Overcoming Cultural Ignorance : Institutional Knowledge Development in the Internationalizing Firm

This thesis studies how experiences influence the development of institutional knowledge within business relationships. It contributes to international business research by clarifying how experience develops the institutional knowledge of firms and what outcome such knowledge development has on firms’ internationalizations. The thesis identifies a need to distinguish between different types of experiences when investigating institutional knowledge development. In addition, the thesis compares different types of knowledge with institutional knowledge as to understand how firms learn to overcome cultural ignorance. The empirical setting consists of quantitative research of small- and medium sized firms. The findings show that market-specific experiences increases a firm’s institutional knowledge whereas experiences of multiple markets contribute to the firm’s perception of a greater need of institutional knowledge when conducting business with their specific partner. However, these experience effects are influenced by firms’ mode of operation (export vs. subsidiaries) in the international markets and mediated by cultural distance. Furthermore, the results show that despite the increased complexity that experiences of multiple markets lead to, such experiences increase a firm’s competence in foreign institutional environments. In addition, the findings show that firms lacking in ability to adapt their business also perceives a lack of knowledge about a country’s institutions and the customer

Overcoming Cultural Ignorance : Institutional Knowledge Development in the Internationalizing Firm

This thesis studies how experiences influence the development of institutional knowledge within business relationships. It contributes to international business research by clarifying how experience develops the institutional knowledge of firms and what outcome such knowledge development has on firms’ internationalizations. The thesis identifies a need to distinguish between different types of experiences when investigating institutional knowledge development. In addition, the thesis compares different types of knowledge with institutional knowledge as to understand how firms learn to overcome cultural ignorance. The empirical setting consists of quantitative research of small- and medium sized firms. The findings show that market-specific experiences increases a firm’s institutional knowledge whereas experiences of multiple markets contribute to the firm’s perception of a greater need of institutional knowledge when conducting business with their specific partner. However, these experience effects are influenced by firms’ mode of operation (export vs. subsidiaries) in the international markets and mediated by cultural distance. Furthermore, the results show that despite the increased complexity that experiences of multiple markets lead to, such experiences increase a firm’s competence in foreign institutional environments. In addition, the findings show that firms lacking in ability to adapt their business also perceives a lack of knowledge about a country’s institutions and the customer.QC 2012011

SME export channel choice in international markets

The Internationalization Process (IP) model claims that firms gradually accumulate knowledge of foreign markets, and that this kind of knowledge determine foreign establishment. Later developments of the model claim that experiences and knowledge of local business relationships are also essential elements of the IP model. The IP model has been found to hold well for incremental resource commitments. However, while other theories, such as the transaction-cost theories have managed to explain why firms go from integrated to non-integrated channels, the IP model has produced mixed results. This paper tests some of the fundamental IP model factors on a sample of Small and Medium Sized firms. Findings are that factors included in the initial explanation of the IP model explain choice of channel, but that the later developments of the model does not. Implications are that the foreign market knowledge is, and that more incremental experiential knowledge accumulation is not relevant for export channel choice as regards integrated or non-integrated channel.QC 2011120

Sex-Related Differences in the Relationship Between β-Amyloid and Cognitive Trajectories in Older Adults

Objective: We aimed to test the hypothesis that elevated neocortical β-amyloid (Aβ), a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), predicts sex-specific cognitive trajectories in clinically normal older adults, with women showing greater risk of decline than men. Method: Florbetapir Aβ positron emission tomography (PET) was acquired in 149 clinically normal older adults (52% female, Mage = 74). Participants underwent cognitive testing at baseline and during annual follow-up visits over a timespan of up to 5.14 years. Mixed-effects regression models evaluated whether relations between baseline neocortical Standardized Uptake Value Ratio (SUVR) and composite scores of episodic memory, executive functioning, and processing speed were moderated by sex (male/female) and apolipoprotein E (APOE) status (ε4 carrier/noncarrier). Results: Higher baseline SUVR was associated with longitudinal decline in episodic memory in women (b = -1.32, p < .001) but not men (b = -0.30, p = .28). Female APOE ε4 carriers with elevated SUVR showed particularly precipitous declines in episodic memory (b = -4.33, p < .001) whereas other cognitive domains were spared. SUVR did not predict changes in executive functioning or processing speed, regardless of sex (ps >.63), though there was a main effect of SUVR on processing speed (b = 2.50, p = .003). Conclusions: Clinically normal women with elevated Aβ are more vulnerable to episodic memory decline than men. Understanding sex-related differences in AD, particularly in preclinical stages, is crucial for guiding precision medicine approaches to early detection and intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

The effect of specificity of experience on a firm's perceived importance of institutional knowledge in an ongoing business

We study how three types of firm experience, ranging from the specific to the general, influence the perceived importance of institutional knowledge in the ongoing business of internationalising firms based on a sample of 101 small-to-medium-sized firms. The three types of firm experiences are international, country and ongoing business. The results show that firm experience within the ongoing business, and the experience from multiple past business deals in various countries, develop institutional knowledge, whereas experience from multiple past business deals in a specific country does not. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that it establishes a link between different kinds of experience and managerial cognition in terms of institutional knowledge. In addition, it emphasises that firms develop institutional knowledge from multiple diverse country experiences, and experience in the specific ongoing business rather than experiences at the level of the country. Journal of International Business Studies (2006) 37, 699–712. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400214; (2006)