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Adaptive strategies of trading companies

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  • Ellis, Paul

Abstract

Past research into the development of trading companies has seldom been able to separate the economic raison d'être of the firm from the political and legislative influence of the home-country government. In contrast to other countries, the evolution of international trade intermediaries in Hong Kong has not been directly influenced by government policy. In the absence of legislative inducements or protection, Hong Kong traders exist purely by their ability to respond to market forces, suggesting that important insights regarding organizational survival can be gleaned from studying their patterns of behavior. In this paper, an evolutionary model is proposed and then evaluated against data collected from trading companies at five different stages of development. Specifically, these firms' adaptive strategies are assessed in terms of their patterns of diversification along three dimensions: product, geographic, and function. For scholars, the findings may be considered a stepping stone towards the articulation of a truly generic model of trading company evolution, while the value of the study for policy-makers in search of new archetypes lies in the identification of a variety of market-responsive organizational forms.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellis, Paul, 2001. "Adaptive strategies of trading companies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 235-259, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:10:y:2001:i:2:p:235-259
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ellis, Paul D., 2005. "The traders' dilemma: The adverse consequences of superior performance in mediated exchanges," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 375-396, August.
    2. Peng, Mike W. & Zhou, Yuanyuan & York, Anne S., 2006. "Behind make or buy decisions in export strategy: A replication and extension of Trabold," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 289-300, September.
    3. Hendrik P. van Dalen & Aico P. van Vuuren, 2003. "Greasing the Wheels of Trade," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 03-066/1, Tinbergen Institute.
    4. Guillaume Daudin, 2005. "Les transactions de la mondialisation," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 92(1), pages 221-262.
    5. Jean-François Hennart, 2022. "How much is new in Brouthers et al.’s new foreign entry modes, and do they challenge the transaction cost theory of entry mode choice?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2116-2132, December.
    6. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/686 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ellis, Paul D., 2010. "International trade intermediaries and the transfer of marketing knowledge in transition economies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 16-33, February.
    8. George O. White & Orhun Guldiken & Thomas A. Hemphill & Wu He & Mehdi Sharifi Khoobdeh, 2016. "Trends in International Strategic Management Research From 2000 to 2013: Text Mining and Bibliometric Analyses," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, February.
    9. Paul D. Ellis, 2010. "Is Market Orientation Affected by the Size and Diversity of Customer Networks?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 325-345, June.

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