Diego Quer

Family Firms' International Commitment The Influence of Family-Related Factors

Few studies have dealt with family businesses and internationalization theories. The aim of this article is to bridge this gap by examining the family-related factors that have an impact on the international commitment level of these companies. From a sample of Spanish family firms, findings show that long-term vision and the presence of nonfamily managers are positively related to entry modes involving stronger international commitment, although self-financing limits this commitment.

The impact of country risk and cultural distance on entry mode choice

Purpose – Different theoretical approaches can be used to justify a positive or negative influence of country risk and cultural distance on the resources commitment level assumed in each decision to entering a new country. Before the disparity of results obtained in prior research, this study seeks to provide new empirical evidence about the influence that those two dimensions linked with the target country may exert on entry mode choice.Design/methodology/approach – Based on contingency approach, transaction cost economics, resource dependency perspective, bargaining power theory and organisational capabilities perspective, various alternative hypotheses are developed and tested using a sample of 471 entries performed by Spanish enterprises between 1999 and 2004.Findings – The findings indicate that both dimensions go in the same direction, as both greater target country risk and greater cultural distance reduce the likelihood of using higher‐commitment entry strategies.Originality/value – The conflictin...

Family firms' risk perception: empirical evidence on the internationalization process

Purpose – This paper has as its aim to research the factors affecting the risk perceived by family firm executives in relation to international activity.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the factors which can modify risk perception, placing special emphasis on those arising from the coincidence of ownership and management in family businesses.Findings – Focus on the international commitment assumed by family firms and using a sample of 92 Spanish family companies, this paper shows that risk perception decreases with the presence of the first generation and the size of these organisations. Additionally, it has been found that the risk perceived is higher when the firm advances in its international commitment level.Practical implications – If family firms know the factors which can affect the risk perceived about international activity, they will stand a better chance to handle them properly with a view to move forward in their internationalisation process.Originality/value – An effort is mad...

The Internationalisation Process in Family Firms: Choice of Market Entry Strategies

One of the most important issues in the study of the internationalisation process is the choice of market entry strategy, which can be linked to the degree of international commitment. We have chosen to address this aspect in this paper by undertaking case studies of family firms, located in the province of Alicante (Spain), that belong to the most internationalised sectors in the region. The results obtained show that this group of firms follow the propositions laid down by the Uppsala model and that the age, size and generation of the family firm significantly influence the establishment of international, strategic alliances.

Choice of market entry mode in China: the influence of firm-specific factors

One of the issues attracting wider attention within research into corporate internationalisation is the choice of mode of entry into a foreign country. At present, China is one of the destinations which is acquiring greater importance in the international expansion of firms from various countries around the world. In this context, by combining the traditional theory on foreign direct investment with the resource-based view of the firm, this paper will analyse the influence of various tangible and intangible corporate factors on the degree of commitment towards direct investment in China.

Growth strategies in the Spanish hotel sector: determining factors

Purpose – The central aim of this paper is to identify some of the motives behind the type of growth strategy followed by Spanish hotel enterprises in recent years.Design/methodology/approach – This study was elaborated from secondary data corresponding to news published on the web page of a digital newspaper specialising in tourism – HostelTur. The information obtained in this way was completed and contrasted using other sources like the BARATZ database (where all the news items published in the economic press since 1981 are collected), and the web pages of hotel enterprises, since many of them publish news about their main actions along with the most relevant events that take place within these organizations.Findings – From a sample of 444 observations, the results suggest that initial profitability, size, age and indebtedness level of firms are some of the factors determining growth strategies in this sector.Originality/value – The paper throws light on some of the reasons behind the behaviour of Spani...

Tourism in China: A Review of Research in Leading Journals

The Chinese tourism sector is experiencing one of the highest levels of growth, to the extent that China is set to become the leading world power in tourism within the coming decade. Therefore, studying this important sector deserves particular attention. The aim of this study is to analyze the state-of-the-art of China tourism research by reviewing 95 academic papers published between 1997 and 2008 in the worlds three leading tourism journals: Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, and Tourism Management. We report the main topics analyzed as well as various rankings of journals, citations, and individual and institutional contributions.

The internationalisation of Indian multinationals: determinants of expansion through acquisitions

In recent years, there is an increasing number of papers focusing on the internationalisation process of Indian multinationals. However, there is still a gap in understanding the determinants of their outward foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. Thus, this paper analyses the factors influencing the choice between FDI modes by Indian firms. Our findings show that industry technological intensity, host country risk, host market attractiveness, previous international experience and the volume of exports from India to the host country are determining factors of the choice between acquisitions and greenfields.

Determinants of Spanish Foreign Direct Investment in Morocco

Despite its cultural distance, Morocco is becoming an interesting target country for foreign direct investment (FDI) from Spanish firms. Several factors facilitate this process: Moroccos geographical proximity, strategic location, emerging market, political stability, and workforce, as well as the know-how the country needs to complete its economic development. Based on traditional theories about FDI and the resource-based view of the firm, this paper analyzes the influence that various firm-specific factors may have exerted on the ownership structure of investments in Morocco. Our results suggest that Spanish firms that have chosen full ownership investments without the support of a partner have more than one investment in Morocco, and accumulate more experience in using that investing strategy in other countries.

Doing business in China and performance: a review of evidence

Purpose – The number of papers focusing on foreign companies doing business in China has increased significantly since the open‐door policy came into effect in the late 1970s. Performance has been one of the most researched topics. This paper aims to carry out a review of the empirical papers which have analysed the performance drivers of foreign companies in mainland China.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews 62 empirical papers dealing with the performance of foreign firms in mainland China, published in ten leading international academic journals between 1978 and 2006.Findings – An analysis of the main findings is offered, along with a summary of the theoretical approaches, methodologies, samples and performance measures used.Originality/value – The paper identifies the factors which contribute to greater performance in mainland China. Although other studies have reviewed the literature in the Chinese context, none had specifically tackled this topic through a comprehensive review.