Time, space, and international diversification of service firms: assessing the abnormal growth of container port MNs

Titolo Rivista ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE
Autori/Curatori Francesco Parola, Giovanni Satta, Luca Persico
Anno di pubblicazione 2013 Fascicolo 2013/1
Lingua Italiano Numero pagine 27 P. 90-115 Dimensione file 377 KB
DOI 10.3280/POLI2013-001004
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

Firms’ internationalization paths and their antecedents has become a major topic of recent international business (IB) literature. Indeed, a lively debate about the adequate degree of international diversification has recently emerged. To challenge the traditional temporal and spatial constructs proposed by the international theories, the profound restructuring of the container port sector - driven by the international opening of local markets, the evolution of competitive paradigms, and the overseas expansion of private stevedores - makes it an ideal setting. Using the strategic management and IB literature, the paper aims to demonstrate and measure the abnormal patterns of international diversification embarked on by container port multinational enterprises (MNEs). The analytical lens adopted examines two specific dimensions of internationalization: (i) time, i.e., the pace and rhythm of international diversification, and (ii) space, i.e., the geographic scope of a firm, modeled as inter- and intra-regional diversification. The findings suggest that some container port MNEs leapfrog some of the logical sequential internationalization phases. Moreover, even when latecomers pursue fast and irregular expansion patterns to catch up with the leaders, their geographic scope remains lower than that of the pioneering MNEs.;

Keywords:Diversificazione internazionale, business terminalistico, strategie di crescita, velocità, regolarità

