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In order to be able to advance scientific knowledge, researchers should consciously explore and critically evaluate alternative explanations of the phenomena under investigation. We feel that research in the area of entry-mode choice has neglected these recommendations where it concerns the impact of cultural distance (CD) on entry-mode choice. In this article, we argue that sample idiosyncrasies, coupled with an almost blind confidence in one specific measurement of CD, have led researchers in this field to systematically overestimate the role of CD in entry-mode decisions. We argue that specific home and/or host-country characteristics are equally plausible explanatory factors for entry-mode decisions as CD and plead for a more sophisticated treatment of culture in the entry-mode choice literature.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theory‐based framework that informs a fashion retailer's entry mode choice into a foreign market.

Aspects of transaction cost, bargaining, resource based, and internationalization theories were integrated to develop a conceptual framework for fashion retailers determining the best entry mode to foreign markets. Propositions were developed, which serve as bridge laws, bridging the gap between the theories and the investigation of fashion retailers' entry mode choice. A case study was used to demonstrate applicability of the developed propositions.

Three groups of factors were identified that influence entry mode choice in the fashion retail market: firm‐specific factors of asset specificity, brand equity, financial capacity, and international experience; country‐specific factors of country risk, cultural distance, and government restrictions; and market‐specific factors of market potential and market competition. Nine propositions were generated, positing how each of the factors may influence a fashion retailer's entry mode choice.

The conceptual model and propositions require further empirical investigation. Future research also needs to systematically explore the interactions or trade‐offs between different determinate factors.

A fashion retailer can use the framework and propositions to systematically evaluate the company's case to justify an entry mode decision for a specific foreign market.

This is the first paper to describe the integration of theories to help explain factors affecting fashion retailers' entry mode choice.

Integrating network attributes from studies of social networks, business relationships and small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) internationalization, this study adopts a perceptual view of a firm’s focal “net” of relationships to examine foreign market entry mode choice. This study aims to examine how the interaction between knowledge-intensive service (KIS) firm’s network ties, embeddedness and position is related to choice of mode and subsequently the firm’s perceived insidership status within its focal net.

This research is based on qualitative interviews with 25 small- to medium-sized KIS firms engaged in direct exporting or foreign direct investment (FDI). This study derives an empirically grounded framework of four distinct network patterns of these KIS firms through an iterative process of triangulation between cases and theory.

The four network patterns illustrate the complex interaction between network attributes and entry mode choice by KIS firms. The findings suggest formal ties and centrality in closed network relationships provide the “central controller” firm discretion over their entry mode choice. Resource-intensive FDI by “opportunistic investors” proved essential to securing centrality through formal, institutional ties. Less optimal patterns lacking institutional ties and centrality, however, precluded choice of FDI by “specialized exporters” and “client followers.” The study finds that entry modes are less likely to be influenced by the firm’s embeddedness in open or closed network relationships, but rather by the desire to achieve a more central network position and legitimacy through more formal, less imitable ties.

The findings demonstrate the importance of network structure, a position of centrality, and strength of professional and institutional ties to small KIS firm internationalization. By adopting a more finely grained examination of the interaction between key attributes of the firm’s focal net, this study provides a valuable first step in conceptualizing the complexities associated with networking and adoption of export/investment internationalization modes.

There are a number of implications for the strategic and operational facets of smaller KIS firm internationalization. To avoid excessive network liability for resource-deficient SMEs, practitioners should consider network positioning as a strategic activity, with the costs associated with building and maintaining networks offset against economic- and resource-related returns.

The authors contribute to a better understanding of entry mode choices of KIS by taking a network perspective that accounts for the combined effects of different network attributes. The four network patterns identified extend current theoretical knowledge on the role of networks for entry mode choices of small KIS by highlighting that entry mode choices reflect the particular firm’s focal net and its attempt to achieve insidership status through high centrality and formal ties.

Using arguments from the upper echelons perspective this paper aims to examine the impact of CEO characteristics on small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) equity foreign market entry mode choice and how these associations are jointly moderated by geographic experience of the firm and host-country political risk.

