Too Small to do it All?:A Meta-analysis on the Relative Relationships of Exploration, Exploitation, and Ambidexterity with SME Performance

We tailor theory on the relative performance implications of exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity to the unique characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). First, as SMEs' limited resources make it unclear whether ambidexterity is superior to exploration or exploitation in SMEs, we investigate their relative effects on SME performance. Second, as SMEs' resource and particularly knowledge constraints make property rights protection (PRP) pertinent to these firms, we examine PRP as a moderator. Consistent with our hypotheses, meta-analytical evidence from 5,488 SMEs across 34 studies suggests that: (1) ambidexterity has a less positive relationship with SME performance than both exploration and exploitation and (2) PRP decreases the positive relationship between exploration and SME performance. Unexpectedly, PRP decreases the positive relationship between exploitation and SME performance. Building on our findings, we develop a roadmap for SME-specific research, focusing on sequential switching between exploration and exploitation and contingency factors of the direct relationships

Prior entrepreneurial exposure and the emergence of entrepreneurial passion:The moderating role of learning orientation

Entrepreneurial passion is important for individuals to advance in the entrepreneurial process, but we lack a theoretical understanding of how passion develops. Drawing on social learning theory, the present study examines how prior entrepreneurial exposure (that is, entrepreneurial role model experience and direct entrepreneurial experience) affects entrepreneurial passion and how an individual's learning orientation moderates the relationship. To empirically validate our research model, we collected data from 928 students across several disciplines. Consistent with our theorizing, we find both types of prior entrepreneurial exposure to positively influence entrepreneurial passion. Further, medium to high levels of learning orientation strengthen these relationships

Facilitating stress prevention in micro and small-sized enterprises:Protocol for a mixed method study to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation process of targeted web-based interventions

BACKGROUND: Workplace-related stress is a major risk factor for mental and physical health problems and related sickness absence and productivity loss. Despite evidence regarding the effectiveness of different workplace-based interventions, the implementation of stress prevention interventions is rare, especially in micro and small-sized enterprises (MSE) with fewer than 50 employees. The joint research project “PragmatiKK”(+) aims to identify and address the specific barriers to the implementation of stress prevention interventions in MSE. This study protocol describes a mixed method study design to evaluate the effectiveness of adapted stress prevention interventions and the implementation process via an integrated web-based platform (“System P”) specifically targeted at MSE. METHODS: First, we develop a web-based intervention, which accounts for the specific working conditions in MSE and addresses stress prevention at a structural and behavioral level. Second, we use common methods of implementation research to perform an effect and process evaluation. We analyze the effectiveness of the web-based stress prevention interventions by comparing depressive symptoms at baseline and follow-up (after 6 months and 12 months). Indicators for a successful implementation process include acceptability, adoption, feasibility, reach, dose, and fidelity, which we will measure with quantitative web-based questionnaires and qualitative interviews. We will also analyze the accumulated usage data from the web-based platform. DISCUSSION: Collecting data on the implementation process and the effectiveness of a web-based intervention will help to identify and overcome common barriers to stress prevention in MSE. This can improve the mental health of employees in MSE, which constitute more than 90% of all enterprises in Germany. (+) Full Project Name: „PragmatiKK - Pragmatische Lösungen für die Implementation von Maßnahmen zur Stressprävention in Kleinst- und Kleinbetrieben “(= Pragmatic solutions for the implementation of stress prevention interventions in micro and small-sized enterprises). TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Register of Clinical Studies (DRKS): DRKS00026154, date of registration: 2021-09-16. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12921-7

Entry mode deviation: a behavioral approach to internalization theory

We explore when and why decision makers choose international entry modes (e.g., hierarchies or markets) that deviate from internalization theory’s predictions. By applying a cognitive perspective on entry mode decision making, we propose that the performance of prior international activities influences decision makers’ behavior in different ways than assumed in internalization theory. More specifically, due to a representativeness bias, underperforming (overperforming) past ventures influence the decision to change (continue using) the previous entry mode choice, which may result in an entry mode deviation. In addition, the propensity to deviate from theoretical predictions is stronger when the experience is recent and/or salient due to an availability bias. In conclusion, we argue that internalization theory can benefit from incorporating more systematically important behavioral assumptions on how firms enter international markets. In so doing, we contribute to the recent conversation on how variations in human behavior influence internalization theory

