The management of subsidiaries in emerging Malaysian multinational enterprises

While there is increasing research on Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from the newly industrialized economies, there is a dearth of studies on MNEs from the lesser developed Asian countries, particularly in the area of subsidiary-management. This paper aims to contribute to this knowledge gap with empirical evidence from a study based on six case studies of MNEs from Malaysia, a rapidly developing country. Some differences as well as commonalities in subsidiary-management were found among our sample firms. These are discussed in relation to the literature on management of subsidiaries in other Asian and western MNEs. Implications for research and limitations of the study are covered.