Autonomy and Performance of Foreign Subsidiaries in Transition Countries

Abstract

The paper analyses the link between the autonomy according to business function and the performance of foreign subsidiaries in Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Estonia. The obtained results supported the argument that the relationship between autonomy and performance depends on the type of autonomy. Marketing and finance are the most powerful dimensions of autonomy. Higher autonomy in marketing is negatively linked with technology upgrading, measured by the productivity level, the improvement of technological level of production equipment, and the quality of products. The higher the financial autonomy of the subsidiaries the bigger the positive changes in all fields of performance.