A firm's specific advantages, diversification strategy, entry mode and performance : electrical and electronic industry in Thailand | |
| Author | Hla Theingi |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SM-07-06 |
| Subject(s) | Electric industries--Thailand Electronic industries--Thailand Business enterprises--Thailand Business planning--Thailand |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Business |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The objective of this study is to investigate the entry mode decision and to assess performance of Multinational corporations (MNCs) in electrical and electronic industry in Thailand for the period of 1995 to 1998 and 2000 to 2004. Firm's specific advantages (FSA) such as MNCs' host experience, international experience and their R&D intensity were found to be important in explaining the firm's choice of entry mode. It was also found that related diversifiers had a higher degree of preference for the joint venture (JV) entry mode. Furthermore, FSA and diversification strategy in combination influenced entry mode selection. The combined effect was more robust than their individual effects on entry mode. During 1995 to 1998 period, MNCs that chose the wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) were found to, on average, perform better than those that chose JV entry mode option even though these performance differences were minimal. However, in the 2000 to 2004 period, average financial performances of JV were found to be better than those of WOS on return on sales (ROS), return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) measures, but the significant result was found only on ROS measure. However, on sales growth measure, performance of WOS was found to be consistently better in both periods, but significant differences were found in 2000 to 2004 period. The results of yearly mean performance comparison analyses confirmed the fact that the results of the research findings depended on when the study was conducted and which performance measures were used. It was also found that performance differences between WOS firms and JV firms during 1995 to 1997 were due to its financing strategy; however, performance differences between WOS firms and JV firms during 2000 to 2004 were due to how well the firm managed its assets in creating sales and how well the firm controlled its operating and financing expenses. The results also indicated that over the period from 1995 to 2004, ROA, ROE and ROS of WOS were found to be increasing whereas those of JV were found to be decreasing. Moreover, financial performance of WOS was found to be more stable. Based on the ROE performance of MNCs, it could be concluded that MNCs could achieve better performance either by choosing JV to enter into related business or by choosing WOS to conduct unrelated business. The result also indicated that in measuring performance of the firm, whether certain MNCs with WOS or JV are performing better than the others highly depends on the use of different performance measures. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Tang, John C. S. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Vatcharaporn Esichaikul ;Singha Chiamsiri ;Sununta Siengthai ;Beng, Chew Soon |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |