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Despite changes in international trade agreements and the introduction of new technologies that facilitate international business, many firms, especially SMEs, still do not diversify into international markets. In this paper, we suggest that an important factor that can influence the international diversification decision is social networks. We hypothesize that both the strength of the ties to international firms and the size of a SME’s international network influence its decision to diversify internationally. Our analysis suggests that the strength of international network ties significantly influences SME international diversification, but that the size of the international network does not. These results have important implications for researchers, managers, and public policy makers.

Digital communication technologies have become ubiquitous for various firm processes related to international business (IB) and global strategy. However, IB and strategy scholars lack an encompassing and theory-based typology of these technologies that facilitates analysis and discussion of their uses and effects. Likewise, managers have a large choice of technologies at their disposal making it difficult to determine what technology to use in different IB areas. This paper aims to develop a typology of digital communication technologies based on the synchronicity and interactivity of these technologies and capture their fundamental social and temporal dimensions. This results in four ideal types: broadcasting, corresponding, aggregating and collaborating technologies.

This is a conceptual paper incorporating theoretical perspectives to theorize about four ideal types of digital communication technologies. A subsequent empirical test of this typology has been provided in the appendix.

The authors discuss how the typology might be applied in IB decisions and some of the contingencies that impact this choice. Building on that, the authors develop directions for future research to increase their understanding of the use of digital communication technologies to help improve IB functions. Overall, the authors suggest future research explores contingencies about where and when different types of digital communication technologies should be used. Finally, the authors provide implication of having a unified typology for both academics and managers.

The authors offer a robust framework for thinking about and capturing different types of digital communication technologies that can be applied by researchers and used by managers when making decisions related to IB. The authors also provide some initial testing of the typology with a three-country study design helping to determine its validity.

Market orientation (MO) has been shown to provide a valuable resource-based advantage in domestic markets. How internationalizing firms from emerging markets can benefit from this capability is more complex while facing institutional distance. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a theory to suggest that although MO capabilities can enhance export performance, the structure where they are deployed, namely the export channel a firm uses and the market in terms of institutional distance from home, can affect the benefits derived from MO.

With a sample of Chinese exporters and data collected via questionnaire survey, this research uses a multiple regression model to test the hypotheses.

It finds that firms with stronger MO capabilities can improve export performance by using hierarchical channels and by exporting to more institutionally distant markets where MO provides greater value.

This research claims to make several important contributions to the literature by providing a better understanding of how firms can successfully deploy MO capabilities when exporting.

Although diversifying internationally appears to be beneficial, relatively few small and medium‐sized firms actually participate. Building on recent research exploring the international diversification of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) the purpose of this paper is to examine the relation among ownership and management team gender heterogeneity, entrepreneurial orientation, and firm international diversity.

The authors' hypotheses were tested using data gathered from members of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national (US) public policy organization that advocates for women in business.

Results indicate that top management team gender composition and entrepreneurial orientation are significantly related to international diversification but that ownership gender composition is not. The authors found that team entrepreneurial orientation may be useful when teams are more homogeneous on relations‐oriented characteristics such as gender.

The paper's findings suggest that women‐only management teams high in entrepreneurial orientation are more likely to pursue international diversification, dispelling the idea that international diversification is more difficult for women.

Conventional theories of market entry assume choice availability. This investment assumption is subject to challenges in the power generation market of an emerging economy where the host government controls most key resources and market entry choices. With such constraints, entrants become heavily dependent on their host country partners. This study investigates how the resource dependency frameworks explain better in respect of some US power generation firms that manage to operate electricity facilities in China whereas some have to abort. Using cross‐case analysis, patterns emerged illustrate how two groups of entrants manage key resources differently.

This study focuses on home country institutions as sources of variation in the level of foreign investment into India. Our findings support the idea that institutional voids found in India are less of a deterrent to investments from home countries with high levels of institutional development than from home countries with similar institutional voids. Overall, foreign investments in India are found to be significantly related to the strength of institutions within home countries. The levels of both approved and realized foreign direct investment (FDI) are strongly influenced by economic factors and home country regulative institutions, and weakly influenced by home country cognitive institutions. When considered separately, the cognitive institutions and regulative institutions within a given home country each significantly influence the level of approved/realized FDI into India. However, when considered jointly, only the strength of regulative institutions is predictive of FDI inflows.

Drawing on institutional and transaction cost theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the location choice for a sample of 522 foreign affiliates of Turkish multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Binary logistic regressions are conducted to test a number of hypotheses on the functional relationships between the hypothesized effect of variables and location choice of Turkish MNEs based on a secondary data drawn from official sources.