Institutional distance and foreign subsidiary performance in emerging markets: moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience

Institutional distance has been known to be an important driver of Multinational Enterprises’ strategies and performance in host countries. Based on a large panel dataset of 10562 firms operating in 17 emerging markets and spanning 80 home countries, we re-examine the relationship described by Gaur and Lu (2007) between regulatory institutional distance and subsidiary performance. We extend this research by (1) examining this relationship in the context of emerging markets, (2) examining the moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience within the context of emerging markets and (3) accounting for a greater variety of institutions by including a large number of home and host countries. We find that institutional distance negatively affects subsidiary performance in emerging markets. Our findings also show that the negative effects of institutional distance on subsidiary performance are lesser for subsidiaries with partial ownership (than for subsidiaries with full ownership) and for subsidiaries with greater host-country experience. We discuss our findings with respect to Gaur and Lu’s model, which explores the relationships between these variables in a general context

International experience and FDI location choices of Chinese firms: The moderating effects of home country government support and host country institutions

We examine the extent to which Chinese government support of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and host country institutional environments interact with prior entry experience by Chinese firms, and how this interrelationship affects FDI undertaken by Chinese firms. We hypothesize that home country government support and well-established host country institutions enhance organizational capabilities to take risks in FDI. As such, they reduce the need to accumulate experiential knowledge and capabilities relating to entering host countries based on prior entry experience in a particular country when undertaking follow-up investment projects. Using a unique, hand-collected panel data set of Chinese publicly listed firms during 2002–2009, we find that home government support and well-developed host country institutions reduce the importance of prior entry experience and significantly increase the likelihood of FDI entry into a host country. Further, from our subsample analyses we identify differences between entering developed and developing host countries in terms of the impact of home country government support and quality of host country institutions. Our findings help explain the puzzle concerning why emerging economy firms have rapidly internationalized in a short period of time and do not follow the pattern predicted by classical IB theories

SME Internationalization beyond Exporting: A Knowledge-based Perspective across Managers and Advisers

Micromultinationals are small and medium-sized enterprises that engage in foreign market entry modes beyond exporting. The purpose of this study is to unveil the knowledge types required by micromultinationals. To this end, we conducted an interpretive interview study involving managers and advisers. We extend the SME internationalization literature by distilling the knowledge types that this unique body of small multinationals requires. Furthermore, we generate a framework that enhances the knowledge-based perspective by showing that micromultinational expansion is led by tacitly dominated knowledge of internal actors related to products, industries, and markets and facilitated by functional knowledge provided by external actors

New Venture Internationalization: The Role of Venture Capital Types and Reputation

This study examines how different types of venture capital relate to new venture internationalization. Using a sample of 646 U.S. new ventures that executed IPOs between 1995 and 2010, we find that ventures with foreign or corporate venture capital have higher levels of international intensity. We also investigate the moderating role of VC reputation on the relationship between foreign venture capital and international intensity and corporate venture capital and international intensity. Our results suggest that VC reputation weakens the positive relationship between corporate VC and international intensity

Reality or Illusion? The Efficacy of Nonmarket Strategy in Institutional Risk Reduction

Nonmarket strategy researchers have postulated that political and social strategies reduce the exposure of firms to risk, but those arguments have received little empirical attention. In this paper, we integrate social capital and institutional theories to examine the efficacy of managerial political ties (MPT) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in institutional risk reduction. Using survey data from 179 firms in Ghana, we find that whereas CSR reduces institutional risk exposure, MPT do not. We also find that the effect of MPT on risk exposure is moderated by public affairs functions. Contrary to extant literature, we do not find evidence of complementarity between MPT and CSR. Altogether, the findings do not only show that the proposed efficacy of MPT in risk reduction is illusive, but they also signal the need for scrutinizing the harmony between nonmarket political and social strategie