Knowledge that Transforms

The study of country-of-origin (COO) effects examines how consumers perceive products emanating from a particular country. This study examines COO in terms of the fit between countries and product categories. A framework is suggested which matches the importance of product category dimensions with the perceived image of the country-of-origin along the same dimensions. Such matches (or mismatches) can be either favorable or unfavorable. Managers can use product-country match information to assess consumers' purchase intentions, and assist them in managing their product's COO. Data collected from consumers in Ireland, Mexico, and the United States demonstrate the product-country match framework and its strategic implications.

Implementing a global strategy requires coordinating subsidiary activities across country locations. The assumption often made is that such coordination must be managed at headquarters. However, an alternate approach is decentralized-centralized responsibilities in which different subsidiaries within the multinational are given worldwide mandates to manage specific products or products lines. This study identifies subsidiary characteristics that are associated with receiving a global mandate by examining foreign subsidiaries located in France, Germany, Japan, U.K., U.S., and Canada.

It is recognized in the literature that experience may affect the cost and the uncertainty of operating in foreign markets, and experience and market knowledge may therefore influence the location decisions of FDIs. Economic theory does not, however, predict a general expansion pattern of FDIs across industries. On the other hand, the theory associated with the “internationalization process” approach highlights the importance of cultural distance, and predicts a movement from “close” to more “distant” markets as more experience is acquired by the firm. The internationalization process approach is rooted in a behavioral theory of the firm.

This study examines the organizational and personal correlates of role conflict and role ambiguity of chief executive officers heading international joint ventures. Role conflict was found to be lower when the number of parent firms was higher and when the CEO had spent more years with the organization. Role ambiguity was found to be lower when the CEO had more years of education, when the Power Distance and Masculinity/Femininity gap between parents were lower, and when the Individualism/Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance gaps were higher. The implications of these findings for role theory and international management are discussed.

Treatments of risk in the international management literature largely focus on particular uncertainties to the exclusion of other interrelated uncertainties. This paper develops a framework for categorizing the uncertainties faced by firms operating internationally and outlines both financial and strategic corporate risk management responses.