IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i6p1793-d216929.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Foreign Market Adaptation and Performance: The Role of Institutional Distance and Organizational Capabilities

Author

Listed:
  • Mariola Ciszewska-Mlinarič

    (Department of Strategy, Kozminski University, ul. Jagiellońska 57/59, 03-301 Warszawa, Poland)

  • Piotr Trąpczyński

    (Department of International Competitiveness, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

Abstract

The role and significance of adaptation versus standardization for performance in foreign markets has stirred some important debates among the academic community. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the ongoing debate by applying the logic of institutional theory and organizational capabilities to reconsider the relationship between adaptation and foreign market performance. In particular, we argue based on extant theory and our own mixed-method study that while more accentuated differences in the institutional environment reinforce the role of adaptation in achieving legitimacy, the possession of relational and technological capabilities can reduce the relevance of adaptation. The empirical study is based on a sample of 284 firms in the quantitative study and eight firms in the qualitative study. Our findings reveal that adaptation is positively associated with performance in foreign markets. This relationship is also positively moderated by institutional distance, and negatively moderated by relational and technological capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariola Ciszewska-Mlinarič & Piotr Trąpczyński, 2019. "Foreign Market Adaptation and Performance: The Role of Institutional Distance and Organizational Capabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1793-:d:216929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1793/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1793/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heather Berry & Mauro F Guillén & Nan Zhou, 2010. "An institutional approach to cross-national distance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(9), pages 1460-1480, December.
    2. Sapienza, Harry J. & De Clercq, Dirk & Sandberg, William R., 2005. "Antecedents of international and domestic learning effort," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 437-457, July.
    3. Kolasa, Marcin & Rubaszek, Michal & Taglioni, Daria, 2010. "Firms in the great global recession: The role of foreign ownership and financial dependence," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 341-357, December.
    4. Robert E. Hoskisson & Mike Wright & Igor Filatotchev & Mike W. Peng, 2013. "Emerging Multinationals from Mid-Range Economies: The Influence of Institutions and Factor Markets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7), pages 1295-1321, November.
    5. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Katsikeas, Constantine S. & Coudounaris, Dafnis N., 2010. "Five decades of business research into exporting: A bibliographic analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 78-91, March.
    6. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    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. 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.
    9. Klaus E. Meyer & Ram Mudambi & Rajneesh Narula, 2011. "Multinational Enterprises and Local Contexts: The Opportunities and Challenges of Multiple Embeddedness," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 235-252, March.
    10. Zheying Wu & Robert Salomon, 2016. "Does imitation reduce the liability of foreignness? Linking distance, isomorphism, and performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(12), pages 2441-2462, December.
    11. Leila Hamzaoui & Dwight Merunka, 2006. "The impact of country of design and country of manufacture on consumer perceptions of bi‐national products' quality: an empirical model based on the concept of fit," Post-Print hal-01822293, HAL.
    12. Aya S Chacar & William Newburry & Balagopal Vissa, 2010. "Bringing institutions into performance persistence research: Exploring the impact of product, financial, and labor market institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(7), pages 1119-1140, September.
    13. Lance Eliot Brouthers & Edward O'Donnell & John Hadjimarcou, 2005. "Generic Product Strategies for Emerging Market Exports into Triad Nation Markets: A Mimetic Isomorphism Approach," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 225-245, January.
    14. Paul D. Ellis, 2006. "Market Orientation and Performance: A Meta‐Analysis and Cross‐National Comparisons," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 1089-1107, July.
    15. Petersen, Bent & Pedersen, Torben, 2002. "Coping with liability of foreignness: Different learning engagements of entrant firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 339-350.
    16. Maruyama, Masayoshi & Wu, Lihui, 2015. "Overcoming the Liability of Foreignness in International Retailing: A Consumer Perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 200-210.
    17. Jamal Shamsie & Xavier Martin & Danny Miller, 2009. "In with the old, in with the new: capabilities, strategies, and performance among the Hollywood studios," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(13), pages 1440-1452, December.
    18. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Christodoulides, Paul & Spyropoulou, Stavroula & Katsikeas, Constantine S., 2015. "Environmentally friendly export business strategy: Its determinants and effects on competitive advantage and performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 798-811.
    19. Yadong Luo & Rosalie L Tung, 2007. "International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 481-498, July.
    20. Margaret A. Peteraf & Jay B. Barney, 2003. "Unraveling the resource-based tangle," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 309-323.
    21. Webb, Justin W. & Bruton, Garry D. & Tihanyi, Laszlo & Ireland, R. Duane, 2013. "Research on entrepreneurship in the informal economy: Framing a research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 598-614.
    22. Phillips, Nelson & Tracey, Paul & Karra, Neri, 2013. "Building entrepreneurial tie portfolios through strategic homophily: The role of narrative identity work in venture creation and early growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 134-150.
    23. Jung Seung Lee & Soo Kyung Kim & Su-Yol Lee, 2016. "Sustainable Supply Chain Capabilities: Accumulation, Strategic Types and Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-16, May.
    24. J Michael Geringer & Louis Hebert, 1991. "Measuring Performance of International Joint Ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(2), pages 249-263, June.
    25. Trąpczyński, Piotr & Banalieva, Elitsa R., 2016. "Institutional difference, organizational experience, and foreign affiliate performance: Evidence from Polish firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 826-842.
    26. Yiannis E. Spanos & Spyros Lioukas, 2001. "An examination into the causal logic of rent generation: contrasting Porter's competitive strategy framework and the resource‐based perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(10), pages 907-934, October.
    27. Theodosiou, Marios & Leonidou, Leonidas C., 2003. "Standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy: an integrative assessment of the empirical research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-171, April.
    28. Chang, Kuo-Hsiung & Chen, Yung-ray & Huang, Hsu-Feng, 2015. "Information technology and partnership dynamic capabilities in international subcontracting relationships," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 276-286.
    29. S. Estrin & M. Uvalic, 2014. "FDI into transition economies," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(2), pages 281-312, April.
    30. David J. Collis, 1994. "Research Note: How Valuable are Organizational Capabilities?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S1), pages 143-152, December.
    31. Srilata Zaheer & Elaine Mosakowski, 1997. "The Dynamics Of The Liability Of Foreignness: A Global Study Of Survival In Financial Services," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(6), pages 439-463, June.
    32. John McMillan & Christopher Woodruff, 2002. "The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 153-170, Summer.
    33. Christine Oliver, 1997. "Sustainable competitive advantage: combining institutional and resource‐based views," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 697-713, October.
    34. Fernández-Mesa, Anabel & Alegre, Joaquín, 2015. "Entrepreneurial orientation and export intensity: Examining the interplay of organizational learning and innovation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 148-156.
    35. Keith D. Brouthers & Lance Eliot Brouthers & Steve Werner, 2003. "Transaction cost‐enhanced entry mode choices and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(12), pages 1239-1248, December.
    36. Lance Eliot Brouthers & Keith D Brouthers & Steve Werner, 1999. "Is Dunning's Eclectic Framework Descriptive Or Normative?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(4), pages 831-844, December.
    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. Obloj Krzysztof, 2019. "Footnotes to organizational competitiveness," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 5(3), pages 35-49, September.
    2. Caroline Reimann & Fernando Carvalho & Marcelo Duarte, 2021. "The Influence of Dynamic and Adaptive Marketing Capabilities on the Performance of Portuguese SMEs in the B2B International Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Hazem Ali & Min Li & Xunmin Qiu & Qamar Farooq, 2023. "Global Mindset and Adaptive Marketing Capabilities in the Internationalization of Mature Chinese SMEs: International Opportunity Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Heying Liu & Chan Lyu, 2022. "Can ESG Ratings Stimulate Corporate Green Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, September.

