Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1/2, 2006
111
2 A critical evaluation of strategic market entry
3 theories and practices: the case of Hewlett-Packard
4
5
6
7 Demetris Vrontis* and Alkis Thrassou
8 School of Business, Intercollege,Cyprus,
9 46 Makedonitissas Avenue,
1011 P.O. Box 24005, 1703 Nicosia, Cyprus
1 E-mail: vrontis.d@intercollege.ac.cy
2 E-mail: thrassou.a@intercollege.ac.cy
3 *Corresponding author
4
5 Chia-Hung Wei
6
7 Manchester Metropolitan University, 4F, No. 31, Alley 6,
8 Lane. 4, Rd. Fu-Hsing, Taipei 116, Taiwan
9 E-mail: alexweiy2001@yahoo.com.tw
2011
Abstract: The choice of correct entry strategy for a particular market is
1 a crucial one for international firms. This research explores entry strategies
2 options and related theories, conducting also a critical evaluation of the
3 advantages and disadvantages of each option and theory. Several frameworks
4 and strategies are identified and developed from different constructs, and
5 the effect of entry strategies on wider international marketing strategies is
investigated. This research follows the ‘case study’ approach based on the
6 Hewlett-Packard market-entry method and a comparison is conducted
7 between two countries: China and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, several
8 key internationalisation issues are identified in terms of the SLEPT (social,
9 legal, economic, political and technological) framework. The results reinforce
30 the belief that before entering a foreign market, a multinational company
should construct a detailed marketing plan based on reliable data on every
1 aspect of both the macro and micro-environment of the targeted market.
2
3 Keywords: analysis; entry methods; global; Hewlett-Packard; international;
4 marketing; situation; strategy
5 Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Vrontis, D., Thrassou, A.
6 and Wei, C-H. (2006) ‘A critical evaluation of strategic market entry theories
7 and practices: the case of Hewlett-Packard’, Journal for International Business
8 and Entrepreneurship Development, Vol. 3, No. 1/2, pp.152–170.
9 Biographical notes: Demetris Vrontis is the Dean of the School of Business at
40 Intercollege in Nicosia, Cyprus. He is a Visiting Faculty for Henley School of
1 Management, a Visiting Professor for Vorarlberg University, a Visiting
2 Fellow at Leeds Metropolitan University and an External Examiner
3 for Nottingham Trent University. His prime research interests are on
international marketing, planning and, branding, areas that he has published
4 in over 45 refereed journals. He is also the author of 8 books and
5 widely contributed chapters/cases in books. He is the Editor of the EuroMed
6 Journal of Business and a member at the editorial board of many academic
711 journals.
8
111 Root (1987) believes that, from the economic perspective, there are two types of entry
2 modes for moving into an overseas market:
3
manufacturing the product in the home country and exporting it to the targeted
4
market
5
6 moving the technique, capital, human resources and enterprise to the targeted market
7 and cooperating with a local manufacturer.
8
From the viewpoints of management, these two types can be further divided into three
9
entry models (as shown in Table 2):
1011
1 export entry
2
contractual entry
3
4 investment entry.
5
6 Table 2 The types of entry modes
7 Models Method
8
9 Export entry models Indirect export
2011 Direct agent/distributor
1 Direct branch/subsidiary
2
Others
3
4
5 Contractual entry mode Licensing
6 Franchising
7 Technical agreement
8 Service contracts
9
Management contracts
30
1 Construction/turnkey
2 Contract manufacture
3 Co-production agreement
4 Others
5
6
Investment entry model Sole venture – new establishment
7
8 Sole venture – acquisition
9 Joint venture – new establishment/acquisition
40 Others
1
2 Source: Root (1987)
3
4 Jeannet and Hennessy (2001) use control, asset level, variable costs, fixed costs,
5 market shares and cost as the considerations for market entry decisions, as shown in
6 Table 3.
711
8
156 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 Ownership advantages are those that are specific to a particular firm and that enable
2 it to take advantage of investment opportunities abroad. Internationalisational advantages
3 determine whether foreign production will be organised through markets or hierarchies.
