IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v18y2009i1p60-75.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do as the large enterprises do?: Expatriate selection and overseas performance in emerging markets: The case of Taiwan SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Cheng, Hsiang-Lin
  • Lin, Carol Yeh Yun

Abstract

This study investigated the less explored expatriation practices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. Data for 133 Taiwan SMEs operating in Malaysia and Vietnam revealed that four personality traits of expatriates, i.e., control ability, independence, openness and social ability exert significant influences on overseas performance given that different types of performance require different of expatriate competency. Analytical results also indicated that the widely perceived influence of the favorable evaluation of the expatriate by top managers does not impact the overseas performance of expatriates. Further, the expatriate practices of Taiwan SMEs vary depending on cultural differences between the home country and host countries. Taken together, the findings of this study have valuable implications for both academicians and practitioners in international management.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheng, Hsiang-Lin & Lin, Carol Yeh Yun, 2009. "Do as the large enterprises do?: Expatriate selection and overseas performance in emerging markets: The case of Taiwan SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 60-75, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:1:p:60-75
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593108001364
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Homin Chen & Tain-Jy Chen, 1998. "Network Linkages and Location Choice in Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(3), pages 445-467, September.
    2. Daniel C Feldman & Holly B Tompson, 1993. "Expatriation, Repatriation, and Domestic Geographical Relocation: An Empirical Investigation of Adjustment to new Job Assignments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(3), pages 507-529, September.
    3. AAhad M. Osman-Gani & Wee-Liang Tan, 2005. "Expatriate development for Asia-Pacific: a study of training contents and methods," International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 41-56.
    4. N. Venkatraman, 1989. "Strategic Orientation of Business Enterprises: The Construct, Dimensionality, and Measurement," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(8), pages 942-962, August.
    5. Carol Lin & Yu-Chen Wei, 2006. "The Role of Business Ethics in Merger and Acquisition Success: An Empirical Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 95-109, November.
    6. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kunlin Xu & Judy Drennan & Shane Mathews, 2019. "Immigrant entrepreneurs and their cross-cultural capabilities: A study of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 520-557, December.
    2. Selmer, Jan & Lauring, Jakob, 2013. "Dispositional affectivity and work outcomes of expatriates," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 568-577.
    3. Shu-Yuan Chen & Chih-Hsun Chuang & Shyh-jer Chen, 2018. "A conceptual review of human resource management research and practice in Taiwan with comparison to select economies in East Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 213-239, March.
    4. João Vasco Coelho, 2022. "Recruiting Business Expatriates in Portugal: The Moderating Role of Employee Willingness," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 8(2), pages 206-227, July.
    5. Tseng, Chiung-Hui & Lee, Ruby P., 2010. "Host environmental uncertainty and equity-based entry mode dilemma: The role of market linking capability," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 407-418, August.
    6. Dutta, Dev K. & Beamish, Paul W., 2013. "Expatriate Managers, Product Relatedness, and IJV Performance: A Resource and Knowledge-based Perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 152-162.
    7. Diep Thi Ngoc Nguyen & Stephen T. T. Teo & Marcus Ho, 2018. "Development of human resource management in Vietnam: A semantic analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 241-284, March.
    8. Hsiang-Lin Cheng & C.-M. J. Yu, 2012. "Adoption of Practices by Subsidiaries and Institutional Interaction within Internationalised Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 81-105, February.
    9. Schwens, Christian & Kabst, Ruediger, 2011. "Internationalization of young technology firms: A complementary perspective on antecedents of foreign market familiarity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 60-74, February.
    10. Chun-Hsiao Wang & Arup Varma, 2022. "International management strategies and expatriate practices of Taiwanese multinational corporations: a contingency perspective," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 129-153, February.
    11. Freeman, Susan & Lindsay, Sarah, 2012. "The effect of ethnic diversity on expatriate managers in their host country," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 253-268.
    12. Bader, Benjamin & Berg, Nicola & Holtbrügge, Dirk, 2015. "Expatriate performance in terrorism-endangered countries: The role of family and organizational support," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 849-860.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Do, Hoa & Nguyen, Bach & Shipton, Helen, 2023. "Innovation and internationalization in an emerging market context: Moderating effects of interpersonal and organizational social networks," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    2. Hessels, Jolanda & Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Constraints, internationalization and growth: A cross-country analysis of European SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 137-148.
    3. Mike Peng & Andrew Delios, 2006. "What determines the scope of the firm over time and around the world? An Asia Pacific perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 385-405, December.
    4. Frances Fabian & Henry Molina & Giuseppe Labianca, 2009. "Understanding Decisions to Internationalize by Small and Medium-sized Firms Located in an Emerging Market," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(5), pages 537-563, October.
    5. Kim, Jae-jin & Hemmert, Martin, 2016. "What drives the export performance of small and medium-sized subcontracting firms? A study of Korean manufacturers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 511-521.
    6. Jean, Ruey-Jer Bryan & Tan, Danchi & Sinkovics, Rudolf R., 2011. "Ethnic ties, location choice, and firm performance in foreign direct investment: A study of Taiwanese business groups FDI in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 627-635.
    7. Tsai, Ming-Tien & Huang, Yen-Chih & Ma, Rong, 2009. "Antecedents and consequences of global responsiveness: An empirical examination of MNCs in the global sourcing context," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 617-629, December.
    8. Tseng, Chiung-Hui & Lee, Ruby P., 2010. "Host environmental uncertainty and equity-based entry mode dilemma: The role of market linking capability," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 407-418, August.
    9. Fernhaber, Stephanie A. & Li, Dan, 2013. "International exposure through network relationships: Implications for new venture internationalization," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 316-334.
    10. Eriksson, Kent & Jonsson, Sara & Lindbergh, Jessica & Lindstrand, Angelika, 2014. "Modeling firm specific internationalization risk: An application to banks’ risk assessment in lending to firms that do international business," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1074-1085.
    11. Marina Dabić & Jane Maley & Leo-Paul Dana & Ivan Novak & Massimiliano M. Pellegrini & Andrea Caputo, 2020. "Pathways of SME internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 705-725, October.
    12. Hartmut Wolf & Reza Rajabiun & Jörn Kleinert & Ivar Bredesen & Katrin Springer, 1999. "Book reviews," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 135(4), pages 709-722, December.
    13. Usunier, Jean-Claude, 1998. "Oral pleasure and expatriate satisfaction: an empirical approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 89-110, February.
    14. Rouine, Ibtissem, 2018. "Target country's leadership style and bidders' takeover decisions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 17-29.
    15. Kusa, Rafał & Suder, Marcin & Duda, Joanna, 2023. "Impact of greening on performance in the hospitality industry: Moderating effect of flexibility and inter-organizational cooperation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    16. Chahal, Hardeep & Gupta, Mahesh & Lonial, Subhash & Raina, Swati, 2019. "Operational flexibility-entrepreneurial orientation relationship: Effects and consequences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 154-167.
    17. Sandberg, Susanne & Sui, Sui & Baum, Matthias, 2019. "Effects of prior market experiences and firm-specific resources on developed economy SMEs' export exit from emerging markets: Complementary or compensatory?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 489-502.
    18. Agnieszka Żur, 2015. "Opportunity Identification and Creation as Factors of Firm Internationalisation," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(2), pages 25-39.
    19. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Fernando Úbeda, 2022. "Individual entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the mediating role of international entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 875-900, June.
    20. Avlonitis, George J. & Salavou, Helen E., 2007. "Entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs, product innovativeness, and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 566-575, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:1:p:60-75. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.