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The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms that do both sourcing and selling choose which countries to source from and to which countries to sell. It also looked at the role of competitive strategy, vertical integration, and foreign involvement in the decision‐making.

A survey instrument that was designed based on personal interviews with 20 German garment industry executives was administered to 750 German, Austrian and Swiss garment manufacturers. In total, 93 questionnaires were usable. Factor analysis was employed in evaluating the data.

The results indicate that firms that both source and sell at the same time have more complex decision making than normative models suggest. These decisions tend not to be isolated decisions. The factors that are considered in sourcing are different in the decision as to where to sell. Foreign involvement, competitive strategy, and vertical integration influence the firms' decision making.

The study is exploratory in nature and it is limited in its application. Moreover, the disproportionately large number of German respondents may skew the results. In addition, the total number of respondents is relatively small. The study may also suffer from any or all of the following deficiencies: lack of reliability and validity test, having only one executive per firm respond to the survey, not considering country‐specific characteristics, and lack of control for the market‐entry strategy and market size variables.

Most research in this area focuses on either the sourcing or the selling side. This study looks at how sourcing and selling decisions are made by firms engaged in both activities. Additionally, the roles of competitive strategy, vertical integration, and foreign involvement in relation to the decision making are investigated.

Contrary to the prevalent theory approaches that treat market selection and market entry mode selection as two related but essentially separate decisions, this paper argues that these should most appropriately be looked on as two aspects of one decision process. It proposes that an exhaustive list of factors that can influence outcomes of such an integrated process be developed and argues that an inclusive spectrum of analysis would be able to accommodate all business contexts and most relevant business practice. It then presents a new market and market entry mode selection model (MEMS) which conforms to the proposed inclusive spectrum of the underlying decision process analysis.

How manufacturers select distributors who can contribute to distribution efficiency has become an important issue for channel management. While the last decade has seen large shifts in manufacturing and distribution practices, there has been very little empirical research investigating manufacturers' selection of distributors. This study attempts to fill this research gap by proposing and empirically evaluating factors important to manufacturers when selecting distributors.

The study developed a research framework for manufacturers' selection of distributors. Four key constructs were derived from marketing, supply chain, and logistics literature to investigate their influences on distributor selection: firm infrastructure, marketing capabilities, relationship intensity, and logistics capabilities. Four hypotheses were developed and tested with a sample of Taiwanese information technology (IT) manufacturers.

Multi‐item scales were developed and validated through standard psychometric procedures. Hypotheses were tested with ordinary least squares regression analysis. The four constructs were found to have positive influences on manufacturers' selection of distributors.

The paper represents the first study to propose and empirically test a research model examining factors affecting manufacturers' selection of distributors. Distributors can strengthen their competitive advantage by improving their competence in the four dimensions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the following research question in partner selection decisions in business-to-business strategic partnerships/collaborations literature: How do inertia and uncertainty affect partner selection? Explicitly, the paper analyzes how inertia of previous alliance selection routines and uncertainty of entire market movement shape firms’ preferences regarding exploratory partner selection (i.e. selecting new partners who never collaborate with the focal firm).

Grounded on inter-firm partnerships, partner selection and network theory literature, the study empirically tests a fine-grained sample of 511 open-end funds initiated by 61 fund management firms in China. To do so, it runs Tobit regression for main analysis and applies a variety of sensitivity analyses to check the robustness.

Results show that inertia in previous partner selection has a negative effect on exploration. Importantly, these inertial forces impact domestic firms but not international firms. Market uncertainty also affects exploratory partner selection: short-term market uncertainty encourages exploration, whereas long-term uncertainty inhibits it. These effects also depend on firms’ type: long-term market uncertainty has a negative effect on exploration for international firms but not for domestic firms. Both types of firms exhibit a stronger tendency toward exploration when they encounter short-term uncertainty. However, this inclination is stronger in international firms.

Earlier research has examined how inertia affects exploitation but largely overlooked its effect on exploration. A critical examination of firm and environment level factors provides a deeper understanding of why and when firms have inconsistent preferences for specific partner selection strategies. Thus, this study offers a unique perspective for understanding firms’ exploratory partner selection by focusing on two important characteristics of focal firms: one internal (inertia) and one external (market uncertainty) in nature.

This paper aims to consider factors that determine the direction of international market selection. It does this with specific reference to service companies operating in the retail sector.

The paper draws on general, services and retail specific literature and considers the debate surrounding market selection issue. Hypotheses are formulated and econometrically tested using an extensive database of retailers' international activity within Western European markets.

The results show that previously identified determinants of market selection are valid. However, the results clearly indicate that some factors are more important than the literature has suggested and that the selection of markets is determined in great part by relatively few but crucially important factors.

The paper shows that language and hence, by implication, culture plays a fundamental role in determining direction of expansion. This has important implications for the way psychic distance is understood and service company response to psychic distance.

According to normative‐rational investment decision models, investors who seek office buildings should select markets which show high employment numbers in office related sectors such as Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (FIRE) and Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS). This view is challenged by behavioural studies, which find that the investors' willingness for analysis and the structure of their decision‐making processes in practice notably limit such an influence. Looking at German office markets, the purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent the aforementioned connection between employment structure and market selection holds.

Qualitative interviews with German investment experts are analysed in a manner that differentiates between investor types. Behavioural economics form a theoretical basis to identify investor type specific attitudes towards investment markets and the resulting market selection processes. The findings are tested by logistic regressions which connect the spatial structure of office investments with employment data.

A sector‐specific employment structure does not have a direct but an indirect influence on the market selection. The existing theoretical contradiction is resolved by this indirect influence. Investor type specific risk profiles and business models determine varying spatial patterns of market selection.

