Evolving FDI Legitimacy and Strategic Choice of Japanese Subsidiaries in China
基于1993-2000年日本在华子公司数据，研究发现随着FDI合法性提升，小型子公司更倾向独资并增加外派人员，大型子公司则更倾向合资并减少外派人员，且子公司更可能聘用本地经理。
We examine how evolving FDI legitimacy in China influences two strategic choices (entry mode and expatriate staffing) of Japanese subsidiaries there over the period 1993–2000, based on data aggregated from Toyo Keizai and the National Bureau of Statistics of China (various years). As FDI legitimacy improves over time, we find that smaller subsidiaries tend to choose the wholly owned subsidiary mode and deploy a higher percentage of expatriates, whereas larger subsidiaries tend to choose the joint venture mode and use a lower percentage of expatriates; and that Japanese subsidiaries are more likely to have a local manager, and this tendency may be stronger for larger subsidiaries. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed from a density dependence theory perspective.