Skip to main content
Log in

Resource Dependence and Cross-border Constraint-absorption

A Study of Market Entry Strategies

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Management International Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

  • This study applies resource dependence theory to understand the adoption of cross-border constraint-absorption strategies by firms. I examine how trade dependence drives these strategies in the form of interindustry mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances in U.S. manufacturing industries.

  • Based on panel data between 1995 and 2000, results suggest that resource dependence theory provides a useful framework for predicting the adoption of various constraint-absorption strategies in an industry in a foreign country. Over time, however, the effect of trade dependence erodes.

  • This paper also finds that the within-form imitation effect and the cross-form spillover effect diminish the impact of trade dependence on subsequent entry decisions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahamson, E., & Rosenkopf, L. (1993). Institutional and competitive bandwagons: Using mathematical modeling as a tool to explore innovation diffusion. Academy of Management Review, 18(3), 487–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. (1995). Survival analysis using the SAS system: A practical guide. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amburgey, T. L., & Miner, A. S. (1992). Strategic momentum: The effects of repetitive, positional, and contextual momentum on merger activity. Strategic Management Journal, 13(5), 335–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anand, J., & Delios, A. (2002). Absolute and relative resources as determinants of international acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 23(2), 119–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & Gatignon, H. (1986). Models of foreign entry: A transaction cost analysis and propositions. Journal of International Business Studies, 17(3), 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkema, H. G., & Vermeulen, F. (1998). International expansion through start up or acquisition: A learning perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1), 7–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barringer, B. R., & Harrison, J. S. (2000). Walking a tightrope: Creating value through interorganizational relationships. Journal of Management, 26(3), 367–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brouthers, K. D., & Hennart, J. F. (2007). Boundaries of the firm: Insights from international entry mode research. Journal of Management, 33(3), 395–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, P. J., & Casson, M. C. (1998). Analyzing foreign market entry strategies: Extending the internalization approach. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(3), 539–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt, R. S. (1980). Autonomy in a social typology. American Journal of Sociology, 85(4), 892–925.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt, R. S. (1983). Corporate profits and cooptation: Networks of market constraints and directorate ties in the American economy. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casciaro, T., & Piskorski, M. J. (2005). Power imbalance, mutual dependence, and constraint absorption: A closer look at resource dependence theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(2), 167–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, S. J., & Rosenzweig, P. M. (2001). The choice of entry mode in sequential foreign direct investment. Strategic Management Journal, 22(8), 747–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Child, J., & Faulkner, D. (1998). Strategies of cooperation: Managing alliances, networks, and joint ventures. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, W. H. (1980). The location of foreign direct investment activity: Country characteristics and experience effects. Journal of International Business Studies, 11(2), 9–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, P. S., Desai, A. B., & Francis, J. D. (2000). Mode of international entry: An isomorphism perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 31(2), 239–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dess, G. G., & Beard, D. W. (1984). Dimensions of organizational task environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(1), 52–73,

