Leveraging the recent research interest in emerging economies, this Perspective paper argues that an institution-based view of international business (IB) strategy has emerged. It is positioned as one leg that helps sustain the “strategy tripod” (the other two legs consisting of the industry- and resource-based views). We then review four diverse areas of substantive research: (1) antidumping as entry barriers; (2) competing in and out of India; (3) growing the firm in China; and (4) governing the corporation in emerging economies. Overall, we argue that an institution-based view of IB strategy, in combination with industry- and resource-based views, will not only help sustain a strategy tripod, but also shed significant light on the most fundamental questions confronting IB, such as “What drives firm strategy and performance in IB?”

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An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

http://impgroup.org/uploads/papers/4744.pdf

Relationship quality as a predictor of B2B customer loyalty

This article presents a review of the book “Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems,” by W.R. Scott.

Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems

Both the size and the rapid growth of global exporting have focused the attention of marketing researchers on the factors associated with firms’ export performance. However, knowledge of this increasingly important domain of marketing activity remains limited. To address this knowledge gap, the authors draw on the strategy and marketing literature to develop an integrative theory of the antecedents of export venture performance. The interplay among available resources and capabilities, competitive strategy decisions, and competitive intensity determines export venture positional advantages and performance outcomes in the theoretical model. The authors empirically assess predicted relationships using survey data from 287 export ventures. Results broadly support the theoretical model, indicating that resources and capabilities affect export venture competitive strategy choices and the positional advantages achieved in the export market, which in turn affect export venture performance outcomes. In c...

Antecedents of Export Venture Performance: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Assessment

The authors examine international distribution channels in terms of the coordination processes that govern the relationship between export manufacturers and their foreign-based distributors. Althou...

The Effect of Output Controls, Process Controls, and Flexibility on Export Channel Performance:

Previous conceptualizations of attitudinal commitment are extended by considering two very different components of a manufacturer’s attachment to an independent channel intermediary. Relying on commitment theory, a model is developed that describes how attitudinal commitment may reside in either the instrumental or the social strain of a manufacturer’s relationship with its distributor. For each strain, the developmental role played by key facets of the channel setting—relative dependence, pledges, and trust—are shown. Furthermore, the nature of the attachment bond is posited to motivate very different governance mechanisms as the distribution agreement is enforced by either social or contractual means. Empirical support for the model demonstrates that an expanded view of attitudinal commitment is important in understanding the complex nature of attachment in channel relationships.

Two sides to attitudinal commitment: The effect of calculative and loyalty commitment on enforcement mechanisms in distribution channels

The infomercial shopper

Modern procurement is being shifted from paper‐based, people‐intensive buying systems toward electronic‐based purchase procedures that rely on Internet communications and Web‐enhanced buying tools. Develops a typology of e‐commerce tools that have come to characterize cutting‐edge industrial procurement. E‐commerce aspects of purchasing are organized into communication and transaction tools that encompass both internal and external buying activities. Further, a model of the impact of e‐commerce on the structure and processes of an organization’s buying center is developed. The impact of the changing buying center on procurement outcomes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness is also analyzed. Finally, implications for business‐to‐business marketers and researchers are discussed.

David I. Gilliland

Papers

The Effect of Output Controls, Process Controls, and Flexibility on Export Channel Performance:

Two sides to attitudinal commitment: The effect of calculative and loyalty commitment on enforcement mechanisms in distribution channels

The infomercial shopper

Adoption of electronic commerce tools in business procurement: Enhanced buying center structure and processes

Toward a model of business-to-business marketing communications effects