International growth strategies of service and manufacturing firms: The case of banking and chemical industries

The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in growth strategies - domestic and international - of manufacturing and service firms. Hardly any literature exists that empirically investigates the differences on account of the distinctive characteristics of goods and services, and such stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of operations & production management 2008-01, Vol.28 (10), p.968-990
Main Authors: Kathuria, Ravi, Joshi, Maheshkumar P., Dellande, Stephanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Banking industry
Banks
Business growth
Comparative analysis
Consumption
Culture
Customer services
Domestic markets
Globalization
GNP
Gross National Product
International markets
Manufacturers
Manufacturing
Operations management
Product development
Service industries
Studies
Value chain
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in growth strategies - domestic and international - of manufacturing and service firms. Hardly any literature exists that empirically investigates the differences on account of the distinctive characteristics of goods and services, and such studies rarely draw from the operations management field. Multiple analysis of variance is used to analyze longitudinal data from multiple secondary sources. Mixed services, such as banks, focus more on domestic growth and less on international growth. Manufacturers, such as chemical firms, focus more on international activities as compared to domestic activities. Mixed service firms seem to prefer collaborative approaches, whereas goods producers prefer wholly owned ventures. The data collection methodology applied in this study may be applicable to many other topics of operations management. Future researchers may examine internationalization of services from front and back office perspectives, and compare information-processing, possession-processing, and people-processing services in their choices of mode of entry and resultant performance differences. The findings are relevant for developing operations strategy, including location alternatives, for both manufacturing and service firms as different nations become a part of the global village. Appropriate modes of entry in an international arena for both service and manufacturing firms are identified.
ISSN:0144-3577
1758-6593
DOI:10.1108/01443570810903113