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Yes, we really do need more entry mode studies! A commentary on Shaver

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Abstract

In a recent commentary published in this journal, Shaver raises the provocative question of whether we need more entry mode studies. After assessing the reasons for Shaver’s doubts and further developing his broad research suggestions, we conclude that this question should be answered affirmatively. We derive three important questions for future entry mode research: (1) What determines the evolution of operations resulting from suboptimal mode choices? (2) What causes the replication of past mode choices? (3) How is the entry decision process structured? Focusing on these questions should assure a bright future for entry mode research.

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Notes

  1. These other journals were the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal. A list of the articles we reviewed is available upon request.

  2. Incremental contributions may be more widespread among studies recently published in lower-ranked journals. We thank an anonymous reviewer for pointing this out. We excluded such studies from our review because they are generally less influential.

  3. We thank an anonymous reviewer for bringing this to our attention.

  4. Interestingly, even Ghemawat and Ghadar do not seem to explicitly mention the greenfield alternative in their Harvard Business Review article aimed at increasing managers’ awareness of alternatives to cross-border acquisitions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Area Editor Ram Mudambi and three anonymous reviewers for their stimulating comments. The first author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Cariplo Foundation International Recruitment Call The internationalization of Italian firms: The role of intangibles, managerial resources, and corporate governance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Jean-François Hennart

  2. Queens University, Belfast, UK

    Jean-François Hennart

  3. Singapore Management University, Singapore

    Jean-François Hennart

  4. Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Jean-François Hennart

  5. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Arjen HL Slangen

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  1. Jean-François Hennart
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  2. Arjen HL Slangen
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Correspondence to Jean-François Hennart.

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Accepted by Ram Mudambi, Area Editor, 27 May 2014. This article has been with the authors for three revisions.

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Hennart, JF., HL Slangen, A. Yes, we really do need more entry mode studies! A commentary on Shaver. J Int Bus Stud 46, 114–122 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.39

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