IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v55y2020i5s1090951620300390.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Liability of Foreignness and the Constitutive Legitimation of Foreign Firms in a Host Country

Author

Listed:
  • Zeng, Yuping
  • Xu, Dean

Abstract

We examine population density effects on foreign firms’ likelihood to exit from a host country. The lack of constitutive legitimacy is an important aspect of the liability of foreignness experienced by foreign firms. Both foreign firms from a focal firm’s home country and foreign firms from other countries can provide constitutive legitimation for the focal firm. These intrapopulation and interpopulation legitimation effects strengthen with a greater psychic distance between the home and host countries; they also interact with and strengthen each other. Results based on a dataset containing 68,723 firm-year observations on 29,843 foreign firms in China support our predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zeng, Yuping & Xu, Dean, 2020. "Liability of Foreignness and the Constitutive Legitimation of Foreign Firms in a Host Country," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:55:y:2020:i:5:s1090951620300390
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101111
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951620300390
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101111?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. R. E. Caves & M. E. Porter, 1977. "From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers: Conjectural Decisions and Contrived Deterrence to New Competition," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 91(2), pages 241-261.
    2. Jeroen Kuilman & Jiatao Li, 2006. "The Organizers’ Ecology: An Empirical Study of Foreign Banks in Shanghai," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 385-401, June.
    3. Zheying Wu & Robert Salomon, 2017. "Deconstructing the liability of foreignness: Regulatory enforcement actions against foreign banks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(7), pages 837-861, September.
    4. Saul Estrin & Delia Baghdasaryan & Klaus E. Meyer, 2009. "The Impact of Institutional and Human Resource Distance on International Entry Strategies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(7), pages 1171-1196, November.
    5. Marvin B. Lieberman & David B. Montgomery, 1988. "First‐mover advantages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(S1), pages 41-58, June.
    6. Stanislav D. Dobrev & Salih Zeki Ozdemir & Albert C. Teo, 2006. "The Ecological Interdependence of Emergent and Established Organizational Populations: Legitimacy Transfer, Violation by Comparison, and Unstable Identities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(5), pages 577-597, October.
    7. Jing Li & Changhui Zhou & Edward J. Zajac, 2009. "Control, collaboration, and productivity in international joint ventures: theory and evidence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 865-884, August.
    8. Chaohong Zhou & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2010. "Institutional constraints and ecological processes: Evolution of foreign-invested enterprises in the Chinese construction industry, 1993–2006," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(3), pages 539-556, April.
    9. Elango, B., 2009. "Minimizing effects of 'liability of foreignness': Response strategies of foreign firms in the United States," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 51-62, January.
    10. 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.
    11. repec:bla:econom:v:41:y:1974:i:162:p:176-93 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Richard F. J. Haans & Constant Pieters & Zi-Lin He, 2016. "Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1177-1195, July.
    13. Christine M Chan & Shige Makino & Takehiko Isobe, 2006. "Interdependent behavior in foreign direct investment: the multi-level effects of prior entry and prior exit on foreign market entry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(5), pages 642-665, September.
    14. Jody Evans & Felix T Mavondo, 2002. "Psychic Distance and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Examination of International Retailing Operations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(3), pages 515-532, September.
    15. Greta Hsu & Michael T. Hannan, 2005. "Identities, Genres, and Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 474-490, October.
    16. Bennet A. Zelner, 2009. "Using simulation to interpret results from logit, probit, and other nonlinear models," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(12), pages 1335-1348, December.
    17. Yigang Pan & Shaomin Li & David K Tse, 1999. "The Impact of Order and Mode of Market Entry on Profitability and Market Share," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(1), pages 81-103, March.
    18. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    19. Michael T. Hannan, 2005. "Ecologies of Organizations: Diversity and Identity," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 51-70, Winter.
    20. Zaheer, Srilata, 2002. "The liability of foreignness, redux: a commentary," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 351-358.
    21. Paul D Ellis, 2008. "Does psychic distance moderate the market size–entry sequence relationship?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(3), pages 351-369, April.
    22. Demirbag, Mehmet & Apaydin, Marina & Tatoglu, Ekrem, 2011. "Survival of Japanese subsidiaries in the Middle East and North Africa," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 411-425, October.
    23. Gaël Le Mens & Michael T. Hannan & László Pólos, 2015. "Age-Related Structural Inertia: A Distance-Based Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 756-773, June.
    24. Jiatao Li, 2008. "Asymmetric interactions between foreign and domestic banks: effects on market entry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 873-893, August.
    25. José Mata & Ernesto Freitas, 2012. "Foreignness and exit over the life cycle of firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(7), pages 615-630, September.
    26. Michael J. Lenox & Scott F. Rockart & Arie Y. Lewin, 2010. "Does interdependency affect firm and industry profitability? an empirical test," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 121-139, February.
    27. Jesper Edman, 2016. "Reconciling the advantages and liabilities of foreignness: Towards an identity-based framework," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 674-694, August.
    28. Klaus E Meyer, 2004. "Perspectives on multinational enterprises in emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(4), pages 259-276, July.
    29. Christian Schwens & Julia Eiche & Ruediger Kabst, 2011. "The Moderating Impact of Informal Institutional Distance and Formal Institutional Risk on SME Entry Mode Choice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 330-351, March.
    30. Michael T. Hannan & László Pólos & Glenn R. Carroll, 2007. "Language Matters, from Logics of Organization Theory: Audiences, Codes, and Ecologies," Introductory Chapters, in: Logics of Organization Theory: Audiences, Codes, and Ecologies, Princeton University Press.
    31. Mezias, John M., 2002. "How to identify liabilities of foreignness and assess their effects on multinational corporations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 265-282.
    32. L·szlÛ PÛlos & Michael T. Hannan, 2002. "Foundations of a theory of social forms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(1), pages 85-115, February.
    33. Changhui Zhou & Jing Li, 2008. "Product innovation in emerging market-based international joint ventures: An organizational ecology perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(7), pages 1114-1132, October.
    34. Glenn Hoetker, 2007. "The use of logit and probit models in strategic management research: Critical issues," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 331-343, April.
    35. Daniel W Baack & Douglas Dow & Ronaldo Parente & Donald R Bacon, 2015. "Confirmation bias in individual-level perceptions of psychic distance: An experimental investigation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 46(8), pages 938-959, October.
    36. Mary Ann Glynn & Chad Navis, 2013. "Categories, Identities, and Cultural Classification: Moving Beyond a Model of Categorical Constraint," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(6), pages 1124-1137, September.
    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. Castellões, Bernardo & Silva-Rêgo, Bernardo & Dib, Luís Antônio, 2023. "Understanding divestment from an Uppsala school perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    2. Liou, Ru-Shiun & Faifman, Leon & Ellis, Kimberly, 2023. "Navigating political risk: Protectionism and ownership strategy in cross-border M&As," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    3. Zhou, Nan, 2024. "Emerging market multinationals’ liability of outsidership," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(3).
    4. Zhang, Wei & He, Xinming & Wang, Tao & Wang, Kang, 2023. "Institutional distance and the international market entry mode: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    5. Singh, Deeksha & Gaur, Ajai S., 2021. "Risk mitigation strategies in international B2B relationships: Role of institutions and governance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Hu, Chenguang & Li, Jiatao & Yun, Kyung Hwan, 2023. "Re-examining foreign subsidiary survival in a transition economy: Impact of market identity overlap and conflict," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(3).

