Relieving status anxiety: How low-status firms respond to international status-heterophilous relationships

Xufei Ma, Ziliang Deng and Yi Tang

Journal of World Business, 2021, vol. 56, issue 6

Abstract: Partnerships between firms from relatively high- and low-status countries are prevalent in international businesses. However, the strategic implications of such status-heterophilous relationships remain under-explored. Our study employs a construct of status anxiety to describe the concerns of firms from low-status countries regarding their low bargaining power and the sustainability of their relationship with partners from high-status foreign countries. We hypothesize that status anxiety motivates firms from low-status countries to increase their investment in technological research and development. This study is among the first to incorporate social status as a new theoretical perspective for examining international status-heterophilous associations and strategic responses.

Keywords: Status-heterophilous relationship; Status anxiety; Research and development (R&D); Market competition; Export; Import (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2021.101259

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