Are International and Product Diversification Substitutes or Complements? Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives
针对国际多元化和产品多元化关系研究结论不一致的问题，本文构建统一理论框架，分析两者在不同资源与市场环境下的替代或互补关系，并给出实证研究建议。
Research summary Extant research offers conflicting evidence on the nature and performance implications of a relationship between a firm's decision to expand (diversify) into new geographic and product markets; this article views that as being due to the lack of a consistent conceptual framework that incorporates and links both types of diversification. Accordingly, this article presents a consistent theoretical framework to identify and characterize alternative relationships between these two types of diversification strategies and what it might mean to characterize a particular relationship as evidencing substitution or complementarity. We show that the interplay between a firm's unique but limited resources and its particular market environment implies alternative and idiosyncratic relationships between these two diversification strategies, and we offer guidance on empirical approaches for investigating the identified relationships. Managerial summary This article presents a consistent theoretical framework to identify and characterize alternative relationships between a firm's decision to expand (diversify) into new geographic and product markets and what it might mean to characterize a given relationship as being one of substitutes for complements. Such characterization implies alternative performance outcomes when jointly engaging in these types of diversification strategies. We show that a firm's unique but limited resources and its particular market environment give rise to alternative and idiosyncratic relationships between these two types of diversification strategies, and we provide guidance on empirical approaches for investigating the identified relationships. Copyright © 2017 Strategic Management Society.