Re-explaining international entry modes – Interaction and moderating effects on entry modes of pharmaceutical companies into transition economies

Thomas Wrona and Piotr Trąpczyński

European Management Journal, 2012, vol. 30, issue 4, 295-315

Abstract: This paper adopts a qualitative approach based on the principles of grounded theory to investigate interdependencies between factors affecting the choice of market entry modes. A conceptual model is developed in the context of pharmaceutical companies expanding into transition economies. Building on Dunning’s eclectic theory, the case analysis indicates that both initial and subsequent entry mode decisions result from a changing trade-off between specific market potential and risk factors. Another conceptual contribution of the paper is that this interplay is moderated by product differentiation, prior experience in a similar context and cultural distance, which adds a new perspective to extant research. By using the construct of resource commitment level, the proposed framework accommodates for the fact that multiple entry modes, including non-transactional operations, can be selected in a given market. While the empirical study has an industry-related focus and thus generates practical insights, its implications for theory building are discussed in a broader perspective.

Keywords: Entry mode choice; Internationalisation; Corporate strategy; Transition economies; Pharmaceutical industry; Grounded theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237312000175
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:4:p:295-315

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/115/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/115/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2012.02.004

Access Statistics for this article

European Management Journal is currently edited by Michael Haenlein

More articles in European Management Journal from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().