Real options theory in international business

• 成果类型: Review
• 署名作者: Chi, Tailan; Li, Jing; Trigeorgis, Lenos G.; Tsekrekos, Andrianos E.
• 署名单位: University of Kansas; Simon Fraser University; University of London; King's College London; Athens University of Economics & Business
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2506
• DOI: 10.1057/s41267-019-00222-y
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 525-553
• 关键词: Real options theory; market entry or exit; entry mode; multinational network; multinational enterprises (MNEs); firm performance

摘要

The last quarter century has witnessed substantial growth in applications of real options theory (ROT) to international business (IB) research. In this review, we explicate the core ROT concepts in the IB context and discuss the contributions of ROT-based research to three core IB issues: timing and scale of market entry or exit, entry mode and governance form, and the role of multinational networks. Based on our review, we propose a holistic ROT view of the multinational enterprise that synthesizes the insights of existing studies. Finally, to move the field forward, we highlight key questions and challenges in current ROT-based work, provide a more precise definition of exogenous and endogenous uncertainty, suggest empirical designs to test unique ROT predictions, and explore areas where ROT can be combined with other theoretical perspectives to better understand IB phenomena.