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This paper aims to examine the effect of R&D laboratories on the perceived performance of MNE subsidiaries during recession.

Employing resource-based view and knowledge-based theory, the authors investigate a unique sample of 171 technologically heterogenous foreign MNE subsidiaries located in Greece over the period of recession 2009–2016. The sample subsidiaries operate different types of R&D laboratories.

The authors find that MNE subsidiaries with advanced R&D laboratories such as locally integrated laboratories (LILs) and internationally interdependent laboratories (IILs) perform better in recession than subsidiaries with support laboratories (SLs) or subsidiaries without R&D laboratories. Overall, the authors find an asymmetric performance contribution of R&D laboratories at subsidiary level.

The study provides useful insights into the environmentally derived “knowledge-based - performance” context, so filling an important research gap, since little is known about the performance impact of the input-side of technological activity at MNE subsidiary level, especially as regards R&D facilities/infrastructure. Based on the findings the authors identify important managerial implications.

In an environment of intensive global mobility, this study aims to investigate the performance role of staffing choices within diverse MNE subsidiary strategies. Incorporating the integration-responsiveness (IR) framework with a contingency perspective, this study proposes that the performance success of distinct MNE subsidiary strategies depends on staffing choices. This study argues that performance differences of staffing choices such as assigned expatriates, self-initiated expatriates, former inpatriates and host-country nationals derive from their different knowledge/experience advantages regarding the intra-firm environment and local market conditions.

The study utilizes a unique sample of 169 foreign subsidiaries located in Greece that faced the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (in 2020). For robustness reasons, this study also captures the imposition of capital controls (in June 2015).

This study finds important mediating performance effects of a diversified human resource portfolio across distinct subsidiary strategies in difficult times. Integration strategy tends to use more assigned expatriates, locally responsive strategy tends to utilize more host-country nationals, whereas multi-focal strategy favors self-initiated expatriates and former inpatriates, with positive subsidiary performance effects accordingly. So, staffing policies that are suitable to balance the needs of Human Resource Management (HRM) portfolio differ from strategy to strategy. Moreover, this study finds that managing HRM diversity is crucial in turbulent times.

While the empirical evidence has been predominantly accumulated from large economies, largely neglecting performance effects of MNE subsidiary staffing in crisis contexts, the analysis sheds light on a small open economy (i.e. the Greek context) emphasizing rapidly environmental deterioration. The findings extend existing theorizing on international performance and HRM management by providing an integrative conceptual framework linking integration-responsiveness motivated strategies with distinct groups of high-quality human resources under contingency considerations, so creatively synthesizing largely fragmented IB and HRM research streams. The study provides valuable insights into the performance role of non-conventional staffing choices such as self-initiated expatriates and former inpatriates, given that relevant studies examine either exclusively expatriates or compare expatriates with host country nationals, reaching inconclusive results.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse how European integration shapes the locational decisions of foreign transnational corporations (TNCs).

The paper concentrates on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the European Union (EU) and highlight the case of Greece. The investigation is based on a wide original sample of 199 foreign industrial subsidiaries operating in Greece. In particular, the paper reveals the dynamic investment and divestment strategies of TNCs in the host economy, which have taken place in the context of the reduction of EU market fragmentation and barriers to entry.

The empirical results suggest, that, in general, the participation of Greece in the EU has not increased the attractiveness of the country as a production base for TNCs. In fact, Greece did neither manage to attract considerable amounts of export oriented foreign investment nor did it receive much efficiency seeking FDI.

The findings show for the case of Greece that divestment strategies of TNCs play a crucial role in explaining FDI patterns. For extending the results to more general applications, further research on this topic is needed.

The paper concludes that the integration of Greece into the EU has uncovered some structural deficits of the national economy. In addition, we identify some important locational weaknesses concerning the Greek ability to attract FDI. Thus, in order to stop divestment of foreign TNCs further reform efforts are necessary. These findings are of particular interest for public policy makers.

