The main purpose of this exploratory research is analyzing how the conditions presented for the national competitive context influence the development of Subsidiaries with Strategic Relevance (SRS) in Brazil. For strategic relevance is understood to what extent the subsidiary is responsible for activities and competencies that of high increasing value for the corporation, and whether these activities and competencies are used by subsidiaries of the multinational corporation located in other countries For this, an exploratory research was carried out in a sample of 118 of the 1000 largest foreign subsidiaries in Brazil. The results show that government policies play a central role for the development of SRS in large developing economies. In addition, for globally oriented industries seems to be more feasible having SRS in these economies. In opposition to the hegemonic literature, the factors related to the 'diamond' of national competitive advantage (Porter, 1990), did not show correlation with the development of SRS in a large developing economy like Brazil.