IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v102y2019icp12-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Timing and speed of internationalization: Evidence from African banks

Author

Listed:
  • Kabongo, Jean D.
  • Okpara, John O.

Abstract

This study investigates the factors that influence the timing and speed of internationalization, using data from corporate annual reports, websites, and media from 23 top banks in Africa, over the period ranging from 2010 to 2018. The findings suggest that entry timing is influenced by a firm's ownership structure and board members' experience and diversity. The findings also show three factors that increase the speed of internationalization: (1) learning from observing trends in the banking industry, extending organizational capabilities to explore new markets and exploiting these capabilities to capitalize on identified opportunities; (2) following the African diaspora specifically in developed countries; and (3) acquiring assets from other banks as well as entering strategic alliances with foreign partners. The internationalization of African banks presents similarities but also fundamental differences with multinationals from developed countries and those from emerging economies. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed along with future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Kabongo, Jean D. & Okpara, John O., 2019. "Timing and speed of internationalization: Evidence from African banks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 12-20.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:102:y:2019:i:c:p:12-20
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.05.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319303054
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.05.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Musteen, Martina & Francis, John & Datta, Deepak K., 2010. "The influence of international networks on internationalization speed and performance: A study of Czech SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 197-205, July.
    2. Luo, Yadong & Tan, J. Justin, 1997. "How much does industry structure impact foreign direct investment in China?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 337-359, August.
    3. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    4. García-Canal, Esteban & Duarte, Cristina López & Criado, Josep Rialp & Llaneza, Ana Valdés, 2002. "Accelerating international expansion through global alliances: a typology of cooperative strategies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 91-107, July.
    5. Chetty, Sylvie & Johanson, Martin & Martín Martín, Oscar, 2014. "Speed of internationalization: Conceptualization, measurement and validation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 633-650.
    6. Manish Popli & Ashutosh Sinha, 2014. "Determinants of early movers in cross-border merger and acquisition wave in an emerging market: A study of Indian firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1075-1099, December.
    7. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2009. "The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1411-1431, December.
    8. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    9. Preece, Stephen B. & Miles, Grant & Baetz, Mark C., 1999. "Explaining the international intensity and global diversity of early-stage technology-based firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 259-281, May.
    10. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0, December.
    11. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    12. Ibeh, Kevin & Makhmadshoev, Dilshod, 2018. "Post-acquisition integration behavior of nascent African multinational enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 255-267.
    13. K. Skylar Powell, 2014. "Profitability and Speed of Foreign Market Entry," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 31-45, February.
    14. John H Dunning, 1980. "Towards an Eclectic Theory of International Production: Some Empirical Tests," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 11(1), pages 9-31, March.
    15. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    16. Andrew Delios & Ajai S. Gaur & Shige Makino, 2008. "The Timing of International Expansion: Information, Rivalry and Imitation Among Japanese Firms, 1980–2002," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 169-195, January.
    17. Vibha Gaba & Yigang Pan & Gerardo R Ungson, 2002. "Timing of Entry in International Market: An Empirical Study of U.S. Fortune 500 Firms in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 39-55, March.
    18. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    19. Hongxin Zhao & Yadong Luo & Taewon Suh, 2004. "Transaction cost determinants and ownership-based entry mode choice: a meta-analytical review," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(6), pages 524-544, November.
    20. Lihong Qian & Andrew Delios, 2008. "Internalization and experience: Japanese banks’ international expansion, 1980–1998," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(2), pages 231-248, March.
    21. José C Casillas & Ana M Moreno-Menéndez, 2014. "Speed of the internationalization process: The role of diversity and depth in experiential learning," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(1), pages 85-101, January.
    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. Canan Yildirim & Adnan Kasman & Fazelina Sahul Hamid, 2021. "Impact of foreign ownership on market power: Do regional banks behave differently in ASEAN countries?," Post-Print hal-03419478, HAL.
    2. Aduba, Joseph Jr. & Harimaya, Kozo, 2023. "Impact of international expansion strategy on the performance of Japanese banks," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Cyber Risk: Evidence from Cybersecurity Related Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 351-374, May.
    4. Zhou, Chao & Liao, Jinglin, 2024. "Home country digital finance development and post-entry internationalization speed of emerging market SMEs: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Nitesh Pandey & Satish Kumar & Corinne Post & John W. Goodell & Rebeca García-Ramos, 2023. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: A complexity theory perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1289-1320, September.
    6. Ochieng, Irene Achieng & Thornton, Heidi Coral & Owusu, Richard Afriyie, 2024. "Internationalisation patterns of African sharing economy companies: The role of gateway markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    7. Gyensare, Michael Asiedu & Miri, Domnan & Zahoor, Nadia & Alajaty, Mahmoud, 2024. "Aspiring to go abroad: How and when international entrepreneurial aspiration fuel emerging markets entrepreneurial ventures’ internationalisation speed," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2).
    8. Kent Baker, H. & Pandey, Nitesh & Kumar, Satish & Haldar, Arunima, 2020. "A bibliometric analysis of board diversity: Current status, development, and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 232-246.
    9. Oludotun Fasanya, David & Ingham, Hilary & Read, Robert, 2022. "Determinants of internationalisation by firms from Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 951-965.
    10. Zhao, Shasha & Liu, Xiaohui & Andersson, Ulf & Shenkar, Oded, 2022. "Knowledge management of emerging economy multinationals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    11. Sengupta, Aditi Sarkar & Kleindienst, Ingo & Hutzschenreuter, Thomas, 2023. "Heterogenous internationalization processes of emerging economy MNEs: A review and research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    12. Qiao, Penghua & Fung, Anna & Fung, Hung-Gay & Ma, Xinnian, 2022. "Resilient leadership and outward foreign direct investment: A conceptual and empirical analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 729-739.
    13. Yildirim, Canan & Kasman, Adnan & Hamid, Fazelina Sahul, 2021. "Impact of foreign ownership on market power: Do regional banks behave differently in ASEAN countries?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).