To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first study that jointly analyse the investment and divestment strategies of TNCs in the specific regional context of Greece and the EU. It draws on an original sample of 199 foreign enterprises operating in Greece.

To investigate whether acquiring firms listed in the Athens Stock Exchange, that completed mergers and acquisitions during the period 2001‐2003, tend to manipulate accounting earnings upward prior to the initiation and completion of the transaction.

The focus is on discretionary accruals as a measure of managers' earnings manipulation. To estimate discretionary and non‐discretionary components of total accruals the time series Jones model is adopted.

Results provide weak evidence of biased accruals reported by managers in the year preceding the announcement and the completion of the deal. The results seem to agree with those of Erickson and Wang who found no evidence of pre‐merger earnings management by a sample of acquiring firms that were involved in cash mergers.

The model applied, even if it is considered effective in discriminating abnormal from normal accruals, has been shown to have certain deficiencies, while simultaneously the time series data and number of firms used here could be considered as small. Within the aforementioned limitations further research could examine the effect of mergers and acquisitions in the stock price of the acquiring of target firms and the possibility of earnings management by target firms, since target managers may have different incentives to manipulate earnings.

Findings are of particular interest to Greek regulators for policy‐making purposes as well as to investors in the Greek capital market.

To the best of one's knowledge this is the first study to examine earnings management by acquiring firms in the European capital market context.

By conducting a field research in affiliates of foreign transnational corporations (TNCs) established in Greece, this paper aims to investigate whether a different tendency of intra‐firm organization has a different impact on their profitability and earnings management policy.

The original sample consists of 82 affiliates of foreign TNCs. Using a cut off point (25 percent) indicative of intra‐firm pattern, these affiliates are divided into two categories: foreign subsidiaries with a high intra‐firm trade degree (or with intra‐firm trade >25 percent of their total trade) and foreign subsidiaries with a low intra‐firm trade degree (or with intra‐firm trade ≤25 percent of their total trade) correspondingly. The paper utilizes two econometric tests over the period 1999‐2002: first, a logit model is employed to identify possible accounting‐based performance differences related to differential degrees of intra‐firm trade. Second, the popular cross‐sectional discretionary accruals model initiated by Jones is applied in order to detect differences concerning earnings management policy between the two groups of affiliates. Based on the internalization theory of TNC, the main hypothesis is that the foreign affiliates with high intra‐firm trade degree are more likely to affect their profitability, and due to institutional specific characteristics of Greece (e.g. relatively high tax rates), they appear to have smaller profits in comparison to the other subsidiaries.

Contrary to initial predictions, the impact of intra‐firm trade on the profitability of foreign affiliates did not prove statistically significant. Results concerning the earnings management policy are similar. TNCs in general are found not to manipulate their reported earnings figure more than a neutral sample of 847 domestic companies.

The list of explanatory variables is not an exhaustive one. In further quantitative work, more complex econometric methods should be used to support findings.

Findings are of particular interest for a multiple set of stakeholders/investors active in global markets as well as for regulators in attempting to ensure the coordination of tax policies among countries. Specifically, it is important for stakeholders and investors to know to what degree the integration of the subsidiary units (they have invested in) affects their performance and differentiates the manner that profits are managed. In addition, the regulators seek to define in detail the factors that make up profits on the inside of multinational enterprises so that they can practice their policies more effectively. Moreover, the findings may be applicable to other smaller countries which resemble the Greek setting.

The paper presents two novelties. First, it discloses original information regarding the internalization of trade activities of foreign affiliates located in Greece; such information is quite rarely found in literature. Second, it is one of the first studies which combines income policy of TNCs to their intra‐firm transactions.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of prediction of Greek takeover targets that belong to the industrial sector, emphasizing the econometric methodology and the prediction test.

The study uses a sample of 51 targets and 290 non‐targets exclusively from Greek industry over the period 1997‐2005. In order to achieve a better predictive accuracy the paper uses a new econometric methodology, the bootstrap mixed logit and different (more advanced) techniques of prediction test and choice of cutoff values.

