The decline of global market leaders

Integrating capability-based and institution-based views in a multilevel framework, we argue that managerial capability to acquire loans to finance business expansion has an inverted U-shaped relationship with global market leadership. The negative effect on global market leadership of excessive loan-acquiring capability is amplified under business-friendly market institutions that ease access to credit. Managerial capability to utilize resources productively positively moderates the relationship between loan-acquiring capability and global market leadership. The role of resource-utilizing capability is attenuated under business-friendly market institutions that facilitate overinvestment. The study helps explain recent decline of global market leaders in advanced market economies.