The impact of ownership, internalization, and entry mode on Japanese subsidiaries' performance in Brazil

Previous empirical researches on Japanese subsidiaries have found that wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) outperform joint venture (JV). However, these studies considered entry mode selection using a conventional ownership classification of JV, and limited their samples to developed countries and Asian developing countries. This paper examines entry mode based on non-conventional forms of JV, and the impact of ownership and internalization advantages on Japanese subsidiaries' performance in Brazil. The findings suggest that Japanese-Japanese JV with a partner that has previous experience accumulated in the local market performed better than WOS and Traditional IJV. In addition, ownership and internalization advantages of multinational enterprises have mixed impact on subsidiaries performance.