Jel codes:F33, L91, M10, L10

  1. Abell D.F. 1978. Strategic windows. The Journal of Marketing, 42 (3): 21-26 DOI: 10.2307/1250529.
  2. Airriess C.A. 2001. The regionalization of Hutchison Port holdings in mainland China. Journal of Transport Geography, 9 (4): 267-278 DOI: 10.1016/S0966-6923(01)00020-5
  3. Barkema H.G., Bell J.H.J., Pennings J.M. 1996. Foreign entry, cultural barriers, and learning. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (2): 151-166
  4. Bartlett C.A., Ghoshal S. 1989. Managing across Borders: the Transnational Solution. Harvard Business School Press: Boston.
  5. Bell J., Young S. 1998. Towards and integrative framework of the internationalization of the firm, in Hooley G., Loveridge R., Wilson D. (eds.) Internationalization: Process, Context and Markets. Macmillan Press: Houndmills.
  6. Benito G.R.G., Welch L.S. 1994. Foreign market servicing: beyond choice of entry mode. Journal of International Marketing, 2 (2): 7-27.
  7. Blomstermo A., Eriksson K., Sharma D. 2002. Knowledge and time: a forgotten factor in the internationalization process of firms, in Avila V.H., Forsgren M., Hakansson H. (eds.) Critical Perspectives on Internationalization. Pergamon: Oxford (UK).
  8. Blomstermo A., Sharma D.D., Sallis J. 2006. Choice of foreign market entry mode in service firms. International Marketing Review, 23 (2): 211-229 DOI: 10.1108/02651330610660092
  9. Boddewyn J.J., Baldwin Halbrich M., Perry A.C. 1986. Service multinationals: conceptualization measurement and theory. Journal of international business studies, 17 (3): 41-57 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490860
  10. Botten N., McManus J. 1999. Competitive Strategies for Service Organization. Macmillan: London.
  11. Carlson S. 1966. International Business Research. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis: Uppsala.
  12. Gupta V., Hanges P.J., Dorfman P. 2002. Cultural clusters: methodology and findings. Journal of World Business, 37 (1): 11-15 DOI: 10.1016/S1090-9516(01)00070-0
  13. Chittoor R., Ray S. 2007. Internationalization paths of Indian pharmaceutical firms: a strategic group analysis. Journal of International Management, 13 (3): 338-355 DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2007.05.008
  14. Contractor F.J. 2007. The evolutionary or multi-stage theory of internationalization and its relationship to the regionalization of firms, in Rugman A. (ed.) Regional
  15. Aspects of Multinationality and Performance. Elsevier: Amsterdam DOI: 10.1016/S1064-4857(07)13001-1
  16. Cullinane K., Song D.W. 2002. Port privatization, policy and practice. Transport Reviews, 22 (1): 55-75 DOI: 10.1080/01441640110042138
  17. Fiole C.M., Lyles M. 1985. Organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10 (4): 803-813 DOI: 10.2307/258048
  18. Damas P. 2002. Global terminal operators rule. American Shipper, 44 (2): 67-76.
  19. Davidson W. 1980. The location of foreign direct investment activity: country characteristics and experience effects. Journal of International Business Studies, 11 (2): 9-22.
  20. De Souza G.A.J., Beresford A.C., Pettit S.J. 2003. Liner shipping companies and terminal operators: internationalisation or globalisation?. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 5: 393-412 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100088
  21. Delios A. 2011. Experience and a firm’s performance in foreign markets: a commentary essay. Journal of Business Research, 64 (2): 227-229 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.01.002
  22. Dicken P. 1998. Global Shift: Transforming the Word Economy. Paul Chapman Publishing: London.
  23. DiMaggio P.J., Powell W.W. 1983. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Journal of Sociology, 48 (2): 147-160 DOI: 10.2307/2095101
  24. Dunning J.H. 2000. The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economics and business theories of MNE activity. International Business Review, 9 (2): 163-190 DOI: 10.1016/S0969-5931(99)00035-9
  25. Erramilli M.K. 1991. The experience factor in foreign market entry behavior of service firm. Journal of International Business Studies, 22 (3): 479-501 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.Jibs.8490312
  26. Erramilli M.K. 1992. Influence of some external and internal environmental factors on foreign market entry mode choice in service firms. Journal of Business Research, 25 (4): 263-276 DOI: 10.1016/0148-2963(92)90024-6
  27. Forsgren M. 2002. The concept of learning in the Uppsala internationalization process model: a critical review. International Business Review, 11 (3): 257-277 DOI: 10.1016/S0969-5931(01)00060-9
  28. Geringer J.M., Beamish P., daCosta R. 1989. Diversification strategy and internationalization: implication for MNEs performance. Strategic Management Journal, 10 (2): 109-119 DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250100202
  29. Geringer J.M., Tallman S., Olsen D.M. 2000. Product and international diversification among Japanese multinational firms. Strategic Management Journal, 21 (1): 51-80 DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200001)21:1<51::AID-SMJ77>3.0.CO;2-K
  30. Goerzen A., Beamish P.W. 2003. Geographic scope and multinational enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (13): 1289-1306 DOI: 10.1002/smj.357
  31. Graham E.M. 1992. Direct investment between the United States and the European Community post-1986 and pre-1992, in Cantwell J. (ed.) Multinational Investment in Modern Europe: Strategic Interaction in the Integrated Community. Edward Elgar Publishing: Aldershot-Brookfield.
  32. Grant R.M., Jammine A.P., Thomas H. 1988. Diversity, diversification, and profitability among British manufacturing companies, 1972-1984. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (4): 771-801 DOI: 10.2307/256338
  33. Hakanson L., Ambos B. 2010. The antecedents of psychic distance. Journal of International Management, 16 (3): 195-210 DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2010.06.001
  34. Heaver T. 1995. The implications of increased competition among ports for port policy. Maritime Policy & Management, 22 (2): 125-133 DOI: 10.1080/03088839500000045
  35. Heenan D., Perlmutter H. 1979. Multinational Organizational Development: A Social Architecture Perspective. Addison-Wesley: Reading.