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, J. H. (1993). Multinational enterprises and the global economy. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edstrom, A., Hodberg, B., & Norback, L. E. (1984). Alternative explanations of interorganizational cooperation: The case of joint programmes and joint ventures in Sweden. Organization Studies, 5(2), 147–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, R. M. (1962). Power-dependence relations. American Sociological Review, 27(1), 31-41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finklestein, S. (1997). Interindustry merger patterns and resource dependence: A replication and extension of Pfeffer (1972). Strategic Management Journal, 18(10), 787–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith, C. S., & Stiles, C. H. (1984). Merger strategies as a response to bilateral market power. Academy of Management Journal, 27(3), 66–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomes-Casseres, B. (1990). Firm ownership preferences and host government restrictions: An integrated approach. Journal of International Business Studies, 21(1), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, W. H. (1997). Econometrics analysis (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greening, D. W., & Gray, B. (1994). Testing a model of organizational response to social and political issues. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 467–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresov, C., & Drazin, R. (1997). Equifinality: Functional equivalence in organization design. Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 403–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guillén, M. F. (2002). Structural inertia, imitation, and foreign expansion: South Korean firms and business groups in China, 1987–1995. Academy of Management Journal, 45(3), 509–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guillén, M. F. (2003). Experience, imitation, and the sequence of foreign entry: Wholly owned and joint-venture manufacturing by South Korean firms and business groups in China, 1987–1995. Journal of International Business Studies, 34(2), 185–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, M. T., & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational change. American Sociological Review, 49(2), 149–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haunschild, P. R. (1993). Interorganizational imitation: The impact of interlocks on corporate acquisition activity. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 564–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haunschild, P. R., & Miner, A. S. (1997). Modes of interorganizational imitation: The effects of outcome salience and uncertainty. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(3), 472–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckscher, E. (1919). The effect of foreign trade on the distribution of income. Ekonomisk Tidskrift, 21, 497–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henisz, W. J., & Delios, A. (2001). Uncertainty, imitation, and plant location: Japanese multinational corporations, 1990–1996. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(3), 443–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennart, J. F. (1988). A transaction costs theory of equity joint ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 9(4), 361–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennart, J. F., & Reddy, S. (1997). The choice between mergers/acquisitions and joint ventures: The case of Japanese investors in the United States. Strategic Management Journal, 18(1), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschman, A. O. (1945). National power and the structure of foreign trade. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Camp, S. M., & Sexton, D. L. (2001). Strategic entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial strategies for wealth creation. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6/7), 479–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hymer, S. H. (1976). The international operations of national firms: A study of direct foreign investment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaccard, J., Turrisi, R., & Wan, C. K. (1990). Interaction effects in multiple regression. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J.-E. (1977). The internationalization process of the firm: A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1), 23–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kish, R., & Vasconcellos, G. (1993). An empirical analysis of factors affecting cross-border acquisitions: U.S.-Japan. Management International Review, 33(1), 227–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogut, B., & Singh, H. (1988). The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode. Journal of International Business Studies, 19(3), 411–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, T., & Zaheer, S. (1999). Organizational legitimacy under conditions of complexity. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 64–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, J. T., Yang, J. Y., & Yue, D. R. (2007). Identity, community and audience: How wholly owned foreign subsidiaries gain legitimacy in China. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 175–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, K.-Y., & Zeger, S. L. (1986). Longitudinal analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika, 73(1), 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malnight, T. W. (1996). The transition from decentralized to network-based MNC structures: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 27(1), 43–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, T. (2007). Internal and external sources of organizational change: Corporate form and the banking industry. Sociological Quarterly, 48(1), 119–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohlin, B. (1933). Interregional and international trade. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, C. (1991). Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 145–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, D., Barber, B. M., Zhou, X., & Soysal, Y. (1995). The friendly and predatory acquisition of large U.S. corporations in the 1960s: The other contested terrain. American Sociological Review, 60(4), 469–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. (1972). Merger as a response to organizational interdependence. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(3), 382–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., & Nowak, P. (1976). Joint ventures and interorganizational interdependence. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(3), 398–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978/2003). The external control of organizations. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M. E. (1986). Competition in global industries: A conceptual framework. In M. E. Porter (Ed.), Competition in global industries. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricardo, D. (1817/1971). Principles of political economy and taxation. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W. G. (2001). Behavioral responses of CEOs to stock ownership and stock option pay. Academy of Management Journal, 44(3), 477–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SDC. (1999). SDC platinum product guide. Securities data company 1999 (last access on June 8, 2006). http://www.library.hbs.edu/go/sdcplatinum.html.

  • Shimizu, K., Hitt, M. A., Vaidyanath, D., & Pisano, V. (2004). Theoretical foundations of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A review of current research and recommendations for the future. Journal of International Management, 10(3), 307–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (1776/1976). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stearns, L. B., & Allan, K. D. (1996). Economic behavior in institutional environments: The corporate merger wave of the 1980s. American Sociological Review, 61(4), 699–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steensma, H. K., Marino, L., Weaver, K. M., & Dickson, P. H. (2000). The influence of national culture on the formation of technology alliances by entrepreneurial firms. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5), 951–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. (2000). World investment report 2000: Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and development. Geneva: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. (2002). Handbook of statistics 2004. Geneva: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernon, R. (1966). International investment and international trade in the product cycle. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80(2), 190–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, L. T. Jr. (1968). A product life cycle for international trade? Journal of Marketing, 32(3), 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, H. (1982). Maximum likelihood estimation of misspecified models. Econometrica, 50(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yiu, D., & Makino, S. (2002). The choice between joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary: An institutional perspective. Organization Science, 13(6), 667–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun Xia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Xia, J. Resource Dependence and Cross-border Constraint-absorption. Manag Int Rev 50, 155–183 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-010-0030-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-010-0030-7

Keywords

Navigation