The empirical analysis draws on data gathered from German SMEs testing triple-interaction effects between CEO’s age, firm tenure and international experience, geographic experience of the firm (organizational level), and host-country political risk (environmental level).

Empirical findings validate that the influence of CEO’s age and firm tenure on SME foreign market entry mode choice varies by managers’ level of managerial discretion (i.e. latitude of action) as determined by the SME’s geographic experience and the level of political risks prevailing in the foreign market.

Empirical findings help SME owners and managers to understand how CEO’s age and firm tenure are related with individual’s risk-taking behavior and information-processing demands and how these contingencies vary by the context in which the individual CEO is nested.

This study contributes to the growing body of literature focussing on SME foreign market entry mode choice by emphasizing the important role of CEOs in the decision to internationalize. More specific, this study contributes by an examination of the interactive effect of CEO’s age, firm tenure and international experience, geographic experience of the firm and host-country political risk and, therefore, emphasizes the context and boundary conditions under which the association between CEO characteristics and foreign market entry mode choice is more or less pronounced.

What drives small to medium‐sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) internationalisation strategy remains a significant issue in international business research, despite the huge research efforts on this subject over the past three decades. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the motives behind the equity modes of foreign market entry in Norway.

Employing a cross sectional survey, a sample of 146 firms consisting of 42 international equity joint ventures (IJVs), 53 cross‐border mergers & acquisitions (CBM&As) and 51 wholly owned subsidiaries (FWOS) from Norway was collected and analysed.

It was found that whereas market development and power influence the choice of IJVs and CBM&As, the need to access resources and control resources appear to be the most important motives behind FWOS as an entry mode choice. Moreover, the regression results indicate that market development and power, technology development, location advantage and synergistic gains appear to have a significant bearing on different entry mode choice in Norway.

The paper examines the motivation for the choice of foreign entry mode from the point of view of senior managers in Norway. Future research should accommodate multiple perspectives simultaneously from the parent companies and subsidiaries in a single paper to significantly advance the field.

The paper discovers that the motives behind the choice of cooperative modes of entry tend to be more linked with market development, technological development while FWOS are motivated by the need to control proprietary resources. The implication for the Norwegian government is that its financial incentives do not affect the mode choice of entry.

The paper finds that different motives and theories influence the choice of foreign market entry by SMEs in Norway and provides insights for senior managers on the factors taken into account in making choice decisions in Norway.

The purpose of this paper is to use the theoretical perspective of structural inertia as a unique lens to study foreign sequential entry mode choices of multinational firms.

It adopts quantitative analysis of a sample of 121 Chinese publicly listed firms with 564 foreign entry incidents in the 2001-2012 period to test the hypotheses.

The empirical results show that multinational firms have a tendency to adopt the same mode in the subsequent entry as the number of prior entry mode choice of a given type (joint venture (JV) in this study) increases. The results support the theoretical prediction that organizations repeat their past activities due to structural inertia. Moreover, such an inertia effect in foreign sequential entry mode choices becomes stronger for older multinational firms, larger multinational firms and state-owned multinational firms.

Consistent with existing research, this study focuses on the entry mode choice between JV and wholly owned subsidiaries. However, it is better to examine the relationship identified in the study for different types of entry mode choices to assess result generalizability.

It reminds managers of multinational firms that they should be cautious to the influence of structural inertia that can be a barrier to strategic flexibility when they make entry mode choices.

The main contribution of this study resides in introducing structural inertia perspective to help understand the determinants of foreign sequential entry mode choices of multinational firms.

This paper seeks to challenge the traditional wisdom that sheds light upon sequential entry modes in developed countries by exploring the dynamic entry mode choice in sequential foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging economies.

A review of the literature on the entry mode choice is undertaken. Based on analysing two related theories consisting of the knowledge‐based theory of the firm and organizational learning theory, entry mode choices in sequential FDI in emerging economies are investigated using both an internationalisation process model and the capability‐developing perspective, and exclusive propositions are put forward accordingly. Then, these propositions are tested on the context of China with the methodology of paired‐samples t‐tests.

