Annie Peng Cui, Michael F. Walsh, Shaoming Zou
The impact of host�home country similarity on firm performance has long been debated in the international marketing literature with inconclusive, if not contradictory, findings. Taking a contingency perspective, this study proposes that a small or medium-sized enterprise's (SME's) global market performance depends on the strategic fit between its exploration and exploitation strategies and its host country choice. The results of a survey of chief executive officers and senior international marketing managers of SMEs in the United States show that the impact of host�home country similarity on SMEs' international performance is moderated by their choice of exploration and exploitation strategies. Specifically, host�home country similarity has a positive impact on an SME's international performance when the firm adopts an exploitation strategy. Conversely, host�home country similarity has a negative impact on an SME's international performance when it adopts an exploration strategy. Directly addressing the long-standing host�home country similarity debate in the international marketing literature, this study sheds additional light on the drivers for SMEs' internationalization success.
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