This article discusses the staffing decisions of MNEs from the point of position-specific factors. Classifying staffing-orientation into trust-need and local linkage-need after reviewing related studies and cases, this study investigates the relationship between position-specific factors and staffing-orientation by a mail survey. In addition, the impact of staffing-orientation on staffing decisions for subsidiary managers is examined. Empirically testing the proposed hypotheses for Taiwanese subsidiaries in China, this study finds that: (1) position-specific factors are closely related to trust-need and local linkage-need; (2) trust-need makes a MNC to adopt expatriates as high-level managers at subsidiaries; and (3) higher local linkage-need of a MNC is associated with a higher tendency to recruit nationals as subsidiary managers.