This study analyzes the known antecedents of firm performance in emerging markets. It proposes a configurational approach for identifying the combinations of antecedents that are equifinally linked ...to high performance under different levels of institutional voids. The paper examines a sample of 200 firms based in 12 economies, focusing on the role of family management, vertical integration, firm size, internationalization and collaboration with other organizations. This study extends the research agenda on strategy and performance in emerging markets through a novel methodological approach, focusing on asymmetric and equifinal causal relationships. It examines an understudied region (Latin America) and industry (Agribusiness).
This study furthers the research agenda on Porter's generic strategies by exploring their implementation by firms that suffer from under representation in the literature. It focuses on agribusinesses ...based in emerging markets that specialize in high value added products. Relying on information collected through interviews, and a survey with 66 agribusinesses based in eight countries of Latin America, it examines the factors that distinguish firms implementing a differentiation strategy (DS). The findings provide interesting insights for scholars and practitioners alike, illustrating the strategic initiatives that DS firms use to ensure they command higher than average prices.
This case discusses Selectos, a retail chain based in El Salvador, which was put under severe strain when Walmart entered its domestic market, threatening the leading position it had acquired through ...many decades of investment. The case illustrates that Selectos succeeded in competing Vis a Vis Walmart because it implemented the principles of high reliability organizations. First, before Walmart entered the market, the Salvadoran company invested time and financial resources to audit its routines, finding several areas of improvement. Second, its core strategy was to focus on continuous improvements in its operations. Third, it engaged its workforce, and especially the shop floor managers, in the process of executing its strategy at the whole corporate level. Fourth, through consultation with the managers of its functional areas, it enacted systems to manage unexpected events, ranging from hurricanes to violent attacks on its facilities (preparation for unexpected events). The case is designed to illustrate how a domestic firm from an emerging market competes with a leading multinational corporation, emphasizing the importance of organizational learning, especially the development of routines and mechanisms that allow for flexibility and adaptability to changes in conditions.
This paper uses a configurational perspective to examine high perceived value differentiation strategies of agribusiness in Latin America. Relying on information collected through interviews and a ...survey conducted with 200 firms, we explore the elements of the differentiation strategies adopted by the firms in this empirical context. We apply fsQCA to uncover asymmetric, complex causality. The findings provide interesting insights for scholars and practitioners alike, illustrating the strategic initiatives that the surveyed firms pursue to obtain higher perceived value than their competitors.
As part of a cooperative effort between the Journal of Business Research (JBR) and the Business Association of Latin American Studies (BALAS), this special issue brings updated research on the Latin ...American business environment. Out of 226 papers submitted to the BALAS 2012 conference, which was hosted by the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), 22 were pre-selected to run for publication in this special issue — and only 14 actually were accepted after the demanding three rounds of a double blind review process that was run after the conference. This introduction to the special issue of the JBR on the BALAS 2012 conference brings an overview of the changes that have taken place in the business environment of Latin America, the evolution of the internationalization behavior of Latin American firms and the changes in their strengths to compete both domestically and abroad.
This study advances the proposition that applying core tenets of complexity theory is useful for solving the “crucial problem” in strategic management—describing, explaining, and predicting firm ...heterogeneity. The study describes the core tenets (e.g., the necessity of constructing models for cases with relationship reversals to a significant main effect—cases occur whereby both high and low scores of an antecedent condition indicate high scores in an outcome condition; asymmetric models are necessary because the causes of successful outcomes are not the mirror opposite of the causes of unsuccessful outcomes). Constructing “somewhat precise outcomes models” (SPOM) rather than null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST) is the principal analytic tool. The study describes asymmetric models of implemented strategy and competitive advantage for ROE, negation of ROE, and complex outcome statements for agribusiness firms (n=247) across seven Latin America national as well as tests the predictive validities of models across specific nations for the models of sampled firms within Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The findings support the propositions that constructing complex antecedent statements (i.e., algorithms/configurations/recipes/screens) are useful for indicating high performance or the negation of high performance consistently. Configural implemented strategy models have direct influences on both high and low performance outcomes, while competitive advantage models impact low, but not, high performance outcomes. Complex competitive advantage conditions contribute indirectly to high performance outcomes.
This paper explores the economic trends of Latin America, highlighting their influences on the strategies and behaviors of different types of businesses. It introduces a Special Issue featuring a ...selection of the best papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on Strategic Management in Latin America, held at INCAE Business School in 2015. The theme for this Conference was: “Strategies for Growth, Regional Expansion and Global Competition”. The Conference provided a big opportunity to exchange theoretical insights, empirical research results and applications of current Latin American strategic management issues.
Family business continuity plans commonly establish a governance structure for the family and for the family business. The purpose of those structures is to improve strategy and control mechanisms of ...the family business and, to organize the communication and relationship between family owners and business executives. This research focuses on assessing the impact of those structures on family business performance. Specifically, the study assesses the impact a professional board of directors has on a company's performance. The research team selected a set of 22 family businesses. Some of these families have undergone a process of developing a family protocol over the last seven years. The authors captured the relevant information for this research by sending out a survey to each family member and to each non-family director or executive.
Business models are configurations (i.e., recipes) that influence a firm's success or failure. Asymmetric theory can be useful for describing recipes that express outcomes of success or failure. This ...study analyzes data from a survey of senior executives in 247 South and Central American firms. Questions measure strategy elements and success of the firm. Conventional business measures success using sales and return on investment. The model breaks strategies into two groups, organizational and marketing. The study focuses on recipes of each strategy group that produce both high and low sales and high and low return on equity. The recipes show that configurations of organizational and marketing strategies are excellent predictors of high sales but only good predictors of high return on equity. The model shows that organizational strategies can predict high presence of the marketing strategies. Own brand share proves to be a necessary marketing strategy in predicting high ROE and high sales warranting further research into what organizational strategies are high predictors of own brand share.
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