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Factory performance and decision-making authority between headquarters, expatriates, and local employees in Japanese MNCs in Southeast Asia

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Abstract

This study aims to clarify the relationship between foreign factory performance and the decision-making authority for manufacturing activities between headquarters, expatriates, and local employees. To investigate these relationships, we conducted logistic regression analysis based on a questionnaire survey of 246 Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Southeast Asia and multiple case studies. We found (1) a negative relationship between factory performance and the level of the headquarters’ authority, (2) a positive relationship between factory performance and the level of expatriates’ authority, and that (3) subsidiaries’ operating years and export ratio moderate the relationship between factory performance and expatriates’ authority.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by funding under JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP15H01960, JP16H03666, and JP17K13777.

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  1. Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Kiyohiro Oki

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  1. Kiyohiro Oki
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Oki, K. Factory performance and decision-making authority between headquarters, expatriates, and local employees in Japanese MNCs in Southeast Asia. Asian Bus Manage 19, 86–117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-018-00054-y

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