Exploratory activities and double embeddedness in foreign subsidiaries of Japanese MNCs

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03906
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Management
• Research Institution: Kanagawa University
• Principal Investigator: Yamamoto Takao 神奈川大学, 経済学部, 教授 (30318761)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 海外子会社 / 多国籍企業 / 探索的活動 / 埋め込み / 日本企業 / 東南アジア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, we show how foreign subsidiaries of Japanese multinational companies(JMNC) manage their exploratory activities through dual embeddedness, and which overseas subsidiaries are conducting exploratory activities and which organization is responsible for the exploratory activities.
Based on multiple interview surveys within 11 foreign subsidiaries of JMNC in Southeast Asian countries, the findings of this study were mainly as follows. First, in subsidiaries which conduct exploratory activities, the roles and responsibilities of exploratory activities were clarified and authorized to middle managers, to a certain extent. Second, the long-term perspective in exploratory activities was shared by the headquarters and overseas subsidiaries. Third, there were some cases in which important functions of the headquarters were relocated to vital foreign subsidiaries.

Free Research Field

国際経営

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

多国籍企業における二重の埋め込みを通じた探索的活動のマネジメントについて、既存研究ではまちまちな研究結果がみられており、本研究では「探索的活動」という概念の再検討を行った。そして、探索的活動を行う主体の責任や権限を明確化し、その重要性を本社・海外子会社双方で認識し合うことや、長期的視点と短期的視点の双方を追求する点が、イノベーティブな活動に影響していることを示唆した。また、金融、教育、小売といったサービス領域における探索的活動が海外子会社で積極的に行われていることを明らかとした。
これらの点が、理論的・実践的なインプリケーションであり、学術的・社会的意義があると考えられる。