On the determinants of post-entry strategic positioning of foreign firms in a host market: A “strategy tripod” perspective

The post-entry strategic positioning in a host market is important for MNEs’ success, as firms must position properly in the marketplace to gain competitive advantage. However, little attention has been paid to firms’ strategic positioning in market center as generalist firms or market peripheries as specialist firms in a host market. This study adopts the “strategy tripod” perspective that integrates resource-, industry-, and institution-based views to investigate foreign firms’ strategic positioning (i.e. their choice of generalist or specialist strategy) in the U.S. host market. The findings of this study support the major hypotheses, suggesting that: (1) market concentration and foreign firms’ heterogeneous resources affect foreign firms’ strategic positioning; (2) institutional distance between host and home countries exerts confounding moderating effects on the relationship between firm resources and strategic positioning in the host market.