英语翻译3.Method and data3.1.Data collectionWe targeted middle-r

英语翻译3.Method and data3.1.Data collectionWe targeted middle-ranking managers in subsidiaries of MNCs to provide data on corporate culture anddecentralization variables and used a questionnaire survey for this.We complemented this with secondary data onHofstede dimensions for each of the home and host countries represented in the sample.Middle-ranking subsidiarymanagers are in an ideal position to experience decentralization within their local subsidiary.However,suchmanagers arenotably difficult to access and elicit responses from.We therefore decided to use a purposive networking approach togaining access and building a sample frame.This enabled respondents to be identified and qualified in terms of their roleand level within the MNC subsidiary,and also allowed their experience of the international environment of the MNC,including experience of the headquarters-subsidiary relationship,to be assessed.The background to the survey was alsodiscussed,encouraging response accuracy by reducing interpretation problems.We received 119 usable questionnaires.This sample covered 15 countries of origin,18 host countries and 16 distinct industries.One weakness of previous studiesinMNC subsidiary research has been a focus onmanufacturing industries (Boojihawon et al.,2007).Service industry MNCsaccounted for 61.3% of our sample.The sample consisted of well-known diversified MNCs as well as lesser known,morespecializedMNCs.In terms of number of employees,25 cases (21.0%) hadmore than 100,000 employees at the time of thequestionnaire response,34 (28.6%) had less than 5000 employees.In terms of tenure and experience of the respondentwithin the MNC,55 respondents (46.2%) indicated that they had greater than 5 years tenure within their MNC and 41respondents (34.5%) indicated that they had experienced an international placement within theirMNC lastingmore than 3months.Respondent functions included country managers,sales directors,marketing directors,engineering and projectmanagers,internal strategy consultants,and training managers.Table 1 shows headquarter (home) countries and thesubsidiary (host) countries of the respondents.The questionnaire consisted of original Likert style statements against which respondents answered on a 5-pointscale (anchored as:1 = disagree strongly,5 = agree strongly).Scales representing the key variables of interest were builtfrom these items and guidelines suggest by Nunnally (1978) used to assess reliability.Cronbach alphas were acceptableand consistent with recent studies using scales to assess integrative mechanisms in MNCs (e.g.Persson,2006).