IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v47y2012i2p288-296.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The liability of closeness: Business relatedness and foreign subsidiary performance

Author

Listed:
  • Tang, Jianyun
  • Rowe, W. Glenn

Abstract

It is widely accepted that business relatedness, defined as the extent to which a foreign subsidiary is related to its parent's core business, has a positive effect on subsidiary performance. With a sample of 165 Japanese subsidiaries located in China, however, we found that modestly related subsidiaries, on average, outperformed both unrelated and closely related subsidiaries, and that closely related subsidiaries performed poorly especially when the parent had a heavy majority ownership in the subsidiary and the subsidiary was at its early stage of operating in the host market. Our results indicate that being too closely related to the parent could be potentially detrimental, suggesting a liability of closeness.

Suggested Citation

  • Tang, Jianyun & Rowe, W. Glenn, 2012. "The liability of closeness: Business relatedness and foreign subsidiary performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 288-296.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:47:y:2012:i:2:p:288-296
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2011.04.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951611000423
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jwb.2011.04.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erin Anderson & Hubert Gatignon, 1986. "Modes of Foreign Entry: A Transaction Cost Analysis and Propositions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 17(3), pages 1-26, September.
    2. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    3. Christina Fang & Daniel Levinthal, 2009. "Near-Term Liability of Exploitation: Exploration and Exploitation in Multistage Problems," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 538-551, June.
    4. Charles W. L. Hill & Peter Hwang & W. Chan Kim, 1990. "An eclectic theory of the choice of international entry mode," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 117-128, February.
    5. Shige Makino & Andrew Delios, 1996. "Local Knowledge Transfer and Performance: Implications for Alliance Formation in Asia," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(4), pages 905-927, December.
    6. David J. Teece, 2008. "Technology Transfer By Multinational Firms: The Resource Cost Of Transferring Technological Know-How," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 1, pages 1-22, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Charles Dhanaraj & Paul W. Beamish, 2004. "Effect of equity ownership on the survival of international joint ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 295-305, March.
    8. Calder, Bobby J & Phillips, Lynn W & Tybout, Alice M, 1982. "The Concept of External Validity," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(3), pages 240-244, December.
    9. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1993. "Knowledge of the Firm and the Evolutionary Theory of the Multinational Corporation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(4), pages 625-645, December.
    10. Daniel A. Levinthal & James G. March, 1993. "The myopia of learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 95-112, December.
    11. Jean‐Francois Hennart, 1988. "A transaction costs theory of equity joint ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 361-374, July.
    12. George P. Huber, 1991. "Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 88-115, February.
    13. Srilata Zaheer & Elaine Mosakowski, 1997. "The Dynamics Of The Liability Of Foreignness: A Global Study Of Survival In Financial Services," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(6), pages 439-463, June.
    14. Anne Marie Knott & Hart E. Posen, 2005. "Is failure good?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 617-641, July.
    15. Pan, Yigang, 2003. "The inflow of foreign direct investment to China: the impact of country-specific factors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(10), pages 829-833, October.
    16. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Jean-François Hennart & Dong-Jae Kim & Ming Zeng, 1998. "The Impact of Joint Venture Status on the Longevity of Japanese Stakes in U.S. Manufacturing Affiliates," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 382-395, June.
    18. Shige Makino & Paul W Beamish, 1998. "Performance and Survival of Joint Ventures with Non-Conventional Ownership Structures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(4), pages 797-818, December.
    19. McDougall, Patricia Phillips & Oviatt, Benjamin M., 1996. "New venture internationalization, strategic change, and performance: A follow-up study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 23-40, January.
    20. C Patrick Woodcook & Paul W Beamish & Shige Makino, 1994. "Ownership-Based Entry mode Strategies and International Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(2), pages 253-273, June.
    21. Pennings, J.M. & Barkema, H.G. & Douma, S.W., 1994. "Organizational learning and diversification," Other publications TiSEM 2cabb122-340f-4729-afb3-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    22. Jiatao Li, 1995. "Foreign entry and survival: Effects of strategic choices on performance in international markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 333-351.
    23. Krishna Palepu, 1985. "Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 239-255, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hongxin Zhao & Jieqiong Ma & Jie Yang, 2017. "30 Years of Research on Entry Mode and Performance Relationship: A Meta-Analytical Review," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 653-682, October.
    2. Kiyohiro Oki, 2020. "Factory performance and decision-making authority between headquarters, expatriates, and local employees in Japanese MNCs in Southeast Asia," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 86-117, February.
    3. Meyer, Klaus E. & Su, Yu-Shan, 2015. "Integration and responsiveness in subsidiaries in emerging economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 149-158.
    4. Tobias Pehrsson & Navid Ghannad & Anders Pehrsson & Tobias Abt & Siyuan Chen & Fabian Erath & Tobias Hammarstig, 2015. "Dynamic capabilities and performance in foreign markets: Developments within international new ventures," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 28-48, March.
