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The relationship between internationalization efforts of businesses and resulting performance has long been debated in the international marketing literature. Specially, under the environmental uncertainty, perception and experience of managers are important for internationalization performance.

This study proposes an integrated research framework and mechanism between perceived international risk and international marketing performance, adopting international experience as moderator variable and entry mode as mediating variable. Survey was conducted on 1,612 managers of 420 Chinese international enterprises by email and received 463 valid questionnaires.

The results show that there is a significant negative relationship between perceived international risk and international performance. Direct influence and perceived international risk have an indirect influence on international performance through entry mode; the influence on the international performance from perceived international risk is moderated by international experience, the regression coefficient between perceived international risk and international performance is the quadratic function of international experience.

Different from previous literature, this study found the complex relationship between risk and performance.

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.

This research presents data collected from 233 privately owned internationalized Chinese firms. The analysis in this investigation includes hierarchical ordinary least squares regression.

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.

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.

The paper's objective is to demonstrate that marketing capabilities have positive effects on firms' international performance. These effects may be both direct and indirect. Marketing capabilities foster international commitment and influence the choice of international entry mode. Through these, marketing capabilities exercise an indirect influence on international performance.

First, based on arguments from the dynamic capabilities perspective, the dynamic theory of strategy and the transaction‐cost theory, the effects of marketing capabilities on international performance are discussed. A survey was carried out on Spanish and Belgian international firms to test the model. SEM was used to analyse the relationships established in the hypotheses.

The results show coincidences between the samples in relation to the positive influences of companies' marketing capabilities on economic international performance, international commitment and international entry modes. Moreover, there is also a positive and significant influence of high direct investment entry modes on international economic performance. However, there are differences in other relationships.

The results inform on the kind of entry modes that can be selected, based on firm marketing capabilities, and which of them provide better international results.

This paper confirms that marketing capabilities are at the core of the company's international decisions. Specifically, it demonstrates that marketing capabilities influence both the international commitment of the company and the selection of the appropriate international mode of entry.

Strategy and marketing scholars look at strategic issues from different points of view and attempt to explain strategic choice and performance from their unique perspectives. This paper combines these perspectives in the context of international ventures and develops a conceptual framework integrating international marketing strategy decisions with entry mode decisions. The resulting contingency framework extends the hierarchical entry‐mode decision model and allows for a better specification of the strategy‐performance relationship in international business.

The study this chapter reports focuses on how network theory contributes to the understanding of the internationalization process of SMEs and measures the effect of network capability on performance in international trade and has three research objectives.

The first objective of the study relates to providing new insights into the international market development activities through the application of a network perspective. The chapter reviews the international business literature to ascertain the development of thought, the research gaps, and the shortcomings. This review shows that the network perspective is a useful and popular theoretical domain that researchers can use to understand international activities, particularly of small, high technology, resource-constrained firms.

The second research objective is to gain a deeper understanding of network capability. This chapter presents a model for the impact of network capability on international performance by building on the emerging literature on the dynamic capabilities view of the firm. The model conceptualizes network capability in terms of network characteristics, network operation, and network resources. Network characteristics comprise strong and weak ties (operationalized as foreign-market entry modes), relational capability, and the level of trust between partners. Network operation focuses on network initiation, network coordination, and network learning capabilities. Network resources comprise network human-capital resources, synergy-sensitive resources (resource combinations within the network), and information sharing within the network.

The third research objective is to determine the impact of networking capability on the international performance of SMEs. The study analyzes 11 hypotheses through structural equations modeling using LISREL. The hypotheses relate to strong and weak ties, the relative strength of strong ties over weak ties, and each of the eight remaining constructs of networking capability in the study. The research conducts a cross-sectional study by using a sample of SMEs drawn from the telecommunications industry in Ireland.

The study supports the hypothesis that strong ties are more influential on international performance than weak ties. Similarly, network coordination and human-capital resources have a positive and significant association with international performance. Strong ties, weak ties, trust, network initiation, synergy-sensitive resources, relational capability, network learning, and information sharing do not have a significant association with international performance. The results of this study are strong (R2=0.63 for performance as the outcome) and provide a number of interesting insights into the relations between collaboration or networking capability and performance.

This study provides managers and policy makers with an improved understanding of the contingent effects of networks to highlight situations where networks might have limited, zero, or even negative effects on business outcomes. The study cautions against the tendency to interpret networks as universally beneficial to business development and performance outcomes.

This paper delves into the mechanism of the contingency framework for foreign entry mode decisions and identifies two essential tasks that jointly determine the outcome of the entry mode decision. It then recognizes a critical weakness in previous research pertaining to the comparison of entry modes along a key decision criterion, the degree of control. Existing studies generally treat equity involvement as the only source of entrant control, while largely ignoring non‐equity sources of control (i.e., bargaining power and trust). Non‐equity sources of control, when underutilized, amount to missed opportunities, increased resource commitments, and heightened risk exposures in foreign markets. Drawing from a pluralism perspective in transaction and relationship governance, the author presents a more integrative method for the ranking of entry modes along the degree of control. The central message is that companies entering foreign markets should make an earnest effort to identify trust and bargaining power situations and fully utilize their control potential in making entry mode decisions.