  36. Hitt M.A., Hoskisson R.E., Kim H. 1997. International diversification: efforts on innovation and firm performance in product-diversified firms. Academy of Management Journal, 40 (4): 767-798 DOI: 10.2307/256948
  37. Hitt M.A., Tihanyi L., Miller T., Connelly B. 2006. International diversification: antecedents, outcomes, and moderators. Journal of Management, 32 (6): 831-867 DOI: 10.1177/0149206306293575
  38. Hofstede G. 1980. Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Sage Publications: Beverly Hills.
  39. Hoyle B., Charlier J. 1995. Inter-port competition in developing countries: an East African case study. Journal of Transport Geography, 3 (2): 87-103 DOI: 10.1016/0966-6923(94)00007-C
  40. Hutzschenreuter T., Voll J., Verbeke A. 2011. The impact of added cultural distance and cultural diversity on international expansion patterns: a Penrosean perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 48 (2): 305-329.
  41. Ietto-Gillies G. 2012. Transnational Corporations and International Production. Concepts, Theories and Effects. Edward Elgar Publishing: Northampton.
  42. Jacquemin A.P., Berry C.H. 1979. Entropy measure of diversification and corporate growth. Journal of Industrial Economics, 27 (4): 359-369 DOI: 10.2307/2097958
  43. Johanson J., Vahlne J.E. 1977. The internationalization process of the firm: a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8 (1): 23-32 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490676
  44. Johanson J., Mattsson L-G. 1988. Internationalization in industrial systems: a network approach, in Hood N., Vahlne J.E. (eds.) Strategies in Global Competition. Croom-Helm: New York.
  45. Johanson J., Vahlne J.E. 1990. The mechanism of internationalization. International Marketing Review, 7 (4): 11-24 DOI: 10.1108/02651339010137414
  46. Johnson G. 1988. Rethinking incrementalism. Strategic Management Journal, 9 (1): 75-91 DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250090107
  47. Kim W.C., Hwang P. 1992. Global strategy and multinationals’ entry mode choice. Journal of International Business Studies, 23 (1): 29-53 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490258
  48. Knight G., Cavusgil S.T. 2004. Innovation, organization capabilities, and the born-global firm. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (2): 124-141 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400071
  49. Kogut B. 1983. Foreign direct investment as a sequential process, in Kingleberger C.P., Audretsch D. (eds.) The Multinational Corporation in the 1980s. MIT Press: Cambridge (Mass.).
  50. Lewitt B., March, J.G. 1988. Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14: 319-340 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.so.14.080188.001535
  51. Li J. 1994. Experience effects and international expansion: strategies of service MNCs in the Asia-Pacific region. Management International Review, 34 (4): 217-234.
  52. Li J., Guisinger S. 1992. The globalization of service multinationals in the ‘triad’ regions: Japan, Western Europe and North America. Journal of International Business Studies, 23 (4): 675-696 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490283
  53. Li P.P. 2003. Towards a geocentric theory of multinational evolution: the implications from the Asian MNEs as latecomers. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 20 (2): 217-242 DOI: 10.1023/A:1023844500381
  54. Lin F-J. 2010. The determinants of foreign direct investment in China: the case of Taiwanese firms in the IT industry. Journal of Business Research, 63 (5): 479-485 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.04.005
  55. Lu J.W., Beamish P. 2004. International diversification and firm performance: the S-curve hypothesis. Academy of Management Journal, 47 (4): 598-609 DOI: 10.2307/20159604
  56. Luo Y., Peng M.W. 1999. Learning to compete in a transition economy: experience, environment, and performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 30 (2): 269-295 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490070
  57. Malnight T.M. 1995. Globalization of an ethnocentric firm: an evolutionary perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 16 (2): 119-141 DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250160204
  58. Mariotti S., Mutinelli M. 2004. L’internazionalizzazione dei servizi alle imprese. Economia e Politica Industriale, 30 (121): 187-197.
  59. Mitchell W., Shayer J.M., Yeung B. 1992. Getting there in a global industry: impacts on performance of changing international presence. Strategic Management Journal, 13: 419-432 DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250130603
  60. Mutinelli M., Piscitello L. 1998. The entry mode choice of MNEs: an evolutionary approach. Research Policy, 27 (5): 491-506 DOI: 10.1016/S0048-7333(98)00063-8
  61. Notteboom T., Rodrigue J-P. 2012. The corporate geography of global terminal operators. Maritime Policy & Management, 39 (3): 249-279 DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2012.671970
  62. O’Farrell P. N., Moffat L., Wood P.A. 1995. Internationalization by business services: a methodological critique of foreign-market entry-mode choice. Environment & Planning A, 27 (5): 683-697 DOI: 10.1068/a270683
  63. Ohmae K. 1985. Triad Power. Harper Business: New York DOI: 10.1007/978-3-322-85879-5
  64. Olivier D. 2005. Private entry and emerging partnerships in the container terminal industry: evidence from Asia. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 7 (2): 87-115 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100131
  65. Olivier D., Parola F., Slack B., Wang J. 2007. The time scale of internationalization: the case of the container port industry. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 9 (1): 1-34 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100169
  66. Orrù M., Biggart N.W., Hamilton G.G. 1997. Organizational isomorphism in East Asia, in Orrù M., Biggart N.W., Hamilton G.G. (eds.) The Economic Organization of East Asian Capitalism. Sage Publications: London.
  67. Parola F., Veenstra A. 2008. The spatial coverage of shipping lines and container terminal operators. Journal of Transport Geography, 16 (4): 292-299 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2007.11.001