    5. Ilaria Galavotti & Daniele Cerrato & Franca Cantoni, 2020. "Surviving after Cross-Border Acquisitions: How Business Relatedness, Host Country Experience, and Cultural Distance Affect Acquired Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Galli Geleilate, Jose-Mauricio & Andrews, Daniel S. & Fainshmidt, Stav, 2020. "Subsidiary autonomy and subsidiary performance: A meta-analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    7. Lewellyn, Krista B. & Bao, Shuji ‘Rosey’, 2015. "R&D Investment in the Global Paper Products Industry: A Behavioral Theory of the Firm and National Culture Perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1-17.
    8. Wei, Qiao & Li, Wen Helena & De Sisto, Marco & Gu, Jinlong, 2020. "What types of top management teams' experience matter to the relationship between political hazards and foreign subsidiary performance?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(4).
    9. Jingxun Li & Ruby P. Lee & Lian Zhang, 2018. "Managerial ties and knowledge transfer in business ecosystems: Evidence from Korean subsidiaries in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(3), pages 183-207, July.
    10. Farah, Bassam & Chakravarty, Dwarka & Dau, Luis & Beamish, Paul W., 2022. "Multinational enterprise parent-subsidiary governance and survival," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(2).
    11. Wafa Tariq Waqar, 2020. "Board size and acquisition outcome: The moderating role of home country formal institutional development," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 529-541, June.
    12. Beamish, Paul W. & Lupton, Nathaniel C., 2016. "Cooperative strategies in international business and management: Reflections on the past 50 years and future directions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 163-175.
    13. Kostova, Tatiana & Marano, Valentina & Tallman, Stephen, 2016. "Headquarters–subsidiary relationships in MNCs: Fifty years of evolving research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 176-184.
    14. Jonas Fernando Petry & Mohamed Amal & Dinorá Eliete Floriani, 2018. "Institutional Distance, Regional Clusters and Performance of Foreign Subsidiaries: Evidences from Brazil," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 15(3), pages 302-316, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Piaskowska, D., 2005. "Essays on firm growth and value creation," Other publications TiSEM 89053610-79c6-4c52-9d1c-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Bell, J.H.J., 1996. "Joint or Single Venturing? : An Electric Approach to Foreign Entry Mode Choice," Other publications TiSEM 06f84735-3cf5-432f-8bc8-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Slangen, Arjen & Hennart, Jean-François, 2007. "Greenfield or acquisition entry: A review of the empirical foreign establishment mode literature," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 403-429, December.
    4. Megan Min Zhang & Paul W. Beamish, 2019. "An institutional response model to economic liberalization: Japanese MNEs’ ownership choices in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 33-59, March.
    5. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Arie Y. Lewin & Stephan Dresel, 2011. "Time to Success in Offshoring Business Processes," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 65-92, February.
    6. Chris Changwha Chung & Paul W. Beamish, 2010. "The Trap of Continual Ownership Change in International Equity Joint Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 995-1015, October.
    7. Lu, Jane W. & Beamish, Paul W., 2006. "Partnering strategies and performance of SMEs' international joint ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 461-486, July.
    8. Schmid, David & Morschett, Dirk, 2020. "Decades of research on foreign subsidiary divestment: What do we really know about its antecedents?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4).
    9. Douglas E. Thomas & Lorraine Eden & Michael A. Hitt & Stewart R. Miller, 2007. "Experience of emerging market firms: The role of cognitive bias in developed market entry and survival," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 845-867, December.
    10. Chung, Chris Changwha & Beamish, Paul W., 2005. "Investment mode strategy and expatriate strategy during times of economic crisis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 331-355, September.
    11. Jane Lu & Xufei Ma, 2015. "Partner resource asymmetry and IJV survival," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 1039-1064, December.
    12. Madhok, Anoop, 1996. "Know-how-, experience- and competition-related considerations in foreign market entry: An exploratory investigation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 339-366, August.
    13. Claudio Giachetti, 2013. "Competitive Aggressiveness and Performance of Developed Country-Based Firms in the Chinese Emerging Economy: The Moderating Effect of Institutional Voids and Entry Mode Degree of Control," Working Papers 1, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    14. Song, Sangcheol, 2014. "Unfavorable Market Conditions, Institutional and Financial Development, and Exits of Foreign Subsidiaries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 279-289.
    15. Malhotra, Shavin & Sivakumar, K. & Zhu, PengCheng, 2011. "Curvilinear relationship between cultural distance and equity participation: An empirical analysis of cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 316-332.
    16. Kolloge, Konstantin, 2009. "Die Messung des Kooperationserfolges in der empirischen Forschung: Ergebnisse einer Literaturstudie," Arbeitspapiere 76, University of Münster, Institute for Cooperatives.
    17. Keith D. Brouthers & Liang Chen & Sali Li & Noman Shaheer, 2022. "Charting new courses to enter foreign markets: Conceptualization, theoretical framework, and research directions on non-traditional entry modes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2088-2115, December.
    18. Christopher Williams & Ana Colovic & Jiqing Zhu, 2016. "Foreign Market Knowledge, Country Sales Breadth And Innovative Performance Of Emerging Economy Firms," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(06), pages 1-25, August.
    19. Xu, Dean & Lu, Jane W., 2007. "Technological knowledge, product relatedness, and parent control: The effect on IJV survival," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(11), pages 1166-1176, November.
    20. Gerald Yong Gao & Yigang Pan & Jiangyong Lu & Zhigang Tao, 2008. "Performance of Multinational Firms’ Subsidiaries: Influences of Cumulative Experience," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 749-768, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:47:y:2012:i:2:p:288-296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.