The Regional Strategies of B ritish Multinational Subsidiaries in S outh E ast A sia

• Published in: British journal of management Vol. 25; no. S1
• Main Author: Nguyen, Quyen T.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-01-2014
• ISSN: 1045-3172; 1467-8551
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12006

We compare the strategies of manufacturing and service multinational enterprise (
MNE
) subsidiaries in
S
outh
E
ast
A
sia to investigate whether they follow global versus regional strategy. We examine foreign direct investment (
FDI
) motives, types of
FDI
, product and service offerings, and sales strategies of these two groups. Using a unique primary data set of 101
B
ritish
MNE
subsidiaries in six
S
outh
E
ast
A
sian countries over the five‐year period (2003–2007), we find that manufacturing and service subsidiaries pursue regional strategies. Both groups have a strong regional focus in their sales. We explore the possible reasons for the relative lack of global strategy of these subsidiaries.