The Timing of International Expansion: Information, Rivalry and Imitation Among Japanese Firms, 1980-2002

Sociological‐based information theory and economics‐based competitive rivalry theory operate as the dominant theories of interorganizational mimetic behaviour. Recent work has sought to integrate the ideas in these theories, or determine which has greater explanatory power. In this study, we juxtapo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of management studies 2008-01, Vol.45 (1), p.169-195
Main Authors: Delios, Andrew, Gaur, Ajai S., Makino, Shige
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business strategies
Business studies
Competition
Economic theory
Firm theory
Integration
Internationalization
Japan
Management science
Manufacturers
Organization theory
Organizational behavior
Studies
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Summary:Sociological‐based information theory and economics‐based competitive rivalry theory operate as the dominant theories of interorganizational mimetic behaviour. Recent work has sought to integrate the ideas in these theories, or determine which has greater explanatory power. In this study, we juxtapose the concepts in these two theories, to illustrate the complementary nature of information‐based and rivalry‐based theories of mimetic behaviour. Specifically, we consider how the predictions of information‐based theories are moderated by the home competitive context of the industry of a firm making an international expansion. Using a 1980 to 2002 sample of 4949 manufacturing plant entries made into 71 foreign countries by 783 publicly‐listed Japanese manufacturing firms, we find that the competitive context in the home industry influences the propensity of a focal firm to imitate the actions of rival firms. Our results support our contention that the two theoretical approaches are complementary, with the complementarities extending from the limitations of each approach.
ISSN:0022-2380
1467-6486
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00742.x