The paper reviews basic research approaches to the operations of subsidiaries of multinational corporations worldwide, with a special focus on those based in Poland. An indirect aim of the study is to assess the practical usefulness of research results in this area. The basic method used by the authors is an analysis of research reports in Polish and English. The paper examines the nature of transnational corporations and discusses three key research areas involving foreign subsidiaries and affiliates: the relationship between the parent organization and subsidiaries, the role of subsidiaries in the corporate system, and the development of subsidiaries. The authors argue that the available body of research into foreign subsidiaries and affiliates is of little practical use. According to Gorynia and Samelak, this problem could be solved by expanding the scope of future research to better meet the needs of executives managing subsidiaries. The article highlights research areas that the authors believe should be addressed in the future.