gender differential paper IJCRB

ijcrb.webs.com
JUNE 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 3, NO 2
management can be viewed as four essential stages based on key risks and firms’
management (Das and Teng, 1999).
1) selecting partner: finding a fit between firms, awareness both of resources fit and
strategic fit are needed. Resource fit refers to the resource that can be effectively integrated
into a value creation whereas strategic fit refers to the degree to which the partners have
agreeable goals in alliances.
2) structuring the alliances: There are various structures of alliances, such as joint ventures
and minority equity alliances to joint production, join marketing and so
forth. It is, therefore, important for firms to have the most appropriate types of partners.
One key to having an advantage is to consider the level of flexibility which affects alliance
formation and success.
3) operating alliances: effective cooperation is the foundation for collaborative firms to
pursue common advantage. As a result, firms restrain from their self-interested activities
and exploiting their partners for their private interest. However, it is unavoidable to focus
on their interest because competition is essential for firm to protect their tacit knowledge
and for preventing the alliance becoming a direct competitor.
4) evaluating alliances: There is no general acceptable measure of alliance performance,
but the most practical approach is to examine which alliance has served the objectives of
each partner. In evaluation, alliance performance is also realized either short-term
orientation or long-term orientation. Moreover, partner firms will consider overall context
more than just financial outcome. Although researchers agree that alliances evolve in
stages, research had failed to consider the stability area in each process. Then, Jiang, Li and
Gao (2008) followed four stages of Das and Teng (1999) which focus on the factors
underlying alliance stability in each stage to fill the managerial gap. Selecting a partner is a
critical first step. Firms should consider three crucial criteria; resource complementarities,
reputation and prior ties. Then, firms decide an appropriate governance form, alliance
scope and division of labor and then are committed to an alliance. The implementation
stage is important for alliance evolution and success, firm should manage unstable factors
and deal with adverse conditions. This lastly translates to performance outcome which is
assessed as the extent to which the partners’ set objectives are met.
Internationalization process
The internationalization process is the patterns of international operations which is the
basis of interaction between attitudes and actual behavior (Johanson and Widershiem,
1975). The most important obstacles to internationalization are the lack of knowledge and
resources, which can be reduced through incremental decision making and learning about
the foreign market and operations. Due to lack of knowledge and resources and to avoid
uncertainty, firms start exporting to their neighbor markets through independent
representatives.
A stepwise of the operation development in individual countries can be identified in four
stages, as shown below:
(1) no regular export activities: firms lack of information and experience to foreign market,
thus has no commitment of resources to the market.
(2) export via independent representatives (agents): firms have a channel to get regular
information, thus start commitment the market.
(3) sales subsidiary: firms prefer to control information that flows directly from markets to
firms.
(4) production/ manufacturing: firms make a larger resource commitment.
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