  68. Pedersen T., Petersen B. 1998. Explaining gradually increasing resource commitment to a foreign market. International Business Review, 7 (5): 483-501 DOI: 10.1016/S0969-5931(98)00012-2
  69. Peters H. 2001. Developments in global seatrade and container shipping markets: their effects on the port industry and private sector involvement. International Journal of Maritime Economics, 3 (1): 3-26 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.ijme.9100003
  70. Qian G., Khoury T.A., Peng M.W., Qian Z. 2010. The performance implications of intra-and inter-regional geographic diversification. Strategic Management Journal, 31 (9): 1018-1030.
  71. Quinn J.B. 1980. Strategic Change: Logical Incrementalism. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs.
  72. Rodrigue J-P., Notteboom T., Pallis A.A. 2011. The financialisation of the port and terminal industry: revisiting risk and embeddendness. Maritime Policy & Management, 38 (2): 191-213 DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2011.556675
  73. Ronen S., Shenkar O. 1985. Clustering countries on attitudinal dimensions: a review and synthesis. The Academy of Management Review, 10 (3): 435-454 DOI: 10.5465/AMR.1985.4278955
  74. Rugman A.M. 2005. The Regional Multinationals: MNEs and ‘Global’ Strategic Management. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge (UK) DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511614071
  75. Rugman A.M., Verbeke A. 2007. Liabilities of regional foreignness and the use of firm-level versus country-level data: a response to Dunning et al. (2007). Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (1): 200-205 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400242
  76. Rugman A.M., Verbeke A. 2008. A new perspective on the regional and global strategies of multinational services firms. Management International Review, 48 (4): 397-411 DOI: 10.1007/s11575-008-0023-y
  77. Salancik G.R., Meindl J.R. 1984. Corporate attributions as strategic illusions of management control. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29 (2): 238-254 DOI: 10.2307/2393176
  78. Shenkar O., Nyaw M-K. 1995. Yin and yang: the interplay of human resources in Chinese-foreign ventures, in Shenkar O. (ed.) Global Perspective of Human Resource Management. Prentice Hall: New York.
  79. Sim A.B., Pandian J.R. 2002. Internationalization strategies of emerging Asian MNEs: case evidence on Taiwanese firms. Journal of Asian Business, 18 (1): 67-80.
  80. Slack B. 1985. Containerization, inter-port competition and port selection. Maritime Policy & Management, 12 (4): 293-303 DOI: 10.1080/03088838500000043
  81. Stalk G. 1988. Time. The next source of competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 66 (4): 41-51.
  82. Sullivan D. 1994. Measuring the degree of internationalization of a firm. Journal of International Business Studies, 25 (2): 325-342 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490203
  83. Tallman S., Li J. 1996. Effects of international diversify and product diversity on the performance of multinational firm. Academy of Management Journal, 39 (1): 179-196 DOI: 10.2307/256635
  84. Tallman S., Yip G. 2009. Strategy and the multinational enterprise, in Rugman A. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of International Business. Oxford University Press: New York DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199234257.003.0012
  85. Tuppura A., Saarenketo S., Puumalainen K., Jantunen A., Kyläheiko K. 2008. Linking knowledge, entry timing and internationalization strategy. International Business Review, 17 (4): 473-487 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2008.02.003
  86. Vachani S. 1991. Distinguishing between related and unrelated international geographic diversification: a comprehensive measure of global diversification. Journal of International Business Studies, 22 (2): 307-322 DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490305
  87. Vanelslander T. 2008. Expansion in cargo handling: geographical and functional issues. Maritime Policy & Management, 35 (2): 193-214 DOI: 10.1080/03088830801956847
  88. Vermeulen F., Barkema H. 2002. Pace, rhythm, and scope: process dependence in building a profitable multinational corporation. Strategic Management Journal, 23 (7): 637-653 DOI: 10.1002/smj.243
  89. Vernon R. 1966. International investment and international trade in the product cycle. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80 (2): 190-208 DOI: 10.2307/1880689
  90. Wan W.P., Hoskisson R.E. 2003. Home country environments, corporate diversification strategies and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 46 (1): 27-45 DOI: 10.2307/30040674
  91. Warner M., Ng S.H., Xu X. 2004. Late development’ experience and the evolution of transnational firms in the People’s Republic of China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 10 (3-4): 324-345 DOI: 10.1080/1360238042000264397
  92. World Bank. 2010. Private Participation in Infrastructure Database, published online.
  93. Yeung H.W-C. 1999. The Globalization of Business Firms from Emerging Economies. Edward Elgar Publishing: Northampton.
  94. Zanfei A. 2002. Gli effetti dell’internazionalizzazione sulle performance economiche. Il progetto Aiteg dell’Unione europea. Economia e Politica Industriale, 28 (113): 167-179.
  95. Zeithaml V.A., Parasuraman A., Berry L.L. 1985. Problems and strategies in services marketing. Journal of Marketing, 49 (2): 33-46 DOI: 10.2307/1251563

  • Corporate strategies and profitability of maritime logistics firms Francesco Parola, Giovanni Satta, Photis M Panayides, in Maritime Economics & Logistics /2015 pp.52
    DOI: 10.1057/mel.2014.18
  • L'impatto delle strategie corporate sulle performance delle imprese di logistica via mare Francesco Parola, Giovanni Satta, Riccardo Spinelli, in ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO 2/2014 pp.201
    DOI: 10.3280/ED2013-002002
  • Entry mode choices of rapidly internationalizing terminal operators: Giovanni Satta, Luca Persico, in Maritime Economics & Logistics /2015 pp.97
    DOI: 10.1057/mel.2014.32

Francesco Parola, Giovanni Satta, Luca Persico, Time, space, and international diversification of service firms: assessing the abnormal growth of container port MNs in "ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE " 1/2013, pp 90-115, DOI: 10.3280/POLI2013-001004