Acquisition versus greenfield in Colombia: Reviewing the effect of cultural distance and vicarious experience

The relation between the cultural distance and the firm’s entry modes to foreign countries has received considerable research attention, and studies have shown the role of experience in this relation. However, previous research has only studied direct experience and neglected the study of vicarious experience. Using a sample of 355 foreign companies that entered Colombia (2007–2017), this research reviews the effect of cultural distance on entry mode choice (e.g., Acquisition vs. Greenfield) and examines the moderating role of vicarious experience in this relationship. The study concludes that the cultural distance positively affects the entry probability by acquisition, and the vicarious experience negatively affects this relationship in four cultural dimensions. If firms have vicarious experience, the effect of cultural distance on the acquisition probability is less and positively influences the entry probability by Greenfield when the cultural distance is in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and long-term orientation. Nevertheless, vicarious experience has the opposite effect when considering the masculinity dimension. Consequently, we highlight the importance of considering vicarious experience as a different variable of direct experience and the individual effects of cultural distance dimensions for cross-cultural studies in management.

The effect of institutions and failure-based learning on entry mode choice

<p>This study investigates the role of learning from failures and how learning from failure of others shapes the entry mode choice of subsequent entrants – a choice between joint venture (JV) and wholly owned subsidiary (WOS). A review of the entry modes and institutional perspective literature has revealed that research to date has focused on the effect of successes rather than failures. While it recognises the effect of other firms’ entry mode on the entry mode decisions of subsequent entrants, it has overlooked the influence of failures’ on entry mode. It is important to investigate the effect of failure of other firms since it has been recognised by organisational learning scholars as a valuable source of information for firms to improve their performance, decrease their uncertainty and consequently influences their actions. Therefore, the present research applies institutional and organisational learning perspectives as the underpinning theories to examine how the failure of others determines the entry mode choice of a firm. Further investigation was carried out on how a firm’s entry mode decision in response to regulative and normative institutions might be asymmetric. Additionally, firms’ responses to institutional dimensions were analysed further by investigating how they would change with experience in the host country and in other foreign countries. This study applied a quantitative approach to answer these questions in the context of China. The data for this study consists of 1021 observations invested by 622 foreign firms from 2003 to 2012. Through a logistic regression analysis, this study found that the failure of prior entrants with JV structure increases a new entrant’s tendency to choose JV over WOS. Moreover, regulative distance negatively influences the choice of JV whereas the effect of normative distance was found to be positive. Regarding the effect of experience, host country experience was found to be an influential factor that mitigates the effect of regulative and normative distance on the entry mode choice. The findings of the present research contribute to both institutional and entry mode literature by demonstrating that firms make their entry mode decisions based on information inferred from prior entrants’ failures. This research also contributes to organisational learning literature by showing that responses to failures are not merely avoidance-based, but rather based on the firm’s evaluation of the cause of failure.</p>

The effect of institutions and failure-based learning on entry mode choice

<p>This study investigates the role of learning from failures and how learning from failure of others shapes the entry mode choice of subsequent entrants – a choice between joint venture (JV) and wholly owned subsidiary (WOS). A review of the entry modes and institutional perspective literature has revealed that research to date has focused on the effect of successes rather than failures. While it recognises the effect of other firms’ entry mode on the entry mode decisions of subsequent entrants, it has overlooked the influence of failures’ on entry mode. It is important to investigate the effect of failure of other firms since it has been recognised by organisational learning scholars as a valuable source of information for firms to improve their performance, decrease their uncertainty and consequently influences their actions. Therefore, the present research applies institutional and organisational learning perspectives as the underpinning theories to examine how the failure of others determines the entry mode choice of a firm. Further investigation was carried out on how a firm’s entry mode decision in response to regulative and normative institutions might be asymmetric. Additionally, firms’ responses to institutional dimensions were analysed further by investigating how they would change with experience in the host country and in other foreign countries. This study applied a quantitative approach to answer these questions in the context of China. The data for this study consists of 1021 observations invested by 622 foreign firms from 2003 to 2012. Through a logistic regression analysis, this study found that the failure of prior entrants with JV structure increases a new entrant’s tendency to choose JV over WOS. Moreover, regulative distance negatively influences the choice of JV whereas the effect of normative distance was found to be positive. Regarding the effect of experience, host country experience was found to be an influential factor that mitigates the effect of regulative and normative distance on the entry mode choice. The findings of the present research contribute to both institutional and entry mode literature by demonstrating that firms make their entry mode decisions based on information inferred from prior entrants’ failures. This research also contributes to organisational learning literature by showing that responses to failures are not merely avoidance-based, but rather based on the firm’s evaluation of the cause of failure.</p>

