfer of knowledge between HQs and subsidiaries is facilitated. Knowledge transferred from HQs can be used as prior knowledge by foreign subsidiaries to the benefit of all parties. Accordingly, knowledge transfer negates the negative effects of excessive HQ control and positively affects competency in subsidiaries. Second, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the local (host-country) experiences of subsidiaries and competency in foreign subsidiaries. This means that foreign subsidiaries can overcome the liabilities of foreignness and contribute to capability building by accumulating unique knowledge about their host countries. However, if local experiences accumulate excessively beyond a certain point, then the host country-specific experiences of foreign subsidiaries will offset the benefits discussed above. Excessive local experiences not only increase organizational inertia, but also create a problem of goal incongruence due to information asymmetry between HQs and subsidiaries. Therefore, excessive local experiences have negative effects on competency in foreign subsidiaries. Originality/value – This study suggests the following implications. First, unlike existing studies based mainly on linear models, this study presents important theoretical implications in its focus on nonlinear models and its analysis of the effects of HQ control and local experiences on competency in foreign subsidiaries from perspectives of organizational learning theory and agency theory. Second, in terms of practical implications, the results of this study suggest that optimally raising levels of HQ control and managing the local experiences of subsidiaries without increasing organizational inertia is important for enhancing competency in foreign subsidiaries.