IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v17y2006i3p402-414.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Corruption on Entry Strategy: Evidence from Telecommunication Projects in Emerging Economies

Author

Listed:
  • Klaus Uhlenbruck

    (Department of Management and Marketing, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812-6808)

  • Peter Rodriguez

    (Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22906-6550)

  • Jonathan Doh

    (Department of Management, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085)

  • Lorraine Eden

    (Department of Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4221)

Abstract

With globalization and the growth in emerging economies, multinational enterprises (MNEs) now frequently confront challenges associated with corrupt governments. Already, a growing body of research has demonstrated that corruption significantly reduces a country’s aggregate inflows of foreign direct investment through its effects on firm performance. We move the analysis of corruption from aggregate financial flows toward managerial theory and practice by examining how firms adjust their strategy for entering foreign markets in corrupt environments and how different types of corruption affect firms’ choices. Building on institutional theory, we predict that MNEs will respond to pervasive and arbitrary corruption in a host country by selecting particular types of equity and nonequity modes of entry. Using data on 220 telecommunications development projects in 64 emerging economies, we find that firms adapt to the pressures of corruption via short-term contracting and entry into joint ventures. We also find that the arbitrariness surrounding corrupt transactions has a significant impact on firms’ decisions, in addition to the overall level of corruption. In contrast to extant research, we show that MNEs use nonequity-entry modes or partnering as an adaptive strategy to participate in markets despite the presence of corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • Klaus Uhlenbruck & Peter Rodriguez & Jonathan Doh & Lorraine Eden, 2006. "The Impact of Corruption on Entry Strategy: Evidence from Telecommunication Projects in Emerging Economies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 402-414, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:17:y:2006:i:3:p:402-414
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1060.0186
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1060.0186
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1060.0186?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Henisz Witold J. & Williamson Oliver E., 1999. "Comparative Economic Organization—Within and Between Countries," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 1(3), pages 261-278, December.
    2. Williamson, Oliver E, 1979. "Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractural Relations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(2), pages 233-261, October.
    3. 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.
    4. Stefanie Ann Lenway & Thomas P Murtha, 1994. "The State as Strategist in International Business Research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(3), pages 513-535, September.
    5. Levy, Brian & Spiller, Pablo T, 1994. "The Institutional Foundations of Regulatory Commitment: A Comparative Analysis of Telecommunications Regulation," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 201-246, October.
    6. Hellman, Joel S. & Jones, Geraint & Kaufmann, Daniel & Schankerman, Mark, 2000. "Measuring governance, corruption, and State capture - how firms and bureaucrats shape the business environment in transition economies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2312, The World Bank.
    7. Peter S Davis & Ashay B Desai & John D Francis, 2000. "Mode of International Entry: An Isomorphism Perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(2), pages 239-258, June.
    8. Mohsin Habib & Leon Zurawicki, 2002. "Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 291-307, June.
    9. Jean J Boddewyn, 1988. "Political Aspects of MNE Theory," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 341-363, September.
    10. Treisman, Daniel, 2000. "The causes of corruption: a cross-national study," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 399-457, June.
    11. Beata K. Smarzynska & Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "Corruption and Composition of Foreign Direct Investment: Firm-Level Evidence," NBER Working Papers 7969, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Yigang Pan & David K Tse, 2000. "The Hierarchical Model of Market Entry Modes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(4), pages 535-554, December.
    13. Daphne Yiu & Shige Makino, 2002. "The Choice Between Joint Venture and Wholly Owned Subsidiary: An Institutional Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(6), pages 667-683, December.
    14. Shang-Jin Wei, 1997. "Why is Corruption So Much More Taxing Than Tax? Arbitrariness Kills," NBER Working Papers 6255, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Peter Smith Ring & Stefanie Ann Lenway & Michele Govekar, 1990. "Management of the political imperative in international business," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 141-151, February.
    16. Ramón E. López & Vinod Thomas & Yan Wang, 2008. "The Quality of Growth," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28198, December.
    17. D. Eleanor Westney, 1993. "Institutionalization Theory and the Multinational Corporation," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Sumantra Ghoshal & D. Eleanor Westney (ed.), Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation, chapter 3, pages 53-76, Palgrave Macmillan.