Based on macro‐level longitudinal data in China from 1979 to 2005, the choice of entry mode in sequential FDI in emerging economies is inconsistent with the capability‐developing theory of the firm, but is consistent with the international process model.

This study provides four practical implications. First, managers intending to invest abroad need to consider the cost and return of a specific entry mode. Second, knowledge about host markets has a more important effect on entry mode choice in emerging markets than MNCs' internal organizational capabilities. Third, MNCs adopt sequential investment in emerging economies, in which they adopt joint ventures in earlier entries and then shift to green‐field investment in later entries. Fourth, experiential learning, which consists of learning about host markets and local partners' skills, is emphasized in sequentially entering emerging markets.

This paper expands the research scope of previous studies that either explore a static choice of entry mode in foreign markets or only examine the entry mode choice in sequential FDI in developed countries. Taking into consideration the dynamic choice of entry modes, the paper studies sequential FDI in emerging economies, which throws light upon theoretical analysis of sequential FDI in China, and which has practical implications for foreign firms that are interested in China and planning to enter China's markets.

The purpose of this paper is to add to the accumulative knowledge in the field through investigating the different factors affecting the choice of export entry mode by Egyptian SMEs. An organised examination of the literature related to export entry modes by SMEs is discussed to provide and develop a clear understanding about the different factors affecting the choice of export entry mode by Egyptian SMEs. Such investigation will help in achieving a deep and reflective understanding of current exporting practises by Egyptian SMEs. The findings indicated that there is very few research studies in the literature related to the choice of export entry mode in developing countries in general and there was no published studies related to the choice of export entry mode in Egypt.

The paper reviews the published literature related to choice of export entry mode by SMEs in general and to SMEs in developing countries (e.g. Egypt) in particular. Based on this review and the results of two focus groups, the paper validates a conceptual model utilising a positivist research philosophy with a quantitative approach, in which quantitative data are collected based on survey strategy through questionnaires to address different levels of the study.

The findings showed that Egyptian SMEs owners, marketing and sales managers have a limited knowledge in relation to the different available export entry modes. The findings also illustrated that SME internal factors, local market factors and target market factors have different impacts on the choice of export entry mode and that only small number of Egyptian SMEs conducted an effective and efficient export activities.

The paper will provide great benefits for entrepreneurs, policy makers, practitioners, researchers and educators though providing a clearer view and deep understanding for the issues related to different factors affecting the choice of export entry mode by Egyptian SMEs.

The paper adds to the extremely limited number of empirical studies that has been conducted to investigate different factors affecting the choice of export entry mode by Egyptian and Developing Economies SMEs. Depending on this research, researchers and scholars in the field can have a clearer view to set their attitude towards suitable future research studies which in turn will contribute to the related accumulated knowledge in the field.

This paper introduces a conceptual framework to assess the foreign market entry behavior of emerging market multinationals (EMMs). By introducing strategic cognition as the underlying theoretical perspective, this paper postulates that different levels of institutional voids in home markets shape the strategic cognition of EMMs, influencing their market entry behavior due to the prevalence of organizational imprinting in the early stages of internationalization. The paper aims to contribute to the strategic cognition literature by introducing emerging markets as a relevant context in which to apply and extend current thinking. Additionally, it aims to contribute to the institutional voids literature by providing a cognitive framework of behavioral patterns that is rationalized by institutional voids. Finally, the paper contributes to the entry mode literature by proposing strategic cognition as a relevant moderator for foreign entry mode choices, particularly those of EMMs.

This paper reviews extant contemporary literature in the area of entry mode choice in service firms and analyzes 14 empirical studies conducted in the area. The review is limited to articles which focus specifically on entry mode choice and the determinants of such a choice. The publication time frame covers the period from 1977 to 2003. The review observations in relation to factors such as the origin of the research, the theoretical frameworks underpinning existing entry mode research, methodological approaches and other relevant patterns are presented. The analysis highlights the paucity of empirical research in the area, which in turn has been largely fragmentary and exploratory in nature. It suggests that research sites need to be extended into Europe, alternative research designs need to be considered and the opportunity to conduct some form of collaborative research warrants exploration.