    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. 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.
    2. Peng, George Z. & Beamish, Paul W., 2019. "Subnational FDI Legitimacy and Foreign Subsidiary Survival," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    3. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Harhoff, Philippa-Luisa, 2021. "The accelerating effect of institutional environment unfamiliarity on subsidiary portfolio expansion in a new host country," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    4. Jisun Yu & Seung-Hyun Lee & Kunsoo Han, 2015. "FDI motives, market governance, and ownership choice of MNEs: A study of Malaysia and Thailand from an incomplete contracting perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 335-362, June.
    5. J.-P. Vergne & Tyler Wry, 2014. "Categorizing Categorization Research: Review, Integration, and Future Directions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 56-94, January.
    6. Jaime Gómez & Raquel Orcos & Henk W. Volberda, 2021. "How imitation of multiple reference groups drives the evolution of firm strategy," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(8), pages 2319-2350, November.
    7. Hu, Chenguang & Li, Jiatao & Yun, Kyung Hwan, 2023. "Re-examining foreign subsidiary survival in a transition economy: Impact of market identity overlap and conflict," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(3).
    8. Daniel R Clark & Dan Li & Dean A Shepherd, 2018. "Country familiarity in the initial stage of foreign market selection," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(4), pages 442-472, May.
    9. Tatiana Kostova & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2021. "Integrating Diversity into Distance Research for Added Rigor, Parsimony, and Relevance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1669-1689, September.
    10. Weber, Clarissa E. & Chahabadi, Dominik & Maurer, Indre, 2020. "Antecedents and performance effect of managerial misperception of institutional differences," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    11. Trąpczyński, Piotr & Halaszovich, Tilo F. & Piaskowska, Dorota, 2020. "The role of perceived institutional distance in foreign ownership level decisions of new MNEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 435-449.
    12. Cristina López-Duarte & Marta M. Vidal-Suárez & Belén González-Díaz & Nuno Rosa Reis, 2016. "Understanding the relevance of national culture in international business research: a quantitative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1553-1590, September.
    13. Drogendijk, Rian & Martín Martín, Oscar, 2015. "Relevant dimensions and contextual weights of distance in international business decisions: Evidence from Spanish and Chinese outward FDI," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 133-147.
    14. Jan Hendrik Fisch & Bjoern Schmeisser, 0. "Phasing the operation mode of foreign subsidiaries: Reaping the benefits of multinationality through internal capital markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-33.
    15. Jiang, Guoliang F. & Holburn, Guy L.F. & Beamish, Paul W., 2014. "The Impact of Vicarious Experience on Foreign Location Strategy," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 345-358.
    16. Pankaj Kumar & Swanand J. Deodhar & Srilata Zaheer, 2023. "Cognitive sources of liability of foreignness in crowdsourcing creative work," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(4), pages 686-716, June.
    17. Ryan W. Tang & Ying Zhu & Hongbo Cai & Jinrong Han, 2021. "De-internationalization: A Thematic Review and the Directions Forward," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 267-312, June.
    18. Jan Hendrik Fisch & Bjoern Schmeisser, 2020. "Phasing the operation mode of foreign subsidiaries: Reaping the benefits of multinationality through internal capital markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(8), pages 1223-1255, October.
    19. Denk, Nikola & Kaufmann, Lutz & Roesch, Jan-Frederik, 2012. "Liabilities of Foreignness Revisited: A Review of Contemporary Studies and Recommendations for Future Research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 322-334.
    20. Conti, Claudio Ramos & Parente, Ronaldo & de Vasconcelos, Flávio C., 2016. "When distance does not matter: Implications for Latin American multinationals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1980-1992.

    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:worbus:v:55:y:2020:i:5:s1090951620300390. 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/620401/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.