Multinational firms can enter a foreign market by taking over existing local firms (acquisitions) or by setting up new ventures (greenfield investments). Surprisingly, there has been limited empirical work on this topic. This paper examines the determinants of this choice by looking at Japanese...

We study the effects of linguistic distance and lingua franca proficiency on the equity stake taken by acquirers from 67 countries in 59,092 acquisition targets in 69 host countries. We theorize and find that acquirers take lower equity stakes in foreign targets when linguistic distance and...

This paper tests the proposition that national origin affects the strategies of multinational enterprises by looking at the determinants of the choice they make between entering the United States through partially versus wholly owned subsidiaries. We pool entries into the United States made by...

Many international business (IB) studies have used foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks to measure the aggregate value-adding activity of multinational enterprises (MNE) affiliates in host countries. We argue that FDI stocks are a biased measure of that activity, because the degree to which...

Both Anderson and Gatignon and the Uppsala internationalization model see the initial mode of foreign market entry and subsequent modes of operation as unilaterally determined by multinational enterprises (MNEs) arbitraging control and risk and increasing their commitment as they gain experience...

This paper uses transaction costs theory is used to explain the features of the new contractual alternatives to foreign direct investment (the “new forms”), to assess their efficiency, and to forecast their future development.© 1989 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1989) 20,...

Prior research has argued that multinational enterprises (MNEs) prefer to enter culturally distant countries through greenfields rather than through acquisitions, since acquisitions in such countries are costlier to manage. This argument contains two hidden assumptions: (1) the additional costs...

This paper offers the first large sample empirical study of the factors which influence the choice of Japanese firms between full or partial ownership of their U.S. manufacturing subsidiaries. It studies for the first time the ownership policies of investors of a single home country in a single...

In a recent commentary published in this journal, Shaver raises the provocative question of whether we need more entry mode studies. After assessing the reasons for Shaver’s doubts and further developing his broad research suggestions, we conclude that this question should be answered...