    18. Andrew Delios & Paul W. Beamish, 1999. "Ownership strategy of Japanese firms: transactional, institutional, and experience influences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(10), pages 915-933, October.
    19. Edgardo Campos, J. & Lien, Donald & Pradhan, Sanjay, 1999. "The Impact of Corruption on Investment: Predictability Matters," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1059-1067, June.
    20. Paul W Beamish & John C Banks, 1987. "Equity Joint Ventures and Theory of the Multinational Enterprise," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 18(2), pages 1-16, June.
    21. Henisz, Witold J. & Williamson, Oliver E., 1999. "Comparative Economic Organization—Within and Between Countries," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(3), pages 261-277, November.
    22. Mauro, Paolo, 1998. "Corruption and the composition of government expenditure," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 263-279, June.
    23. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    24. Murtha, Thomas P, 1991. "Surviving Industrial Targeting: State Credibility and Public Policy Contingencies in Multinational Subcontracting," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 117-143, Spring.
    25. Rose-Ackerman, Susan, 2001. "Trust and Honesty in Post-socialist Societies," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2-3), pages 415-443.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mehmet Demirbag & Ekrem Tatoglu & Keith W. Glaister, 2010. "Institutional and Transaction Cost Influences on Partnership Structure of Foreign Affiliates," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 709-745, December.
    2. Kyeungrae Oh, 2017. "MNEs’ Ownership Structure under Uncertainty: Explanations from TCE and Real Options Logic," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(2), pages 1-67, January.
    3. Mehmet Demirbag & Martina McGuinness & Hüseyin Altay, 2010. "Perceptions of Institutional Environment and Entry Mode," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 207-240, April.
    4. Seung-Hyun Lee & Kyeungrae Oh, 2007. "Corruption in Asia: Pervasiveness and arbitrariness," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 97-114, March.
    5. Jan Hanousek & Anastasiya Shamshur & Jan Svejnar & Jiri Tresl, 2021. "Corruption level and uncertainty, FDI and domestic investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1750-1774, December.
    6. Graf Lambsdorff, Johann, 2005. "Consequences and causes of corruption: What do we know from a cross-section of countries?," Passauer Diskussionspapiere, Volkswirtschaftliche Reihe V-34-05, University of Passau, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    7. Eugen Dimant & Guglielmo Tosato, 2018. "Causes And Effects Of Corruption: What Has Past Decade'S Empirical Research Taught Us? A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 335-356, April.
    8. Jakob Müllner & Sinziana Dorobantu, 2023. "Overcoming political risk in developing economies through non-local debt," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(2), pages 159-181, June.
    9. Canabal, Anne & White III, George O., 2008. "Entry mode research: Past and future," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 267-284, June.
    10. De Villa, Maria A. & Rajwani, Tazeeb & Lawton, Thomas, 2015. "Market entry modes in a multipolar world: Untangling the moderating effect of the political environment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 419-429.
    11. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & Sinziana Dorobantu & Aseem Kaul & Bennet Zelner, 2017. "Nonmarket strategy research through the lens of new institutional economics: An integrative review and future directions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 114-140, January.
    12. Grimm Noh & Dongyoub Shin, 2018. "The different influences of the government and politicians on the international expansion of Chinese firms," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(5), pages 366-396, December.
    13. Doh, Jonathan P. & Teegen, Hildy, 2002. "Nongovernmental organizations as institutional actors in international business: theory and implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 665-684, December.
    14. Ilhan-Nas, Tulay & Okan, Tarhan & Tatoglu, Ekrem & Demirbag, Mehmet & Wood, Geoffrey & Glaister, Keith W., 2018. "Board composition, family ownership, institutional distance and the foreign equity ownership strategies of Turkish MNEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 862-879.
    15. Huang, Ying & Sternquist, Brenda, 2007. "Retailers' foreign market entry decisions: An institutional perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 613-629, October.
    16. Chan, Christine M. & Du, Jialin, 2022. "Formal institution deficiencies and informal institution substitution: MNC foreign ownership choice in emerging economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 744-761.
    17. Barclay E. James & Paul M. Vaaler, 2017. "Experience, Equity and Foreign Investment Risk: A PIC Perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 209-241, April.
    18. Jensen, Nathan M & Rahman, Aminur, 2011. "The silence of corruption : identifying underreporting of business corruption through randomized response techniques," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5696, The World Bank.
    19. Javalgi, Rajshekhar (Raj) G. & Deligonul, Seyda & Ghosh, Amit K. & Lambert, Douglas M. & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2010. "Foreign market entry mode behavior as a gateway to further entries: The NAFTA experience," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 209-222, June.

    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:inm:ororsc:v:17:y:2006:i:3:p:402-414. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.