The results exhibit that bootstrap mixed logit has significant and valuable predictive ability with respect to the classical conditional logit model. Furthermore, the predictive accuracy is higher than the results of other studies (e.g Palepu and Espahbodi and Espahbodi).

The main contribution of this study is the application of the bootstrap mixed logit in analyzing Greek takeovers. The results change the prediction variables as well as the determinants of the takeover target characteristics for the Greek industry. This is meaningful, not only for the investors that seek to increase the value of their fortune through acquisitions, but also for the managers that can detect if their firm might be considered a takeover target.

Foreign divestment of subsidiaries is a growing research field. The global increase in investments has led to more divestments. However, much about the processes and circumstances leading to foreign divestments (FDs) requires further investigation. This study aims to review and consolidate the existing literature on foreign divestment and identify avenues for future research.

This study performs a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of studies on FDs to highlight the traditional and emerging perspectives in the field. This work examines foreign divestment theories based on operations, human resources, finance and marketing business functions.

This study sets forth a basic foreign divestment framework and highlights potential research areas. Future studies should expand to emerging economies, explore complex relationships, distinguish foreign divestment types and identify the limits of various theories and perspectives.

This study discusses traditional theories such as economies of scale, portfolio adjustment, reverse eclectic, real options and transaction cost economies. This study also examines emerging perspectives: attention-based, behavioral, committedness, contingency, favoritism, flexibility, hysteresis, legitimation, network and resource-based views. This study uses traditional and emerging theories to explain foreign divestment decisions in different business functions.

In the macroeconomic environment of the Iberian Peninsula, this paper aims to understand which factors, intrinsic to management, affect the performance of wine companies.

The sample comprises 3,113 wine Iberian companies between 2011 and 2018. This study has used the panel data methodology, specifically the generalized method of moments system estimation method of Arellano and Bond (1991); Arellano and Bover (1995); and Blundell and Bond (1998) to test the hypotheses proposed.

Using return on assets (ROA) and sales growth as measures of corporate performance, this study’s results suggest that sales growth is the variable that has the most significant determining factors, both specific to the company and given the macroeconomic environment. Investors and civil society well understand the meaning of sales growth, namely, in a sector close to the final consumer. When using ROA as a dependent variable, the results suggest that because it is a pure management variable, the manager tends to be more concerned with maintaining adequate levels of economic profitability to ensure sustainability and future solvency, without giving prominence to the macroeconomic environment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a study has been carried out in the Iberian Peninsula on the wine industry using ROA and sales growth as measures of corporate performance. This study shows that sales growth is a measure traditionally known to external stakeholders, and to that extent, its determining factors are the variables that these players most value in the market.

The existing literature suggests that multinational corporations (MNCs) divest subsidiary units whenever they cease to enjoy the advantages of ownership, location or internalization. However, not all MNCs divest under these conditions. This paper aims to explore the factors that contributed to the survival of a particular subsidiary and prevented it from being divested.

The analysis focuses on an individual subsidiary of a large foreign MNC in the electronics industry, which divested other subsidiaries from Portugal. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews.

The subsidiary’s diverse customer base, specificity and high level of efficiency, the local advantages, the existing governmental agreements and the parent MNC’s previous unsuccessful relocation experiences seem to have contributed to the survival of the subsidiary.

Although the results of the case study are not generalizable to the entire population of firms, the featured case study is a rare survival success story in the Portuguese electronics industry.

The proposed framework may offer public authorities measures to create conditions to encourage firms to retain their investment in a particular site. For corporate strategists, new perspectives on subsidiary survival are provided.

This paper is one of the few qualitative studies in the field of subsidiary survival. The results offer an integrative framework on which factors contribute to the survival of a subsidiary located on a comparatively unfavorable labor cost location and support the role of the organizational learning and of previous failed relocation experiences and relocation barriers when a parent MNC decides whether to retain a unit.