The study shows that attitudes towards markets, business logics and decision processes differ between insurance companies and open‐ended funds. Researchers should be aware that empirical results may not always be valid for all institutional investors. In some cases a differentiating research design according to investor type may be necessary.

The study identifies a set of minimum requirements with regard to building and market characteristics open‐ended funds use for filtering in German secondary/regional markets. Market selection by these funds and insurance companies correlates with relative employment in FIRE‐ and KIBS‐branches.

This paper overcomes decision‐theoretical contradictions and gives empirical evidence for the importance of the employment structure on market selection.

This study aims to explore critical success factors contributing to the selection of beneficial foreign markets by Arabian international firms.

Multiple case study method was adopted in the study, and thus, two rich-information comparative case studies were purposefully selected from Arabian large firms. Additionally, seven international market selection (IMS) decisions were examined through relying on personal interviews and archival data, and field notes as secondary data resources. Two main stages of analysis were undertaken, i.e. within and cross-case analyses.

The results showed four critical factors contributing to the selection of beneficial international markets by Arabian firms, i.e. international business experience of the selected management team, the market knowledge about the potential international markets, in-house and external consultations with international business experts and identification of a trustworthy and internationally experienced manager for the international operation.

The results have important implications to business managers by improving their foreign market selection behavior. Further, the research’s findings can assist less-experienced firms, willing to internationalize their businesses, in enhancing their decision-making process to arrive at beneficial country for their international operations.

The research findings provide significant theoretical contribution to literature review on the internationalization process of firms through addressing critical success factors in IMS decision process. Further, it provides significant methodological contributions in relation to the effectiveness of the case study approach in capturing elements of the IMS process.

The purpose of this paper is to address the internationalization of Russian multinationals by critically challenging existing assumptions about “springboard” foreign market selection by emerging market firms.

The authors studied foreign market selection decisions for 497 international merger and acquisition (M&A) and joint venture (JV) deals completed by Russian multinational enterprises (MNEs) between 1997 and 2009. The statistical model tests the impact of the geographic, political and economic distances of the host country from Russia on Russian MNEs' foreign market selection decisions.

Contrary to existing assumptions, the host country's geographic closeness to Russia, and its being an ex‐USSR republic or a tax haven, positively affected the country's probability of attracting an M&A or JV deal by a Russian MNE, while the similar level of economic development did not significantly influence the MNEs' foreign market selection decisions. The patterns of significance among the explanatory variables vary for Russian MNEs operating in the natural resources industries.

Further studies may extend the observation period, enlarge the database with Greenfield and export deals by Russian MNEs, and add cross‐country cultural distances to the explanatory variables.

Russian managers should consider the “distances” that might influence firms' foreign investment decisions. This paper also allows host country governments willing to formulate policies aimed at the attraction of Russian outward foreign direct investments to obtain a better understanding of Russian MNEs' international strategies.

One of the few quantitative studies on the topic, this research suggests that Russian MNEs choose their own means of foreign market selection, combining gradual and leapfrog approaches to internationalization.

The importance of international markets has increased in the past years and will further increase in the future. This offers potential for being competitive, but especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is going along with a variety of risks, e.g. the competition in the domestic market intensifies. Nevertheless, in most cases, SMEs with foreign operations are more successful than SME operating solely in the domestic markets. Nevertheless, the internationalization activities of SME are often unsystematic and emotional, especially when looking for distribution partners. The research project “Empirical based development of an instrument for identifying and making decisions about the choice of market entry and the selection of distribution partners of SME of the tool and cutlery industry when developing foreign markets” deals with this topic. In this paper the results of a literature review and an expert discussion regarding market development and especially the process of finding distribution partners for foreign markets are presented. Also, further steps in the project dealing with aspects of realizing the detected success factors by using quality management methods are explained.

The first step comprises a literature review and an expert discussion with leading managers of SME, with the aim to receive information about market entry decisions and selection of distribution partners. Therefore, a literature review and an expert discussion with leading managers of SME are carried out. The discussions are evaluated with MAXQDA©, a software for qualitative data analysis. Next, a questionnaire is designed for a quantitative analysis of the topic and will be evaluated by using SMART-PLS. Then, the results will be used as input variable for a quality function deployment for identifying appropriate measures for implementing the prior identified success factors. Thereby, also quality management methods and techniques will be used for finding the “right” measures. In this context, also a method for selecting distribution partners will be developed which is based on the logic of supplier evaluation. Finally, an Excel-based tool will be developed which includes the results of the project and allows companies easily applying them.

A literature review and an expert discussion within the tool and cutlery industry have been carried out and analysed. Thereby, the need for action regarding the selection of distribution partners has been revealed as essential step for success in foreign markets. Literature mostly deals with aspects like choosing appropriate countries for market entry and market entry strategy but not with distribution partners. Expert discussion also has shown that choosing distribution partners is often managed with gut feel. It lacks a criteria-based approach for optimizing this step during the internalization process.

Finding adequate distribution partners for a successful entry into foreign markets has not been investigated thoroughly yet. The project offers insights into determining factors for the selection process and improves the distribution partner selection by using quality management methods, for instance, by adapting the fundamental procedure of supplier assessment for distribution partner assessment.

A critical concern for corporations test marketing new products involves test market city evaluation. In order for test marketing to be successful, corporations must identify cities that offer a good fit with the firm’s overall product strategy. Unfortunately, little has been written to aid corporations in making complex test city selection decisions. Presents a model that combines the concepts of marketing, the management science technique of goal programming, and microcomputer technology to provide managers with a more effective and efficient method for evaluating test cities and making selection decisions. Extends the existing literature on test market evaluation by applying a computer optimization model to test market evaluation in a way that has not been done before.