    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. Trąpczyński, Piotr & Banalieva, Elitsa R., 2016. "Institutional difference, organizational experience, and foreign affiliate performance: Evidence from Polish firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 826-842.
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Xu, Kai & Hitt, Michael A. & Brock, David & Pisano, Vincenzo & Huang, Lulu S.R., 2021. "Country institutional environments and international strategy: A review and analysis of the research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Garrido, Elisabet & Maicas, Juan P., 2020. "The effect of informal and formal institutions on foreign market entry selection and performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(2).
    9. Konara, Palitha & Shirodkar, Vikrant, 2018. "Regulatory Institutional Distance and MNCs' Subsidiary Performance: Climbing up Vs. Climbing Down the Institutional Ladder," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 333-347.
    10. Li, Shenxue & Easterby-Smith, Mark & Lyles, Marjorie A. & Clark, Timothy, 2016. "Tapping the power of local knowledge: A local-global interactive perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 641-653.
    11. Xing, Yijun & Liu, Yipeng & Tarba, Shlomo Yedidia & Cooper, Cary L., 2016. "Intercultural influences on managing African employees of Chinese firms in Africa: Chinese managers’ HRM practices," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 28-41.
    12. Luis Alfonso Dau & Elizabeth M Moore & William Newburry, 2020. "The grass is always greener: The impact of home and host country CSR reputation signaling on cross-country investments," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(2), pages 154-182, June.
    13. Mingo, Santiago & Ciravegna, Luciano & Morales, Francisco, 2024. "The impact of experience on the agglomeration of cross-border investments within a region: The case of private equity in emerging markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    14. Chenxi Zhou & Kent Ngan-Cheung Hui & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Yuanyuan Gong, 2023. "Is failure the mother of success? Prior failure experience and cross-border M&A completion by emerging market firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 775-813, June.
    15. Peter J Buckley & Surender Munjal & Ignacio Requejo, 2022. "How does offshore outsourcing of knowledge-intensive activities affect the exports and financial performance of emerging market firms?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 1971-1996, December.
    16. Cezary Kochalski & Magdalena Łuczak-Trąpczyńska, 2017. "Determinants of Controlling in Foreign Subsidiaries of MNEs: On the Explanatory Potential of the Institutional Perspective," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 5(3), pages 79-94.
    17. Demirbag, Mehmet & McGuinness, Martina & Akin, Ahmet & Bayyurt, Nizamettin & Basti, Eyup, 2016. "The professional service firm (PSF) in a globalised economy: A study of the efficiency of securities firms in an emerging market," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1089-1102.
    18. Chakravarty, Dwarka & Goerzen, Anthony & Musteen, Martina & Ahsan, Mujtaba, 2021. "Global cities: A multi-disciplinary review and research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    19. Golesorkhi, Sougand & Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond & Shenkar, Oded, 2019. "The Performance Impact of Informal and Formal Institutional Differences in Cross-Border Alliances," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 104-118.
    20. 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.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1793-:d:216929. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.