| With the development of global economic integration,more and more enterprises begin to focus their attention on international markets,and to expand internationally by establishing many subsidiaries or making foreign acquisitions,to gain their competitive advantages in international markets.The internationalization of enterprises has been widely concerned by academic scholars.Even though for multinational enterprises,their most of business activities are completed in home market,namely multinational enterprises have a high degree of domestic footprint.However,whether multinational enterprises' business status in home market can have an impact on their subsequent overseas expansion behaviors and what impact is it is also an important question,which is worth studying and discussing.Currently,few researchers pay their attention on this question.Despite some studies from the perspective of multinational enterprises business operation results,explore and discuss the relationship between multinational enterprises' business status and their expansion behaviors,these studies make multinational enterprises' business status as a whole to investigate,not able to focus on multinational enterprises' business status in home market,i.e.multinational enterprises' domestic footprint.On the one hand,all business statusmay not accurately reflect their operations in home market.Because multinational enterprises' business status not only contains their business status in home market,but also contains their business status in overseas market.Making multinational enterprises' performance as a whole to investigate is difficult to reveal the relationship between multinational enterprises' business status in home market and their subsequent overseas expansion behaviors.On the other hand,due to the most of multinational enterprises' business status occurred in-home market,which reveals that the different in the importance between multinational enterprises' home business status and overseas business status for multinational enterprises,and obviously,multinational enterprises' home business status are relatively more important.Thus,to investigate and discuss the relationship between multinational enterprises' business status in home market and their subsequent overseas expansion behaviors has vital significance and values.In addition,when multinational enterprises make decisions,they usually not only care their current business status,but also focus on their past business status,and compare the current with the past so as to understand and realize the multinational enterprises' current state in business,to know the multinational enterprises' current condition is relatively stable or with great degree of fluctuation.These conditions will affect multinational enterprises' subsequent international expansion behaviors.Thus,based on the performance feedback theory,this paper explores and analyzes the relationship between the volatility degree of domestic footprint of multinational corporations and its subsequent overseas expansion behaviors.In addition,this paper discusses the moderating role of the slack resources,internationalization experience and CEO openness to change,put forward the corresponding theoretical hypotheses,so as to filling the research lacuna and enrich the current research results.In order to test the proposed theoretical hypothesis,this study collects 399 data that used for analysis based on the overseas investment data of Chinese listed companies and the operating status of listed companies in their home countries.Through detailed data analysis and testing,the study has reached the following four conclusions:(1)Through the analysis,this paper finds that when the degree of volatility of domestic footprints of a multinational enterprise is greater,it tends to enter a country with a large difference in the environment of home country.For multinational companies,the degree of volatility of their domestic footprint reflects the stability and sustainability of multinational companies' business activities in the home market for several consecutive years.The degree of volatility measures the sustainability of multinational corporations' operations in the home country market.It is the comparison of the operating status of multinational enterprises in home market with their previous or historical operating status.The relative performance of an enterprise in the home market can reveal the extent to which a multinational company's current operating conditions in home market deviate from its original operating conditions.The greater the volatility of domestic footprint of multinational corporations,the more the current operations of multinational corporations deviate from their stable and sustainable development goals,and they cannot achieve stable and sustainable operation and development.However,for enterprises,it is very important to achieve stable and sustained steady development in a long period.It is also a goal that enterprises or organizations strive for and hope to achieve.The greater the volatility of the domestic footprints,the greater the extent to which multinational corporations are currently deviating from their intended targets.According to the main point of performance feedback theory,an organization or enterprise is rational boundedly when making decisions.Additionally,its decision-making is a process of exploring and identifying alternatives.When the multinational enterprise's domestic footprint is more volatile,it will carry out a series of ‘problem search' to solve its problem in order to solve its current biased target(referring to a stable and sustainable development).When conducting a search for a problem,it first conducts a ‘local search' by seeking a solution to the problem in its existing knowledge set.But because the degree of volatility of domestic footprint shows the operating status of the multinational company over a period of time,rather than operating at a certain point in time,the greater the volatility of domestic footprint,indicating that the current ‘local search' of multinational companies is difficult to provide solutions.In order to solve the current problem,multinational companies must explore more distantly,because distant problem search or exploratory problem search can help enterprises to get excellent solutions to problems,and distant exploration can break the organization's existing practices and bring new knowledge and solutions.According to the corresponding viewpoint of performance feedback,the degree to which the enterprise performance deviates from its expected goal positively correlates with the intensity of the search.That is to say,the greater the degree of deviation from the desired goal,the stronger the intensity and willingness of the search.In this case,the level of risk-taking of decision-makers will greatly improved,and decision-makers are more likely to adopt risky or aggressive strategic decisions,which are more concerned with the opportunity to explore problems than the risks they face.When companies search for problems,they often cause companies to make major changes,break their existing traditional organizational practices and business practices,and make major strategic adjustments.Therefore,in the case of international expansion,when the volatility of domestic footprint of a multinational enterprise is greater,it is more likely to explore the solution to the problem by taking some high-risk or aggressive overseas expansion strategic actions.In addition,the degree of volatility is larger,it means that multinational corporations are more urgent for distant search,and thus they are more willing to adopt an adventurous international expansion strategy,that is,they are more willing to enter countries with large differences in their home country environment.