The adoption of downsizing during the Asian economic crisis

This study examines the adoption of downsizing during the Asian economic crisis. We use data from a large firm-level survey to examine and compare the adoption of downsizing by firms across sectors and across three countries – Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The results show that country effects had a significant impact on the adoption of downsizing during the Asian economic crisis. Also, significant differences were found in the adoption of downsizing across different sectors of activities. The implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed

Within-country product diversification and foreign subsidiary performance

We examine the product diversification of a multinational firm within each of its host-country markets. Based on a sample of 12,992 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese multinational firms, we find that higher levels of within-country product diversity led to higher subsidiary performance where the institutional strength of the local market was weak, and where a firm's corporate product diversity level was high. Our study highlights the importance of examining a multinational firm's strategy in its individual host-country markets, as influenced by the institutional characteristics of a host-country market and the corporate-level strategy of the multinational firm. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 706–724. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400378