4 Locational advantages are those advantages specific to a country, which order the choice
5 of production site.
6 Based on the eclectic theory, Hill et al. (1990) propose a framework that contains
7 three constructs (strategic variables, environmental variables and transaction variables).
8 These affect the entry decision and intend to improve the weakness of the past theory.
9 The framework integrates not only environmental and transaction cost factors but also the
1011 global strategic variables into the entry decision mode. It offers several advantages to the
1 firms that want to enter foreign markets. On the one hand it is quite useful in identifying
2 factors and issues when evaluating the entry strategies but on the other hand it helps
3 to emphasise the probable and potential contradictions when different variables are
4 considered together (Figure 1).
5
6 Figure 1 The resource-based model of superior returns
7
8
9
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
40
1
2
3
4
5
6
711 Source: Hitt et al., 2001
8
158 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 rapid development of economy and education, more and more Chinese request
2 more rights. Likewise, continuous progress in improving the regulatory environment
3 is a significant issue in the Czech Republic. In past years, even though the government
4 has been addressing the commercial and securities laws in order to meet the requirements
5 of the European Union, the foreign investors still complained about the legal environment
6 in the Czech Republic (OECD, 2004a). On the other hand research shows that, between
7 Eastern European countries, the Czech Republic has the most steady political structure
8 and relatively established leadership (Manrai et al., 1996).
9
1011 4.1.2 Corruption
1 Corruption is still a big problem in China despite the many anti-corruption campaigns
2 (Schlevogt, 2000). It twists the allocation of resources (funds, materials) and results in
3 the loss of vital funds. This negative situation exists especially outside the metropolitan
4 areas. With similar problems at hand, the Czech government promoted a ‘clean hands’
5 campaign. It is a real victory but a bittersweet reform, as even the finance minister
6 had to resign along with the colleague in charge of investment and shareholder fraud
7 (Transparency International, 2001). In order to meet the requirements of managing EU
8 funds the Czech Republic has renewed and expanded its control systems for public
9 spending and enforced new laws on functionally independent intra-governmental audit
2011 units in 2001 (Transparency International, 2003).
1
2 4.2 Impact of economic factors
3
4 4.2.1 Investment incentives
5 China has a huge domestic market, cheap labour and attractive investment incentives.
6 There are a lot of special economic zones and coastal open cities within lower national and
7 local income taxes (Schlevogt, 2000). There is also preferential treatment in encouraged
8 industries, for instance, agriculture, industrial raw material, construction material and so
9 on. The use of an investment-incentives zone by the Chinese government is the most
30 successful strategy for attracting foreign investors. These policies not only make China an
1 attractive place for the foreign investors but also help the development of specific areas in
2 the country (Cho and Tung, 1998). Generally speaking, the Czech Republic is also an
3 investor-friendly nation (Mahli, 1998). Since the government proposed certain investment
4 incentive schemes in 1998, 37 foreign companies have benefited and the foreign direct
5 investment (FDI) increased to $4.9 billion in 1999 (Bjorklund, 2001; Drury, 2001).
6 In 2002, incentives packages also became available for strategic services and technology
7 centres, I-tech service and R&D centres (OECD, 2004b).
8
9 4.2.2 The participation of international organisation
40 Since joining the WTO China has faced many new issues. Firstly, the agreements between
1 China and other countries refer to very little about the export side of China. Secondly,
2 the current agreements between China and other countries emphasise what other countries
3 have to do. However, since China’s participation in the WTO this situation has changed
4 from what other countries have to do to what China has to do instead. Thirdly, China was
5 required to extend its favourite treatment to all members, even though it had negotiated
6 with a proportion of the members of the WTO and signed an agreement with them
711 individually (Wong, 2003). Regarding the Czech Republic, on May 1st 2004, ten new
8
160 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 countries joined the EU, the Czech Republic among them, facing some new economic
2 issues. The main ones being:
3
an end to state aid – once in the EU, state-owned enterprises will be subject to the
4
general prohibition of government support
5
6 increased competition – the EU has sought to modernise the old competition law and
7 by doing so the EU took a major step towards new antitrust procedural rules to the
8 demands of a Union of 25 member states.
