The impact of autonomy on sustainable performance in foreign subsidiaries: an empirical study from Chinese construction industry

PurposeForeign construction subsidiaries play an important role in the global construction market. How to establish and maintain long-term sustainable performance has attracted increased attention, but only a few studies have considered this issue. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between autonomy and the sustainable performance of subsidiaries and to provide support for their management control modes.Design/methodology/approachFrom an institutional logics perspective, empirical research using a questionnaire survey was conducted following the methodological framework of this study. Relevant data were collected from 106 experienced managers of foreign construction subsidiaries, and the hypotheses were tested through a regression model.FindingsThe results show that foreign construction subsidiaries have a high degree of operational autonomy, which tends to strengthen their embeddedness in the host country and improve their sustainable performance. However, the role of strategic autonomy is not found to be significant. The moderation results show that the positive impact between operational autonomy and external network embeddedness is strengthened by institutional distance. Institutional distance has no significant moderating impact on the relationship between strategic autonomy and external network embeddedness, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsGeographical limitations may exist as the survey is focused on the Chinese construction foreign subsidiaries. However, based on an institutional logics perspective, this study discusses the management control mode of foreign subsidiaries, which enriches the antecedents of sustainable performance and can provide an in-depth explanation of the effects of the organizational strategies of multinational construction enterprises.Practical implicationsThis study provides beneficial information for the sustainable performance of foreign construction subsidiaries. It will provide detailed guidance to managers located in different institutional environments on optimally promoting the sustainable development of subsidiaries.Originality/valueThis study identifies autonomy as an important antecedent, making it one of the first studies investigating autonomy on the sustainable performance of foreign construction subsidiaries. The findings of this study can contribute to the construction subsidiaries' sustainable performance literature and provide novel, comprehensive knowledge for academia and practice.