The Study of Fit in International Business Research: Methodological and Substantive Issues

In one stream of international business (IB) research, researchers have contended that aligning firm strategy to local environmental contexts enhanced overall firm performance. Similarly, in another stream of IB research, researchers contend that via the employment of an adaptation strategy across markets firms can more appropriately align market offerings to customer needs, thereby enhancing firm performance. Common to both of these streams is the contention that effective management in international business depends on the ability of managers to appropriately align organizational resources with environmental opportunities and threats. In other words, the basis of this idea can be explained by using a congruence approach, founded upon the concept of “fit.” A congruence approach theorizes that similarities (i.e., fit) of operating components maximizes efficient operations (Tosi and Slocum, 1984; Newman and Nollen, 1996). Researchers exploring fit in organizations postulate that organizational effectiveness results from a congruence of relevant contextual, structural and/or strategic factors (Child, 1972; Doty et al., 1993; Miner et al., 1994; Newman and Nollen, 1996). Alternatively, when incongruencies exist, underlying differences in operating components create barriers to operations, thus hindering effectiveness (Doty et al., 1993; Keller, 1994; Miner et al., 1994).