9
1011
4.3 Impact of social and cultural factors
1
2 4.3.1 Relationship vs contract
3 Unlike western culture, in the traditional Chinese society, trust-based relationships are
4 sometimes more important than contracts. When conflicts occurr friendship is usually
5 given priority. This may be because they don’t want to destroy the ‘warm relationship’,
6 ‘feelings’, or ‘closeness’ between people and a further important reason is the absence
7 of a well-established legal system (Schlevogt, 2000). The Czech Republic holds
8 predominantly western-type relationships both in the social and business context.
9
2011 4.3.2 Keeping face vs economic rationalism
1 The ‘Face problem’ is another special cultural phenomenon of Chinese society and
2 business. Normally, in western society economic benefits prevail at the expense of social
3 and business image parameters. However, Chinese would rather give up the economic
4 benefits than see their public, social and/or business image being harmed. This naturally
5 constitutes a somewhat irrational approach to decision-making and furthermore potentially
6 creates a problem for foreign investors who are not used to this type of approach.
7
8
9 4.4 Impact of technological factors
30 4.4.1 Government support
1 The main organisation in charge of the technological research and development in the
2 Czech Republic is The National Research and Development Policy of the Czech Republic.
3 The national R&D policy includes the following tasks:
4
5 prioritising industrial R&D according to the most efficient disciplines towards
6 long-term economic evolution
7 offering financial support to the universities and research-active organisations
8
9 supporting the wider transmission of scientific and technological knowledge
40 (OECD, 2004b).
1 Similar systems also were applied in China. The main purpose of the existing science and
2 technology policy is to enhance technological innovation, to develop hi-tech and to further
3 the country’s industrialisation. China’s government raised the investment in reinforcing
4 sciences and technology. Furthermore, it encourages private-owned enterprises to devote
5 themselves to technological innovation, whilst the government carries out a series of
6 support measures through financing and taxation benefits (OECD, 2004b).
711
8
A critical evaluation of strategic market entry theories and practices 161
111 The Czech Republic has invested a lot of money in environment pollution control
2 projects. These projects aim to overcome the environmental issues, such as water
3 protection, protection of air and climate, waste management, protection of nature
4 and landscape, impact of physical factors abatement and protection of soil and
5 groundwater (Czech Statistical Office, 2004a,b).
6
7
8 5 Methodology
9
1011 5.1 Research approach
1
This research is an explanatory multi-case study of a computer hardware manufacturer
2
(Hewlett-Packard) entering different markets (namely, China and the Czech Republic).
3
The ‘case study’ is adopted as the research strategy as it has the ability of generating the
4
answers to the questions ‘why?’, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ and because it is a valuable way to
5
explore the current theories (Saunders et al., 2003). Moreover, it has been deemed to be
6
the best method for achieving this research’s objectives, which include comparing,
7
understanding, interpreting and evaluating detailed actions when entering different
8
regional markets. The breadth and complexity of the factors involved in this nature meant
9
that a qualitative research approach was more suitable than a quantitative one.
2011
Furthermore, from the perspective of data collection, this research adopts the in-depth
1 interview qualitative research method as the source of primary data, enhanced and
2 complemented by basic quantitative secondary data. This allows a more reliable
3 and complete combination that provides a more comprehensive understanding of the
4 research topic while also meeting the criteria of triangulation.
5
6
7 5.2 Criteria for judging the quality of research designs
8 Since a research design is thought to present a logical report, a series of logical tests
9 are good ways to examine all of them. Yin (2003) refers to four design tests:
30
1 construct validity – establishing accurate operational measures for the concepts
2 being studied
3 internal validity – establishing an informal relationship, whereby certain
4 circumstances are distinguished from false relationships
5
6 external validity – establishing the domain to which a study’s findings can be
7 generalised
8 reliability – demonstrating that the operations of a study, such as the data collection
9 procedures, can be repeated with the same results.
