Dissertation: International performance of emerging market firms

Despite growing interest in emerging market firms, little is known about their international performance. In particular, integrated treatment of marketing and supply chain capabilities and their interaction with institutions in explaining emerging market firms’ international performance is missing in the existing literature.

The purpose of Gölgeci’s research is to examine the roles of market chains and supply chain capabilities of emerging market firms, in interaction with institutional contexts of host countries, in international performance of these. The research framework was refined and tested following a mixed-methods approach.

The qualitative study explores the interaction between market chains and supply chain capabilities. Drawing on a dyadic study of 14 Turkish firms, the findings reveal that supply chain agility and relational capability are pivotal dynamic capabilities emanating primarily from supply chain management domain, while innovativeness and absorptive capacity are key dynamic capabilities emanating primarily from marketing domain. The qualitative study findings also reveal that primary relationships between these market chains and supply chain capabilities are multifaceted.

The quantitative study draws on a sample of 540 managers from 270 firms and tests 11 hypotheses. The findings on the links between market chains and supply chain capabilities show that relational capability is an antecedent to innovativeness and absorptive capacity, both of which lead to increased supply chain agility. The findings also show that innovativeness, absorptive capacity, and supply chain agility positively influence international performance of emerging market firms, while the direct influence of relational capability is marginal. The findings on the role of host country institutional factors show that institutional development and institutional uncertainty mostly exhibit unexpected moderation on the focal links, while institutional distance partially confirms the hypotheses and positively moderate the influences of relational capability and supply chain agility on international performance of emerging market firms.

Overall, this dissertation shows that host country institutions and dynamic capabilities jointly influence international performance of emerging market firms, yet in unpredictable ways. These results lead to insightful theoretical contributions and applicable managerial and policy implications.

Public defence

The public examination of M.Sc. Ismail Gölgeci’s doctoral dissertation “International Performance of Emerging Market Firms: Marketing and Supply Chain Capabilities and Host Country Institutions” is on Tuesday 16 December at 13 o’clock in auditorium Nissi (Tritonia). Professor Olli Kuivalainen (Lappeenranta University of Technology) will act as opponent and professor Jorma Larimo as custos.

Orders and pdf