The Long-Term Development of Professional Services Firms’ Entry and Operation Modes: a Regional Approach
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The Long-Term Development of Professional Services Firms’ Entry and Operation Modes: A Regional Approach Master’s Thesis in International Management (6314M0251Y) MSc. in Business Administration – International Management Faculty of Economics and Business Universiteit van Amsterdam Supervisor: Dr. Johan Lindeque Second Reader: Dr. Francesca Ciulli Student: Laura S. Kaufmann Student ID: 11410450 Date of Submission: 23rd June 2017 Word Count: 17.727 (excluding tables and figures) ABSTRACT This study sets out to research the evolvement of MNEs’ entry and operation modes in different geographical regions over time through a longitudinal study. The conceptual foundation of the study is composed of a modern conceptualization of regions put forward by Ghemawat and Altman (2016) and the influence of inter- and intra-regional LOF on MNEs’ regionalization, which are approached from an MNE and a location perspective. Furthermore, asset specificity is integrated in the analysis of the data, while through the purposive sampling of the Big Four, which are all active in the professional services industry, industry specificity is assumed. Following Benito et al.’s (2009) call for qualitative research of MNEs’ operation mode configurations, this study adopts a qualitative, multiple-case study design. Data of the Big Four are collected through using several sources, which include corporate websites and documents, Bloomberg and the databases LexisNexis and Orbis. The findings suggest that, even though the study attempted to advance from the traditional regional classification of the extended triad by Rugman and Verbeke (2004), most of the PSFs’ activities are located within the extended triad regions. Regarding the PSFs’ entry modes, the most notable finding is that the PSFs expanded intra-regionally with more confidence regarding the level of risk-taking, commitment, and ownership in North America than in East Asia and Pacific. Focusing on the operation modes, the findings reveal that neither the duration of the PSFs’ activities nor their financial performance in the host regions have an influence on the development of the operation modes, thereby contradicting the claims of several IB scholars (Pedersen et al., 2002; Ellis, 2005; Petersen et al., 2006; Swodoba et al., 2011). Most notably, even though there are no theoretical indicators to assume asset specificity to be a decisive factor in the context of PSFs’ regionalization, the findings of this study show that most foreign direct investments took place in the PSFs’ consulting business area and moreover, that such foreign direct investments are very likely to be executed with higher-commitment operation modes. Keywords: Regionalization, entry mode, operation mode, liability of foreignness, professional services firms (PSF). STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This document is written by Student Laura Kaufmann who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After initially hesitating if a Master’s in Business Administration would be the right choice for me, I am very glad today that I have made that decision to come to Amsterdam a year ago. I have had an incredible journey over the past years and I am excited to finish my Master’s with this thesis. I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Johan Lindeque for his very constructive and encouraging feedback throughout the past months. With his passion for research he challenged and motivated me to make the most out of this thesis. I would like to thank Jaap for his patience and encouragement during the sometimes-long study hours. And last, I would like to thank my parents and my whole family for the infinite support and encouragement during every step that has led me up to where I am today! Und zu guter Letzt möchte ich mich bei meinen Eltern und meiner ganzen Familie bedanken. Ohne Eure einzigartige Unterstützung und Vertrauen, wäre ich heute nicht da, wo ich jetzt bin. Ich bin froh, so eine tolle Familie zu haben und danke Euch von ganzem Herzen! TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Conceptual Foundation ....................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Regionalization ............................................................................................................ 5 2.1.1. Liability of Foreignness ....................................................................................... 7 2.1.2. An MNE Perspective on LOF .............................................................................. 9 2.1.3. A Location Perspective on LOF ......................................................................... 11 2.1.4. Industry Specificity ............................................................................................ 13 2.1.5. Asset Specificity ................................................................................................. 13 2.2. Strategic Management of Intra- and Inter-Regional LOF ......................................... 14 2.2.1. Entry Mode ......................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2. Foreign Operation Mode .................................................................................... 19 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.1. Research Philosophy .................................................................................................. 22 3.2. Multiple-Case Study Research Design ...................................................................... 22 3.2.1. Quality Criteria ................................................................................................... 24 3.2.2. Case Selection .................................................................................................... 25 3.3. Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 27 3.3.1. Regional Orientation .......................................................................................... 28 3.4. Data Analysis and Analytical Strategy ...................................................................... 31 4. Results ............................................................................................................................... 33 4.1. Within-Case Analysis ................................................................................................ 33 4.1.1. Deloitte ............................................................................................................... 33 4.1.2. PricewaterhouseCoopers .................................................................................... 38 4.1.3. Ernst & Young ................................................................................................... 42 4.1.4. KPMG ................................................................................................................ 46 4.2. Cross-case Analysis ................................................................................................... 50 5. Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 55 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 59 References ................................................................................................................................ 62 Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix 1: Deloitte’s FDI 2012-2017 ................................................................................ 68 Appendix 2: PwC’s FDI 2012-2017 ..................................................................................... 78 Appendix 3: EY’s FDI 2012-2017 ....................................................................................... 85 Appendix 4: KPMG’s FDI 2012-2017 ................................................................................. 90 TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Regional Classification of Countries ........................................................................... 6 Figure 1: A Hierarchical Model of Choice of Entry Modes..................................................... 17 Figure 2: Case Design .............................................................................................................. 23 Table 2: The Sample ................................................................................................................ 26 Table 3: Overview of Available and Studied Data Sources and FDI ....................................... 28 Table 4: Regional Percentage of Total Global Revenues Generated in 2016 .......................... 29 Table 5: Regional Orientation .................................................................................................. 30 Table 6: Code Book .................................................................................................................