Drawing on an organizational learning perspective, this paper examines the effect of levels of foreign market involvement (intensity and geographic spread) on internationalization outcomes recognizing that the moderating influence of entry-mode learning potential is not well documented in the literature on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The sample includes 180 SMEs evenly selected from three industries: biotechnology, software and clothing (60 firms in each industry). The sampled firms employ less than 250 employees and are equally distributed between three developed economies and three emerging economies. All were engaged in foreign business.

The authors find that there is a direct relationship between levels of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes. Entry-mode learning potential moderates the relationship between intensity of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes but not the relationship between geographic spread and internationalization outcomes.

This study reveals several new insights that help explain the pathway through which foreign market involvement activities are translated into internationalization outcomes.

The authors conclude that the positive relationship between intensity of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes is strengthened when SMEs also use an entry mode with a higher learning potential than exporting only.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically assess the empirical support for central relationships in the empirical literature on foreign market entry mode. The reviewing method overcomes methodological limitations in past reviews.

This review provides a systematic assessment of empirical support through a simple quantitative procedure using transparent criteria for article selection. In total, 1,217 statistical tests from 119 studies published in 44 different scientific journals in the period 1997-2013 are examined across a range of dimensions.

Findings question the frequent use of commonly used measures (e.g. advertising intensity) and control variables (e.g. firm size) and suggest that statements about the importance of mode choice for subsidiary performance may be premature. Methodologically, this study identifies critical issues with regard to interpretation of interactions and the entry mode choice set.

This study limits itself to study the direction of relationships and does not analyze effect sizes. Further, future research may benefit from broadening the entry mode choice by extending the use of multiple outcome models as well as implementing the correct interpretational tools when investigating interactions.

The review is relevant to researchers seeking an overview over the research literature or practitioners interested in the link between mode choice and subsidiary performance.

Many newly established Internet loss-making enterprises (NEILEs) are always willing to expand overseas within a very short time from their establishment. This phenomenon is becoming a hot research area. This paper aims to explore why these enterprises are always willing to expand overseas rapidly even if they are facing severe and persistent losses, and to study the different rapid internationalization modes and the international market entry ways for NEILEs.

This paper constructs a theoretical framework with the dual situation of negative attainment discrepancy and advantageous slack resources to explain the rapid internationalization of NEILEs. Furthermore, cross-case comparative analysis method, based on interviews, questionnaires and secondary data collection, is adopted to reveal the rapid internationalization modes and the international market entry ways of such enterprises.

Whether blocking competitors or seeking opportunities or both, NEILEs' goal of rapid internationalization depends on the severity and persistence of negative attainment discrepancy. When the severity and persistence of negative attainment discrepancy are very significant, moderate and mild, NEILEs choose sniper-type, opportunity-type and dual-type internationalization target mode in turn; it is very important for NEILEs to match advantageous slack resources and international market entry ways to achieve specific internationalization goals.

This paper enriches the understanding of NEILEs' transnational entrepreneurial behavior in the era of digital economy. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that the authors build a theoretical framework based on the logical starting point, the logical fulcrum and the logic ending point for understanding the rapid internationalization of NEILEs.

This study demonstrates that NEILEs can also expand into foreign markets according to their own characteristics. Undoubtedly, they need to choose appropriate internationalization target mode and international market entry way in line with the extent and duration of their losses, and their advantageous slack resources.

In this paper, the authors construct the rapid internationalization theory of NEILEs based on the dual situation of negative attainment discrepancy and advantageous slack resources in digital economy era. Moreover, the authors discover the behavioral characteristics and patterns of NEILEs' transnational entrepreneurship.

To have success in newly liberalized markets, firms must have a plan of action before resources are committed. What some companies do not realize is that their own entrepreneurial orientation (EO) will dictate their strategies, and performance outcomes, in both their home market and abroad. In order to maximize firm performance in newly liberalized markets (such as Cuba), firms must be able to objectively gauge their own EO. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Within this framework, the present paper will attempt to effectively measure the EO of decision-making managers from US companies that have an interest in entering the Cuban market. A final sample of 81 US managers accepted to collaborate. They were then split into two groups (high and low EO; with 41 and 35 managers in each group, respectively) and compared regarding three variables: entry mode strategy, government affiliation strategy, and performance outcomes.

The results show that EO is related with performance, but not with the two proposed variables of entry mode and government affiliation.

In sum, the added value of the paper is to link US managers’ strategies and performance in a newly liberalized market which has been seldom studied: Cuba. The fields of entry mode strategies and government affiliation decisions in this newly liberalized market remain poorly investigated. Not all firms managed by highly entrepreneurial-orientated managers will decide to enter foreign markets and, on the contrary, domestic firms which are not interested in international markets can be run by highly entrepreneurial managers. This is due, in part, to the fact that internationalization can be driven by other factors. Therefore, this paper will attempt to demonstrate if certain entry modes will perform better than others when the foreign market is a newly liberalized economy. Additionally, the importance, and effect, of governmental relationships on performance outcomes will be tested within the research.