Underperformance duration and R&D internationalization: Institutional contingencies in an emerging economy

Shufeng Xiao and Tianjiao Yu

International Business Review, 2024, vol. 33, issue 4

Abstract: This paper, based on the behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF), examines the influence of underperformance duration on a firm’s R&D internationalization in terms of both scale and scope. We propose that, under the time pressure stemming from prolonged underperformance, firms increase the scale of their R&D internationalization to expedite the benefits of overseas R&D activities through enhanced synergy and learning effects. Simultaneously, they narrow the geographic scope of foreign R&D efforts to reduce the complexity of coordinating dispersed R&D locations. Additionally, we investigate how the institutional contingencies in emerging economies moderate the time pressure mechanism. We posit that state ownership weakens the relationship between underperformance duration and R&D internationalization strategies (both in terms of scale and scope), whereas regional institutional development strengthens it. We use Heckman’s two-step estimation on a sample of 485 Chinese multinational firms from 2009 to 2018, and find support for our hypotheses.

Keywords: Behavioral theory of the firm; R&D internationalization; Underperformance duration; State ownership; Regional institutional development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593124000490
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:iburev:v:33:y:2024:i:4:s0969593124000490

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/133/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102302

Access Statistics for this article

International Business Review is currently edited by P. Ghauri

More articles in International Business Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().