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions’ Determinants: New Empirical Evidence from Quasi-Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression Models

The cross-border movement of capital has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic since December 2019. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic for multinational companies to withdraw giant global value chains (GVCs) overnight because of the pandemic. Instead, active discussions and achievements of deals in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are expected in the post-COVID-19 era among various other market entry modes, considering the growing demand in high technologies in societies. This paper analyzes particular determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) during the pandemic year (2020) based on cross-sectional datasets by employing quasi-Poisson and negative binomial regression models. According to the empirical evidence, COVID-19 indices do not hamper M&A deals in general. This indicates that managerial capabilities of the coronavirus, not the outbreak itself, determined locational decisions of M&A deals during the pandemic. In this vein, it is expected that the vaccination rate will become a key factor of locational decision for M&A deals in the near future. Furthermore, countries that have been outstanding in coping with COVID-19 and thus serve as a good example for other nations may seize more opportunities to take a leap forward. In addition, as hypothesized, the results present positive and significant associations with M&A deals and the SDG index, confirming the resource-based theory of internationalization. In particular, the achievement of SDGs seems to exercise much influence in developing countries for M&A bidders during the pandemic year. This indicates that the pandemic demands a new zeitgeist that pursues growth while resolving existing but disregarded environmental issues and cherishes humanitarian values, for all countries, non-exceptionally, standing at the start line of the post-COVID-19 era.

Determinants of EMNEs’ Entry Mode Decision with Environmental Volatility Issues: A Review and Research Agenda

Emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) play a vital role in global economic development and usually adopt aggressive internationalization strategies. However, the volatile global environment has caused EMNEs to face various risks in their overseas expansion. To maximize the competitive advantages and achieve successful expansion, EMNEs should choose the most suitable foreign entry mode. Therefore, EMNEs need to understand what environmental factors affect their decision-making and how they influence the choice of entry modes, especially in a volatile environment. This review examines 44 selected journal articles from 1996 to June 2021 on the environmental volatility determinants of EMNEs’ entry mode choice. The entry mode choice we examined is mainly wholly-owned subsidiary versus international joint venture. We categorized the environmental volatility determinants investigated in the literature we reviewed into country-level factors (such as cross-national distance) and industry-level factors (such as industry condition). The main contributions are: (1) the review reveals three research gaps in extant studies, which are lack of research on external environmental factors, lack of research on multinationals from less concerning emerging economies, and lack of research on small-to-medium (SMEs) enterprises. (2) Practically, the study highlights the importance of understanding external environmental factors for EMNEs to make the most suitable entry mode decisions.

Rethinking the trajectory of economic development: a study of firm entry mode under reverse directionality

PurposeMost of the research studies on entry mode have been done through the lens of manufacturing firms from mature economic countries entering the Global South countries, and most of the related frameworks and theories have been developed to explain this perspective. This paper presents an understanding of entry mode strategies of services firms from the Global South countries entering into countries with mature economies by considering six software services firms in India entering the US market. The study develops a framework that incorporates multiple theories – both from an emerging economy perspective as well as a services perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study is exploratory in nature and focuses on the how and why aspects of strategic decisions. Qualitative research has traditionally been chosen when the main research objective is to improve understanding of a phenomenon. A multiple case study approach was used in this research. One of the key aspects of this study is the impact of different theories (institutional, network and other theories) on enterprises of different sizes. Therefore six cases – two each on small, medium and large enterprises – were selected.FindingsResults identify addressable market size, cultural aspects, firm size, resource and service characteristics as dominating factors that influenced choice of entry modes. From a theoretical perspective, the author finds that theories such as transaction cost theory, eclectic paradigm and other popular theories associated with entry mode do not successfully explain the entry mode strategies for firms from the Global South. Strategic theory, such as resource-based view, motivation of a firm, have some application but do not explain, in isolation, all aspects of the entry mode choices.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is an exploratory study and needs more data to validate the themes expressed in its conclusions. The study also focused on one industry and one country. Different industries within the same country may have different characteristics and may not follow the observations found in this study. Similarly, firms from other countries with similar economic characteristics may exhibit very different behavior. As a result, the themes that were expressed for software companies in India may not be generalizable across other industries and countries.Originality/valueThis study is significant for both academics and managers. For academics, the study addresses a significant gap in the literature. For managers, this study provides a framework for managers to evaluate and select the entry mode strategy that would be most effective in a successful expansion into foreign countries.