40
1
2 5.3 Triangulation
3 The basic concept of triangulation is that qualitative and quantitative methods have to be
4 seen as complementary rather than polar opposites (Jick, 1979). Denzin (1984) classifies
5 four types of triangulation:
6
711
8
A critical evaluation of strategic market entry theories and practices 163
111 mode when it entered the Chinese market was government regulations. With regards to HP
2 in the Czech Republic, in the era of former Czechoslovakia HP had only a representative
3 office there, though after the political and economic reforms HP did change its form in
4 the Czech Republic.
5 The research has shown that, unless there are legal restrictions, the computer
6 manufacturers need majority ownership so that they can control the direction of
7 their operation, mainly because of the risk commitment involved. This can be linked
8 to the theory of ‘ownership advantage’ (Dunning, 1981) and the ‘internalisation theory’
9 (Kwon and Konopa, 1993) whose purpose is to minimise the risk when entering the
1011 foreign markets.
1
2
6.5 External factors influence entry decision making
3
4 6.5.1 Political/legal risks
5 As frequently mentioned in existing literature, China faces major democracy issues,
6 though it does increasingly adopt more open economic policies. However, these issues still
7 appear to be a critical disadvantage of the Chinese market. The regulatory environment
8 remains volatile, especially in view of alleged corruption issues and a relatively weak legal
9 system. HP’s choice of the ‘joint venture’ method is in itself a result of government
2011 regulation. Irrespective of government regulation though, joint venture is a very suitable
1 option in terms of entry strategies when doing business in China.
2 As previously mentioned, HP initially entered former Czechoslovakia by establishing
3 there only a representation office. After the political and economic reforms HP created
4 a wholly-owned subsidiary in 1991, an important year of economic reform for former
5 Czechoslovakia. This year saw an economic reform programme being enforced with the
6 purpose of easing the transition to a market economy. The liberalisation of the market,
7 the efficient control of macroeconomic factors and privatisation were the three directions
8 of this economic reform programme. The result was an evolutionary transformation
9 at both the political and the economic level with a proportional decrease in both the
30 political and economic risks.
1
2 6.5.2 Economic factors
3 With the aspiration for economic development, the Chinese government offers many
4 investment incentives to foreign investors, especially for technology-based businesses.
5 There are three different types of foreign investment categories in China: the
6 ‘encouraged’, the ‘restricted’ and the ‘prohibited’. The technology-focused investments
7 belong to the ‘encouraged’ category. The Czech Republic’s government, in order to attract
8 the foreign investors, has invested a lot into attracting foreign businesses, especially
9 through the adoption of foreign investment incentives policies. In some special cases,
40 the foreign investors were asked what they wanted and what would attract them to invest
1 in the market before making the investment incentive regulations. However, there is no
2 special treatment in the destructive sense.
3
4 6.5.3 Cultural distance
5 Further to the political risks mentioned earlier, the cultural differences present another
6 significant risk when entering the Chinese market. This is especially true for the
711 businesses which are affected most by the frequently met negative attitude of the
8
166 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 Chinese towards Western attitudes and culture, especially the USA and all associated
2 symbols and brands. Two other places though, Taiwan and Hong Kong, show the way by
3 providing tested solutions of this issue. As a consequence of their substantially different
4 modern historic development, Hong Kong and Taiwan have developed the ability to
5 accept and utilise the Western culture. That is one of the reasons why there are so many
6 Taiwanese in the Chinese HP.
7 This has minimised the negative effects of cultural distance in the case of the HP
8 entrance into the Chinese market. Nevertheless, the cultural incompatibility is not simply
9 a result of locality differentiating factors but, also, largely one of political/economic
1011 background. Within this context one needs to add the practical isolation of the country for
1 many decades from the rest of the world, an approach and attitude though that is changing
2 fast. However, its effects are still very much real and are evidently mirrored in the business
3 dealings of Chinese people and organisations even with their Western counterparts.
4 A similar situation has also occurred in the Czech Republic. This is mostly evident in the
5 case of local distributors who display limited knowledge in marketing concepts and
6 practices and find it difficult to adapt to free-market profit-orientated conditions.