    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. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    2. Danchi Tan & Weichieh Su & Joseph T. Mahoney & Yasemin Kor, 2020. "A review of research on the growth of multinational enterprises: A Penrosean lens," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 498-537, June.
    3. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Ingo Kleindienst & Christina Guenther & Martin Hammes, 2016. "Speed of Internationalization of New Business Units: The Impact of Direct and Indirect Learning," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 849-878, December.
    4. Li, Wen Helena & Guo, Bin & De Sisto, Marco, 2021. "Untangling the commonalities and differences between domestic cross-regional experience and international experience in shaping speed of internationalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    5. Xie, En & Reddy, K.S. & Liang, Jie, 2017. "Country-specific determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A comprehensive review and future research directions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 127-183.
    6. Jain, Naveen Kumar & Celo, Sokol & Kumar, Vikas, 2019. "Internationalization speed, resources and performance: Evidence from Indian software industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 26-37.
    7. Putzhammer, Moritz & Puck, Jonas & Lindner, Thomas, 2020. "Changes in foreign operation modes: A review and research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    8. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Buck, Trevor, 2019. "The earliness of exporting and creeping sclerosis? The moderating effects of firm age, size and centralization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 428-437.
    9. Purkayastha, Anish & Kumar, Vikas & Gupta, Vishal K., 2021. "Emerging market internationalizing firms: Learning through internationalization to achieve entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    10. Tan, Hao & Mathews, John A., 2015. "Accelerated internationalization and resource leverage strategizing: The case of Chinese wind turbine manufacturers," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 417-427.
    11. Luís Pacheco & Carla Lobo & Isabel Maldonado, 2022. "The Presence of Foreign Capital and the Internationalization of Portuguese Industrial SMEs," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Carrère, Céline & Fugazza, Marco, 2016. "On the heterogeneous effect of trade on unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 11540, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Heechun Kim & Jie Wu & Douglas A. Schuler & Robert E. Hoskisson, 2020. "Chinese multinationals’ fast internationalization: Financial performance advantage in one region, disadvantage in another," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(7), pages 1076-1106, September.
    14. Jane W. Lu & Hao Ma & Xuanli Xie, 2022. "Foreignness research in international business: Major streams and future directions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(3), pages 449-480, April.
    15. Christian Schwens & Florian B. Zapkau & Michael Bierwerth & Rodrigo Isidor & Gary Knight & Rüdiger Kabst, 2018. "International Entrepreneurship: A Meta–Analysis on the Internationalization and Performance Relationship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(5), pages 734-768, September.
    16. Mohammad Fuad & Ashutosh Kumar Sinha, 2018. "Entry-timing, business groups and early-mover advantage within industry merger waves in emerging markets: A study of Indian firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 919-942, December.
    17. Irina Surdu & Kamel Mellahi & Keith Glaister & Giulio Nardella, 2017. "Why Wait? The Speed of Foreign Market Re-Entry after Initial Entry and Exit," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2017-05, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    18. Rachel Xenia Chang & Mário Henrique Ogasavara, 2021. "The impact of institutional distance and experiential knowledge on the internationalization speed of Japanese MNEs," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(5), pages 549-582, November.
    19. Nguyen, Quyen T.K. & Kim, Sylvia, 2020. "The multinationality and performance relationship: Revisiting the literature and exploring the implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    20. Vikas Kumar & Deeksha Singh & Anish Purkayastha & Manish Popli & Ajai Gaur, 2020. "Springboard internationalization by emerging market firms: Speed of first cross-border acquisition," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(2), pages 172-193, March.

    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:jbrese:v:102:y:2019:i:c:p:12-20. 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/locate/jbusres .

    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.