| Abstract: | Notwithstanding their concern with intra‐MNC control mechanisms, scholars have overlooked the complementary phenomenon of self‐regulatory behavior by subsidiaries. In this paper, we take the first steps towards addressing this gap by advancing and testing hypotheses dealing with the determinants of a major element of self‐regulatory behavior at the subsidiary level, i.e., the performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. Utilizing data from 374 subsidiaries of 75 MNCs, we test hypotheses regarding the impact of subsidiary task and organizational context on the feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) subsidiary presidents do engage in proactive performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior; (ii) they vary in the extent to which they engage in such behavior; and (iii) these variations in feedback‐seeking behavior are at least partially systematic. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