7 These situations can be identified as the strategic variable (Hill et al., 1990) and the
8 internal factors in the internalisation theory (Kwon and Konopa, 1993). The governments
9 of both countries are aware of the importance of this issue. Therefore, both have tried to
2011 overcome the same problems by adopting different strategies. In China, the government
1 has largely dealt with the problem by relaxing the restrictions of going and/or studying
2 abroad as compared with the Czech Republic where the government encourages
3 transactions and interaction with other European countries such as Germany and actively
4 participates in European Union affairs.
5
6 6.6 Competitive advantages
7
8 Each multinational enterprise has its own unique combination of resources that define
9 the development of its strategy and ultimately affect its performance. For HP two appear
30 to stand above the rest.
1
2 6.6.1 Network
3 This is a homogeneous grouping of branches, subsidiaries and representative offices and
4 it operates on three levels: global, regional and national. HP is running its business in more
5 than 160 countries worldwide. In the IT industry, companies compete not only on the
6 quality of their products but also on the basis of their knowledge and experiences,
7 including R&D capabilities, technological and market knowledge, service experiences
8 and others. In the Czech Republic though HP has just three branches and still manages
9 to maintain a competitive advantage through its global network..
40
1 6.6.2 Human resources
2 As previously mentioned, the intangible assets are frequently more valuable than the
3 tangible assets. The human resource asset is probably the most important of the former.
4 Since HP has developed its business at a global level, it has many employees who have
5 a rich profile in terms of product knowledge, market understanding and international
6 experiences. This has proved to be especially helpful in penetrating the Chinese market.
711 Owing to HP’s past experiences with other Asian markets such as Taiwan, Singapore and
8
A critical evaluation of strategic market entry theories and practices 167
111 Hong Kong, the company was ready to face up to problems and it had the background,
2 mechanisms but most importantly the people to deal with these. Though HP faced
3 different situations when it first entered the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at the time)
4 it still largely relied on the human resources of its international network to resolve
5 the problems that appeared. This human resource advantage had been a key factor in
6 their success in view of the fact that, at the time, the consistency of the local company
7 (HP s.r.o.) was largely regulated.
8
9
1011 7 Conclusions
1
2 For a number of reasons, including cost-reduction and benefits from economies of
3 scale, many multinational enterprises use the standardisation strategy in manufacturing
4 and marketing when entering foreign markets. However, owing to different macro- and
5 micro-environmental factors, standardisation strategies are, equally, frequently
6 incapable of serving the companies that adopt them towards internationalisation.
7 Correspondingly and proportionately therefore, multinational enterprises have to adapt
8 to the local environment or adopt other, integrated strategies. This research has examined
9 the case of HP which adopted different entry strategies when it entered different foreign
2011 markets. In both these cases, China and the Czech Republic, the most important factor
1 which affected the entry strategy decision was the political-legal environment.
2 HP entered China and the Czech Republic markets at different chronological
3 and historic points in time and for different reasons that were mainly determined by
4 host-country specific characteristics. The main reason for entering the Czech Republic
5 was the location advantages it offered along with the need to satisfy a network of global
6 customers. Upon arrival in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at the time), HP had only
7 one representative office as a result of the high political risk and large cultural distance.
8 However, after the political and economic reforms in the Czech Republic that liberalised
9 the market and secured foreign investments, HP changed its strategy from having a
30 representative office to a wholly-owned subsidiary.
1 With regards to China, its size and consequent potential was the major reason HP
2 chose to enter its market. In contrast to the case of the Czech Republic though, China is
3 deemed still to face substantial issues of democracy and state intervention, while
4 overall political risk is – despite the many positive changes – still comparatively high.
5 HP therefore, chose in this case a different and more secure strategy; that of ‘joint venture’
6 which also satisfies the Chinese government’s regulatory constraints. Despite the apparent
7 shortcomings of entering the Chinese market though, there are some major attractions that
8 large companies at least cannot allow to pass unnoticed. Apart from the obvious market
9 size and global customer service needs, the first attraction is the investment incentives.
