Antecedents and Performance Consequences of Subsidiaries’ Political Strategies in Emerging Markets: An Institutional Approach

This paper analyzes antecedents and performance consequences of political strategies deployed by MNC subsidiaries in emerging markets. Following institutional theory reasoning, we point towards institutional duality subsidiaries are confronted with, entailing isomorphic pressures stemming from their internal as well as their external environment. Our hypotheses are tested using three-stage least squares with detailed data from 156 subsidiaries in emerging markets. Results contribute to theory by differentiating effects from internal vs. external isomorphic pressures on political strategies. We also deliver a deeper level of understanding of the latter relationship by differentiating the general concept of external isomorphic pressures into pressures from national public and national private stakeholders. Finally, we find significant support for a positive effect of political strategies on subsidiary performance in emerging markets, revealing strong implications for practitioners.