Governmental goals and the international strategies of state-owned multinational enterprises: a conceptual discussion

State owned multinational enterprises (SOMNEs) have received extensive attention in recent research in international business and corporate governance, which demonstrates effects of state ownership on a range of international strategic decisions such as the degree of internationalization, foreign entry modes, and host country location choices. Such effects are explained by factors such as SOMNEs’ non-financial goals, corporate governance, and institutional pressures. However, results are mixed and context-dependent, and overall we still have an incomplete understanding of what governments aim to achieve through SOMNEs, and how these goals in turn lead to different international strategies. This conceptual article aims to explore how specific government goals may affect international strategies. We provide a more fine-grained view on SOMNE financial and non-financial goals and link them to key international strategic decisions such as the degree of internationalization, entry and establishment modes, and host country location choice. We review and extend previous literature and identify novel theoretical arguments, leading to an extensive set of propositions. We also sketch ideas for empirical studies of SOMNE objectives.

OFDI Entry Modes and Firms’ Innovation: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

Innovation is crucial for firms’ sustainable development. However, the original motivation of innovation in China is insufficient and the key technology is controlled by other countries. Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) is an important strategic choice in emerging economies to seek overseas advantageous technical knowledge and to participate in global competition. With the further development of China’s “go global” strategy, OFDI flows have risen considerably. Whether OFDI can promote firms’ innovation levels and whether OFDI entry modes (greenfield investment and cross-border M&A) have the same impact are still major issues to be solved. Therefore, we constructed a mathematical model and adopted the propensity score matching double difference method to analyze the impact and mechanism of OFDI on firms’ innovation. The results show that OFDI has a significant effect on innovation quantity, quality, and efficiency, and it has not led to innovative strategic behavior. Further research shows that cross-border M&A has a stronger effect on innovation quality than greenfield investment, and both have a sustainable innovation effect. Over time, the gap between the impact of greenfield investment and cross-border M&A on innovation quality has gradually narrowed. From the perspective of mechanism, the two entry modes of OFDI are beneficial to firms’ access to government resources and to promote innovation quality, while government resources have a stronger mediating effect on cross-border M&A firms. This paper deepens the research on the influence mechanism of OFDI entry modes on firms’ innovation levels, while also providing theoretical and practical support for the selection of OFDI modes and innovation strategies for firms.

Understanding Business Takeover Intentions—The Role of Theory of Planned Behavior and Entrepreneurship Competence

Entrepreneurial intentions have been extensively studied, but little is known about the intended mode of entry into entrepreneurship and its antecedents. This study tests the utility of the theory of planned behavior in a new, more specific context, namely business takeover intentions. The impact of entrepreneurship competence on antecedents of takeover intentions is explored. Entrepreneurship competence is measured using a scale based on the EntreComp framework. Data (N = 1373) were gathered from two institutes of higher education in Finland and analyzed using logistic regression. The results show that the TPB can be useful in investigating takeover intentions. The subjective norm has a notable and direct effect on takeover intentions, but the effect of entrepreneurship competence is mediated by attitudes and perceived behavioral control. The effect of parental role models on takeover intentions is significant, although the study is not limited to family successions; gender is also significant. The results show that the relationship between takeover intentions, entrepreneurship competence, and family role models is a complex one. Future studies on entrepreneurial intentions should pay attention to the differences in antecedents of entry modes.