40 The Chinese government offers many incentives to the ‘encouraged project’ category
1 (see analysis above), such as taxation benefits and priority treatment in the provision of
2 basic infrastructure services and supplies. Unfortunately, owing to the confidentiality
3 of the subject matter this research was unable to establish the specific-to-HP
4 incentives. Another significant attraction is the fact that the ‘cultural-differences-problem’
5 is offset by the fact that companies like HP can locally utilise personnel from other
6 countries which is more culturally understanding than the Chinese market and system
711 demands. The China HP makes good use of its major global competitive advantage
8
168 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 (the internationally experienced employees) to make up for this risk. Owing to the huge
2 cultural gap between the Western and Eastern countries, HP called up the employees
3 who worked in the branches both in Taiwan and in Hong Kong to work for the China HP.
4
5
6 8 Research limitations and further research
7
8 Owing to strict company policy there was very limited willingness on behalf of employees
9 to be interviewed and when they did accept they were very apprehensive and conservative
1011 in their responses, asking for their identities to be concealed. Additionally, interviews
1 were conducted out of company time and this made interviewees very time-conscious.
2 Further to the above and regarding the wider research approach and findings, another
3 limitation is the case-study method itself. The research specifically focuses on the case
4 of HP and only two countries. This provides valuable understanding of the case and it
5 does test a number of theories but at the same time it provides only indications as far
6 as its applicability is concerned to other countries and/or other industries and/or other
7 companies.
8 Though the subject of internationalisation and market-entry strategies is
9 well-researched, it is not saturated. First of all, the subject is correspondingly dynamic
2011 to the continuous macro-environmental changes in global business. Secondly the subject
1 appears to be relatively less developed in connection to important markets such as China.
2 As a result it is recommended that further research should be conducted that will add
3 case studies but also interrelate and compare for comprehensive findings. Moreover, the
4 research should be across industries to look for differences and similarities. Finally, the
5 area that surfaces as the least developed in terms of academic research is that of SME
6 market entry, especially in China. Research concentration on this would provide excellent
7 value both to the academic and the business community internationally.
8
9
30 References
1
2 Amaratunga, D. and Baldry, D. (2001) ‘Case study methodology as a means of theory building:
3 performance measurement in facilities management organisations’, Work Study, Vol. 50,
No. 3, pp.95–104.
4
5 Anderson, E. and Gatignon, H. (1986) ‘Mode of foreign entry: a transaction cost analysis and
propositions’, Journal of International Business Studies, pp.1–26.
6
Anderson, O. (1997) ‘Internationalisation and market entry mode: a review of theories and
7
conceptual framework’, Management International Review, Vol. 37, pp.27–42.
8
Bett, K.S. (2002) ‘China’s pollution progress slows’, Environmental Science and Technology,
9 Vol. 36, No. 15, p.A308.
40
Bjorklund, K. (2001) ‘Czech Republic: private equity and venture capital developments’,
1 International Financial Law Reviews, p.149.
2 Buckley, P. and Casson, M. (1976) The Future of Them Multinational Enterprises,
3 London: Macmillan.
4 Central Intelligence Agency (2004) The World Factbook.
5 Cho, S. and Tung, S. (1998) ‘Investment incentive zones and regional tax incentive policy in
6 the People’s Republic of China’, The International Tax Journal, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.81–92.
711
8
A critical evaluation of strategic market entry theories and practices 169
111 Czech Statistical Office (online) (cited 24 July 2004a) available from: http://
2 www.czso.cz/eng/edicniplan.nsf/o/5206-03-_in_2001-metodicke_vysvetlivky.
3 Czech Statistical Office (online) (cited 24 July 2004b) available from:
4 http://www.czso.cz/eng/edicniplan.nsf/publ/2EF72BA59258548DC1256DFF003F633B/$File/
F101.xls
5
Denzin, H. (1984) The Research Act, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
6
7 Drury, G. (2001) ‘Czech Republic: the Czech Republic’s industrial crown’, Corporate Location,
p.29.