In general, the findings provide support for the majority of the study's hypotheses and tend to confirm the theoretical perspectives adopted. The level of political constraints, the level of knowledge infrastructure in the host country market, subsidiary density, industry R&D intensity and subsidiary size are found to have the expected impact on the Turkish MNE's location choice among geographic alternatives. No support is found for the impact of ownership mode of subsidiary and the group affiliation on Turkish MNEs' location choice for their subsidiaries.

The paper focuses on Turkish MNEs and the findings may not be generalizable to other emerging country (EC) MNEs. Also, the classification of geographic location into developed versus emerging countries may be too crude.

In general, the paper posits that Turkish MNEs have a motive of strategic asset seeking to enhance their global competitiveness when they enter developed countries, whereas they simply attempt to exploit their firm‐specific advantages or competencies when they access emerging countries.

Given the increasing number of EC MNEs entering other emerging and developed markets, this paper adds to the understanding of the determinants of location strategies of Turkish MNEs by identifying key regional characteristics that lead Turkish MNEs to select particular locations, among the several geographic alternatives.

The study aims to develop and test a model of export performance, focusing on the degree to which firms have different types of export flexibility and the degree to which firms adopt market‐oriented behavior in their export operations (i.e. their degree of export market‐oriented [EMO] behavior). Furthermore, the study seeks to examine the moderating roles that EMO behavior and export environment play with respect to the relationships between export flexibility dimensions and export performance.

The model is tested on a sample of 783 exporting firms. Data were collected via mail survey. Analysis was undertaken using structural equation modeling.

EMO behavior moderates the relationship between export flexibility and export sales performance. However, EMO behavior's moderating role differs depending on (a) the source of the export flexibility, and (b) the environmental conditions the firms face. Increasing levels of EMO behavior are associated with increased export sales performance under all conditions studied.

Reliance on cross‐sectional data may limit generalizability, as may the reliance on single country data. Additional sources of export flexibility should be modeled, as should more complex models of the export environment.

The findings identify several situations when EMO behavior is most beneficial and others where it is beneficial (but less so). Similarly, the results pinpoint situations where greater levels of export flexibility are a necessity. Managers should look to exploit this knowledge by enhancing EMO behavior and export flexibility.

This study is one of the very few that explicitly identifies export flexibility as a source of competitive advantage in the exporting literature. It is also the first study to suggest that EMO behavior's ability to shape export success is determined in part by other factors internal to the firm (e.g. export flexibility), as well as factors external to the firm (environment).

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of IJV performance expectations for a sample of international joint ventures with parent firms from Europe, North America and Australia. A conceptual framework is proposed which identifies the determinants of IJV performance as the dominant control of the IJV by one parent firm, the level of autonomy granted to the IJV management, the level of trust between the partner firms, the effect of differences in the national cultures of IJV partners and the differences in the organizational cultures of IJV partners.

The study adopts a self‐administered questionnaire approach to examine the determinants of performance in the sample firms. The starting point for obtaining a sample of parent firms was the OSIRIS database. Paper copies of the questionnaires were posted to potential respondents. This was followed by an e‐mail to the same potential respondents with the questionnaires attached. In total, 109 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondent companies – 22 questionnaires were returned from the postal survey and 87 questionnaires were returned from the follow‐up e‐mail.

Predicted positive relationships between performance expectations and dominant control of the IJV, autonomy granted to the IJV management, and trust between the partner firms are supported by the data. The predicted negative relationship between performance expectations and national culture differences was not supported, however, the expected negative relationship between performance expectations and corporate culture differences was partially supported.

This study adds to the international business literature on IJVs and provides new empirical evidence in the context of Europe, North America and Australia.

This paper aims to explore how sales managers make resourcing decisions with particular focus on their perceptions of outsourcing.

This paper is based on in-depth interviews with 29 senior sales managers from a variety of industry sectors based in the UK. All had more than five years’ experience of making resourcing decisions.

The findings are that resourcing decisions are prompted by cost pressure, the need to access skills or to improve flexibility. Outsourcing preferences are strongly moderated by perceived reputational risk. Availability of suitable suppliers and the ability to manage outsourcing are also practical moderators.

The sample was purposeful in identifying and accessing senior respondents in substantial companies with extensive experience, but it was not random.

Respondents reported a lack of information available when making resourcing decisions; the model proposed provides a framework by which sales managers can identify the factors which should be taken into account and the information they need to make objective evaluations of resourcing options.

It has been acknowledged in prior literature that there is relatively little outsourcing of sales activities. This is the first exploratory study of the perceptions of sales managers about resourcing options and the first conceptualisation of how sales resourcing decisions are made.