(2)This paper finds that slack resources currently owned by multinational corporations can positively moderate the relationship between the degree of volatility of domestic footprint and their subsequent overseas expansion behaviors.That is,those of multinational enterprises with low slack resources,multinational companies with more slack resources,when they are more volatile in the home market,are more willing to go to overseas markets that have large differences with their home country.There are two main reasons: first,the existence of slack resources is a basis for organizations or enterprises to search,especially for those search activities that are more distant.The slack resources an organization or enterprise has more,the better it will be for the organization to search and explore problems in the face of turbulence and uncertainty.Because when a company or organization has enough slack resources,it can better explore unfamiliar areas and obtain new knowledge that is significantly different from existing knowledge,thus bringing the current problems of the organization or enterprise.A new solution that will increase the organization or business' s exploration of the problem.Existing research has found that when organizations or companies have more financial slacks,companies or organizations will conduct more exploration and more long-distance search behavior.On the other hand,slack resources can act as a buffer effectively helping enterprises or organizations to cope with the corresponding threats of internal and external environments,and help enterprises to achieve more effective and flexible development strategies without adhering to traditional practices and practices.The more slacks an organization or enterprise has,the opportunity for a business or organization to provide trial and error when exploring problems.When companies or organizations with more slacks explore the problem,they are more concerned about whether the current problem solved,rather than the cost that the enterprise or organization is currently searching.The slack resources owned by the organization or enterprise facilitate its quest for the corresponding potential opportunities.Therefore,the more slacks an organization or enterprise has,the stronger its ability to take risks and the more likely it is to conduct a series of explorations that were previously not possible due to resource constraints.Therefore,compared with those multinational enterprises with less slcaks,multinational enterprises with more slacks have more space and opportunities to conduct a problem when their operations have problems and need to search for problems.The series of exploration actions will break the existing organizational practices and practices,and carry out some risky strategic decisions and strategic adjustments.In an international context,it is more likely to adopt more adventurous and radical expansion strategy.(3)Through analysis,this paper finds that internationalization experience of multinational corporations is positively moderating the relationship between the volatility degree of domestic footprint and its subsequent overseas expansion behaviors.That is,compared with those of multinational companies that have not gained enough international experience,the multinational enterprises with enough international experience,when the volatility degree of domestic footprint is greater,multinational corporations will increasingly enter the markets of overseas countries that differ greatly from their home country's environment.The main reasons are as follows: First,the international experience of multinational corporations can help multinational corporations to identify relevant knowledge and information in overseas markets,and to understand the differences better between different countries.The various information and knowledge in the market can optimize the strategic decision-making of the company in the international market.Second,the international experience of multinational corporations reduces the uncertainty.It buffers the risks faced by multinational companies in the process of international expansion,making their managers underestimate the risks faced by real international expansion.Because multinational companies currently have richer international experience,their managers or decision-makers become more confident and radical in assessing risks and benefits in overseas markets,making managers more concerned with opportunities in international expansion,which have accelerated the subsequent international expansion of multinational corporations.Under these conditions,it will not pay much attention to the risks,and thus it will be risky international expansion strategy.Therefore,compared with multinational companies with lack of international experience,multinational companies with rich international experience have become more active in their overseas expansion strategy.(4)This paper finds that the CEOs' openness to change is positively moderating the relationship between the volatility degree of domestic footprint and their subsequent overseas expansion behaviors.That is,those with more CEOs' openness to change,compared with less CEOs' openness to change,when the volatility degree of domestic footprint is greater,CEO will be more likely to be carried out in overseas markets that differ greatly from their home country's environment.The main reasons are as follows: first,because compared with those CEOs are less openness to change,CEOs with more openness to change are more willing to break the traditional practices of organization,to search for and exploration of business practices.When the domestic footprint of a multinational enterprise is highly volatile,it indicates that its current operation and development in the home country market has encountered some problems.In order to change the current problem and solve the problem,it is necessary to search for the answer to the question.Seeking new knowledge to solve current problems,and CEOs with more openness to change have greater curiosity,which tends to solve a series of complex and abrupt problems within and outside the organization.In this case,for an openness CEO,it will tend to adopt some transformative strategic actions rather than stick to past practices.Second,CEOs with more openness to change prefer to challenge authority,routine,and traditional practices within the organization.For an openness CEO,organizational routines can bebroken,and companies need to innovate themselvesconstantly.CEO with more openness to change is more willing to accept and try something new.It is more open-minded and can accept some unconventional new ones that are significantly different from existing ones.Perspectives and new ideas,and for less-openness CEOs,when faced with difficulties and problems,they are more willing to seek answers to their questions from their existing organizational practices or business practices.CEOs with less openness to change adhere to traditions.As well as conventions,it is unlikely to accept some challenges,its relative conservativeness and tradition,which usually does not explore and pursue new opportunities and knowledge.Therefore,for a CEO with more openness to change,in the event of a crisis in the organization or enterprise,it will first be hostile to the existing traditions,practices and rules in enterprises,and it is more willing to develop and implement the organizational strategic change.Therefore,when multinational corporations encounter problems in the business development of their home markets,CEOs with more openness to change are more inclined to develop risky and bold international expansion strategies,that is,they are more likely to enter the environment that is different from their home country. |
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