Department of General Management

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Browsing Department of General Management by Author "Dornberger, Utz"

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    Institutions and diversification of international markets: A study of clothing manufacturers from Tanzania and Kenya
    (Palgrve Macmillan, 2015-05-05) Rwehumbiza, Deusdedit; Nabi, Md. Noor Un; Dornberger, Utz
    Contrary to numerous studies that have documented bottlenecks to international operations of companies from Africa, this research investigates key drivers of their endeavours. A surveyed sample of 105 clothing manufacturing enterprises from Tanzania and Kenya is used to analyse the influence of institutional support on firm’s specific capabilities towards international market diversification in terms of export intensity and geographic diversity. While the results for Kenya indicate a strong link between institutional support and firms’ specific capabilities towards geographic diversity of foreign markets, such a link is highly blurry in the case of Tanzania. As regards Kenya, such results underpin the applicability of institution-based view and Dunning’s eclectic theory. Results also reveal that where institutional support is limited, firms in both countries build their own manufacturing capabilities. These results are consistent with the resource-based view, which underscores firms’ accumulation of internal resources and capabilities without putting much emphasis on their external sources. In either case, geographic diversity of clothing manufacturers is not significantly influenced by institutional support. At the macro-level, research findings challenge case countries to enhance institutional and regulatory frameworks in favour of all sectors with growth potential. At the micro-level, firms are challenged to avoid overdependence on government interventions in order to thrive. The bottom line is that despite the influence of institutional support, firms’ resources and capabilities are a key precursor to international market diversification.
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    International expansion of clothing manufacturers from Kenya: A dichotomy between firms’ capabilities and institutional support
    (Aalborg University Press, 2016) Rwehumbiza, Deusdedit; Dornberger, Utz; Nabi, Md. Noor Un
    There is little if any scholarly work on institutions and internationalisation of companies from Africa. This research contributes to the clarification of the interactions between firms’ capabilities and institutional support in relation to international expansion. Using a cross-sectional sample of sixty surveyed enterprises and four case studies the article explains why clothing manufacturers from Kenya expand into non-African markets. To that end, the article builds on resource-based and institution-based views to uncover the circumstances under which each view precedes the other. Key findings reveal that institutional support attracts investors in this sector and influences their exports destination. However, since international expansion is an entrepreneurial activity, which entails continuity, firms-specific capabilities are found to be critical antecedents to international expansion.