8
Dunning, J.H. (1981) International Production and the Multinational Enterprise,
9 London: Allen and Unwin.
1011
Dunning, J.H. (1992) Multinational enterprises and the Global Economy,
1 Harlow: Addison-Wesley.
2 Euromonitor (online) (cited 20 July 2004) available from: http://www.euromonitor.com
3 /GMID/default.asp
4 Gelb, C. and Hulme, V.A. (2002) ‘Ensuring health and safety in China operation’,
5 The China Business Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp.40–46.
6 Hill, W.L., Hwang, P. and Kim, W.C. (1990) ‘An eclectic theory of the choice of international
7 entry mode’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11, pp.117–128.
8 Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2001) Strategic Management-Competitiveness
9 and Globalization (4th Edn.), Ohio: South-Western College Pub.
2011 Intriligator, M.D. (1998) ‘Democracy in reforming collapsed communist economies: blessing
1 or curse?’, Contemporary Economic Policy, Huntington Beach, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.241–246.
2 Jeannet, J. and Hennessy, H. (2001) Global Marketing Strategies (5th Edn.), USA: Houghton
3 Mifflin Company, p.381.
4 Jick, T.D. (1979) ‘Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: triangulation in action’,
5 Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.602–611.
6 Kwon, Y.C. and Konopa, L.J. (1993) ‘Impact of host country market characteristics on the choice
of foreign market entry mode’, International Marketing Review, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp.60–76.
7
8 Lieberthal, K. (2003) ‘China in 2033’, The China Business Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp.42–46.
9 Lu, J.W. (2002) ‘Intra and inter-organisational imitative behaviour: institutional influences on
Japanese firms’ entry mode choice’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1,
30 pp.19–37.
1
Mahli, P. (1998) ‘Logistipark ready to use investment incentives to attract technology sector
2 highway access and less bureaucracy are offered’, Journal of Commerce, Vol. 2, p.13.
3 Makino, S. and Yiu, D. ( 2002) ‘The choice between joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary: an
4 institutional perspective’, Organisation Science, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp.667–683.
5 Manrai, L.A., Manrai, A.K. and Lascu, D.N. (1996) ‘Eastern Europe’s transition to a market
6 economy: an analysis of economic and political risks’, Journal of EuroMarketing, Vol. 5,
7 No. 1. pp.7–36.
8 National Bureau of Statistics of China (online) (cited 1 Aug 2004) available from:
9 http://www.stats.gov.cn
40 OECD (online) (cited 30 July 2004a) available from: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/
1 59/63/2762605.pdf
2 OECD (online) (cited 30 July 2004b) available from: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/
3 60/32/2762738.pdf
4 Root, F.R. (1987) Entry Strategies for International Markets, Lexington: Lexington Books.
5 Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students,
6 UK: Pearson Education Ltd.
711
8
170 D. Vrontis, A. Thrassou and C-H. Wei
111 Schlevogt ,K.A. (2000) ‘China II. Investing and managing in China – how to dance with the dragon’,
2 Thunderbird International Business Review, Hoboken, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp.201–226.
3 Terpstra, V. and Sarathy, R. (1994) International Marketing (6th Edn.), USA: The Dryden Press.
4 Transparency International (2001) ‘Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States’,
5 Global Corruption Report 2001, Transparency International.
6 Transparency International (2003) ‘Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States’,
7 Global Corruption Report 2003, Transparency International.
8 Tse, D.K., Pan, Y. and Au, K.Y. (1997) ‘How MNCs choose modes and alliances: the China
experience’, Journal of International Business Studies, pp.779-805.
9
1011 UK Trade and Investment (online) (cited 25 July 2004) available from: http://
http://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/
1
White, C. (2004) Strategic Management, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
2
3 Whittington, R. (2001) What is Strategy and Does it Matter? (2nd Edn.), London: Thomson
Learning.
4
Wong, K. (2003) ‘The impacts of China’s WTO accession on the Southeast Asian economies:
5 a theoretical analysis’, China Economic Review, Vol. 14, pp.208–226.
6
Yin, R.K. (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Beverly Hills, CA:
7 Sage Publication Inc.
8
9
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
40
1
2
3
4
5
6
711
8