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How to select an export mode without bias

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  • Obadia, Claude
  • Bello, Daniel C.

Abstract

Managers of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tend to view subsidiaries as the preferred export mode. Yet this type of organization is associated with a high failure rate. Our in-depth interviews with more than 40 managers show that their bias in favor of foreign sales subsidiaries is rooted in unsubstantiated beliefs about control and the superiority of subsidiaries over other export modes. This article details the faulty reasoning that supports these prejudices and proposes a simple method for selecting more profitable and less risky international entry strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Obadia, Claude & Bello, Daniel C., 2019. "How to select an export mode without bias," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 171-183.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:62:y:2019:i:2:p:171-183
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2018.08.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Maksim Evseevich Krivelevich, 2019. "Export-Oriented Financial Center in the Russian Far East: Abstraction or Reality?," Spatial Economics=Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika, Economic Research Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Khabarovsk, Russia), issue 2, pages 75-91.
    2. Song, Sangcheol, 2022. "Cultural diversification, human resource-based coordination, and downside risks of multinationality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 562-571.

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