Problem-solving dissension and international entry mode performance
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine international decision making, information processing, and related performance implications. The authors aim to explore the relationship between international decision making and problem-solving dissensions related to entry mode decisions. In addition, they aim to investigate the effects of dissension on entry mode performance, and the moderating effect of the foreign direct investment (FDI) vs non-FDI decision as it relates to dissension-mode performance. Despite their significance from an information processing perspective, these issues have not been sufficiently explored in international entry mode research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research presents data collected from 233 privately owned internationalized Chinese firms. The analysis in this investigation includes hierarchical ordinary least squares regression.
Findings
The findings suggest an inverse U-shaped relationship between dissension and entry mode performance, as opposed to a linear one, and a moderating effect of FDI vs non-FDI decisions on this curvilinear dissension-performance association. These findings support and refine the rationale of the information processing perspective.
Originality/value
These findings add realistic elements to the alleged “rational” international decision-making doctrine assumed in previous entry mode literature. The findings show the importance of the heterogeneity of information processing in entry mode strategic decision-making processes (SDMPs), and its effects on specific decision types. The authors believe that this is the first empirical study to use an information processing perspective to examine the effects of SDMPs on entry mode performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Associate Editor Fernando Fastoso and anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions. Junzhe Ji gratefully acknowledges financial supports from the Research Foundations of Humanities and Social Sciences for Young Scholars by Tongji University and the Ministry of Education of China (No. 1200219282; No. 15YJC630040).
Citation
Ji, J., Dimitratos, P. and Huang, Q. (2016), "Problem-solving dissension and international entry mode performance", International Marketing Review, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 219-245. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2014-0328
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited