Paul Matthyssens

Limits of internationalization theories in an unlimited world

This paper proffers the viewpoint that existing theory in internationalization is insufficient to explain the currently observed behaviors of firms in the international business marketplace. It examines the impact of the global economy, the service economy, the new economy, the high technology and connected knowledge/network economy, and the value economy on the changing shape of international business behavior. Drawbacks to traditional theories are explored in terms of the speed of internationalization, the limits of psychic distance, the range of entry modes accommodated, the unit of analysis used, the absence of portfolio logic, experiential learning, manufacturing focus, undervaluing managers and incorporating customer value, while encouraging theorists to both adapt current models and develop new ones.

Creating competitive advantage in industrial services

This article contributes to the marketing literature by identifying key success factors in industrial service markets. In industrial markets, services are becoming critical for the creation of competitive advantage. However, the marketing of these services has received relatively limited attention in the industrial marketing and services marketing literature. In order to close this gap, the authors undertook a qualitative research study to build a specific model of competitive advantage for industrial services. The model identifies three core elements in the creation of superior customer value. Further, three sets of “value drivers” are discussed. Ideas for further research and recommendations for business practitioners are formulated.

Top Management Team Functional Diversity and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of CEO Characteristics

Past research indicates that the effect of TMT functional diversity on firm performance is equivocal. We address this issue by focusing on the integrative role of the CEO, postulating that the CEOs expertise and background characteristics affect the TMT functional diversity–firm performance relationship, because of their impact on the exchange and integration of distributed knowledge within the TMT. Using a dataset of 33 Dutch and Belgian Information Technology firms we investigate the moderating role of three sets of CEO characteristics (functional background, status as founder, and shared experience with the other TMT members) on the relationship between TMT functional diversity and firm performance. Our results reveal that CEO and TMT characteristics do interact in realizing the potential advantages of distributed TMT functional expertise.

Service addition as business market strategy: identification of transition trajectories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how manufacturers evolve when aiming at increasing customer value via the service addition path. More specifically, it aims to identify drivers and inhibitors as well as trajectories to reach “ideal” service addition types.Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs a multiple case study design. In total 12 in‐depth interviews were conducted with managers from machine building manufacturers resulting in five longitudinal case studies of “best practice” companies. The paper is grounded in the “integrated solutions” research paradigm.Findings – Four types of service addition can be identified based on this multiple case study. Diverse drivers push companies to higher degrees of customization and to less tangible offerings via different trajectories. On these trajectories, though, they are likely to encounter inhibitors.Research limitations/implications – The qualitative nature of this paper acts as a basis for future research efforts. On the one hand this ...

The Pursuit of Global Purchasing Synergy

Abstract The pursuit of synergy is generally considered an important strategic thrust. In multiplant and multinational corporations, the quest for global efficiency and effectiveness has led to increased centralization and coordination of the purchasing function. The centralization–decentralization issue is debated at length in the purchasing literature as well as in the marketing and strategic marketing literature. However, most authors limit their discussion to arguments in favor of or against centralization and to criteria to select a suitable approach. Insights into the process of achieving global purchasing synergy as well as specific managerial guidelines are lacking. This article aims to bridge the gap between the literature stressing the need for achieving purchasing synergy on the one hand and specific implementation guidelines for managers on the other hand. In order to do so, we link the process aspects of global supply coordination to satisfaction levels experienced at both headquarter and plant level. As a result, managerial implications to successfully tap global purchasing synergy are formulated.

Cognition‐in‐context: reorienting research in business market strategy

This paper highlights the usefulness of interpretive methodologies in theorizing over relatively unstructured, dynamic business market strategy issues. It is based on the tenet that interpretive methodologies are appropriate to cope with market strategy formation in dynamic market settings. We argue that in a “context of discovery”, marketing researchers need to uncover new relationships among key dimensions of market strategy and might consider reframing theories. Further, we demonstrate in this paper that interpretive research methods allow for managerial recommendations that are highly contextualized and that lead to more actionable prescriptions. We illustrate the above by reflecting on a concrete research on how companies in a business‐to‐business industry try to reorientate their market strategy. The process of understanding strategic reorientation in business markets should be based on a multiplex of perspectives, such as: multilevel research, fusing content with context and merging theoretical constructs with data and focusing on socially constructed realities.

Marketing and sales: Optimization of a neglected relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the importance of good coordination between marketing and sales. It aims to examine the research conducted to date, the area of marketing and sales integration and provide guidance to help integrate these functional areas better in industrial marketing firms. The paper seeks to develop a research agenda to continue this research.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 21 interviews were collected through the use of qualitative research techniques and intensive interviews. The interactions between marketing and sales were modeled for during the marketing management process and the sales management process.Research limitations/implications – More extensive sample surveys need to be conducted. Exploratory findings should be tested and possible situational differences identified.Practical implications – Several required actions were identified for management. These fall into three categories: organizational design; communication; and human resources managem...

Uncovering international market-exit processes: A comparative case study

In this article, two cases on exit decisions from international markets are described and analyzed. The authors argue that the study of companies withdrawing from an international market venture has been largely neglected and merits a place in present internationalization theories. This exploratory comparative case study is considered a starting point toward middle-range theory building on the psychological phenomena and processes that underlie and drive market-exit decision making and implementation. Three processes are uncovered: (a) the escalation of commitment, an inhibitor of change process; (b) the creation of strategic flexibility, an accelerator of change process; and (c) a confrontation between processes (a) and (b)—a dialectical process. The article ends with a discussion of the limitations of this study and a call for longitudinal strategy process research.

Strategic Flexibility in Export Expansion: Growing Through Withdrawal

This paper investigates export market withdrawal as a possible manifestation of strategic flexibility in the export expansion of the firm. A focus on strategic flexibility contributes to current export marketing theory, which fails to explain the dynamic character of export expansion as observed in todays markets. The present study reflects on the strategy process of 12 cases of export market withdrawal to reveal the character of strategic flexibility and its generative mechanisms. If strategic flexibility materialises, it results from the generation of a new strategic option at boundary‐spanning middle levels of the organisation, and from political processes through which this alternative option challenges and eventually overtakes the old export strategy.

Social norms, social cohesion, and corporate governance

Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: We study the relationship between informal rules (represented by social norms and social cohesion in a community) and corporate governance. A community is a large social unit characterized by a distinct set of informal rules. Specifically, three hypotheses are tested: (1) Communities with stronger social norms will have more open firm-level corporate governance; (2) More socially cohesive communities will have more open firm-level corporate governance; and (3) The relationship between social norms and corporate governance will be mediated by social cohesion. Research Findings/Insights: Unlike previous studies, we use data from a single, culturally diverse country, Ukraine, in order to isolate the effect of informal rules. The countrys provinces are used as proxies for communities. We develop our measures of social norms and social cohesion by performing a factor analysis on the measures commonly used in previous research (social capital, religiosity, total fertility, ethnic homogeneity, linguistic homogeneity, and homicide rate). All three hypotheses are supported, whether using composite or individual measures of social norms and cohesion. The mediation is partial, suggesting that the hypothesized effect of social norms on corporate governance may (1) partly come through cohesion; and (2) partly be direct. The results are highly significant and robust, and they hold very well when controlled for economic development, firm characteristics, and industry. Theoretical/Academic Implications: We contribute to the large literature on institutional determinants of corporate governance by proposing that informal rules may have a substantial impact on firm-level corporate governance. We also identify specific sources of informal rules: social norms and cohesion. Testing our insights in other countries and in cross-country settings would help to further understand what rules matter for corporate governance and whether informal rules may substitute for formal rules. Another research opportunity, perhaps best exploited through case-based research, is the deeper enquiry into the very mechanism by which informal rules may affect firm-level corporate governance. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Manipulating informal rules, such as norms and cohesion, is an unlikely option for corporate governance reform. If that is the case, the policy should consist in adjusting the governance system to fit them. As this fit will differ across communities and countries, international convergence of corporate governance appears unlikely.