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Societal trust, formal institutions, and foreign subsidiary staffing

Author

Listed:
  • Ajai Gaur

    (Rutgers Business School - Newark and New Brunswick)

  • Chinmay Pattnaik

    (University of Sydney Business School)

  • Deeksha Singh

    (Rutgers University – Camden)

  • Jeoung Yul Lee

    (Hongik University)

Abstract

This study examines the interactive effects of host-country societal trust and formal institutions on foreign subsidiary staffing strategies. Based on the conceptualization of institutions in new institutional economics, we demonstrate that high societal trust and strong formal institutions that support market-based exchange jointly reduce the incidence of expatriate staffing in foreign subsidiaries. We identify two contingency factors – subsidiary interdependence and host-country experience – that affect this relationship. Our finding suggests that the level of interdependence among subsidiaries within the MNE network and the host-country experience of the subsidiaries negatively moderate the interactive effect of formal and informal institutions on expatriate staffing. We test our hypotheses based on longitudinal data of 6675 foreign subsidiaries of 435 Korean MNEs in 42 countries between 1990 and 2014.

Suggested Citation

  • Ajai Gaur & Chinmay Pattnaik & Deeksha Singh & Jeoung Yul Lee, 2022. "Societal trust, formal institutions, and foreign subsidiary staffing," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1045-1061, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:53:y:2022:i:6:d:10.1057_s41267-021-00498-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s41267-021-00498-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Fan, Di & Zhang, Ya’nan & Huang, Xinli & Su, Yiyi, 2023. "Varieties of institutional systems, the belt-road initiative, and the patterned investment flows," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    2. Daniel S. Andrews & Phillip C. Nell & Andreas P. J. Schotter & Tomi Laamanen, 2023. "And the subsidiary lives on: Harnessing complex realities in the contemporary MNE," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(3), pages 538-549, April.
    3. Róisín Donnelly & Saptarshi Purkayastha & Tatiana S. Manolova & Linda F. Edelman, 2024. "Institutional distance, slack resources, and foreign market entry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 55(2), pages 194-211, March.
    4. Puhr, Harald & Müllner, Jakob, 2024. "Vox populi, vox dei: A concept and measure for grassroots socio-political risk using Google Trends," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2).
    5. Li, Liang (Arthur) & Schotter, Andreas P.J. & Beamish, Paul W., 2024. "The origin and nationality of general manager successors in local-market-seeking MNE subsidiaries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(3).
    6. Weber, Clarissa E. & Maurer, Indre, 2023. "Knowledge acquisition from host-country partners: The interplay of trust and legal safeguards," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).

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