Entry Mode Degree of Control, Firm Performance and Host Country Institutional Development: A Meta-Analysis

Among studies on performance outcomes of entry mode choices disagreement fueled by ambiguous research findings is apparent as regards whether the best performers are those firms that enter foreign countries with high or low entry mode degree of control. To solve this dilemma and test new hypotheses, the relationship between entry mode degree of control and firm performance is examined by meta-analyzing 133 studies (740,114 observations) covering entry mode choices from 1980 to 2010. We find that (a) overall high-control entry modes lead to higher performance, and (b) adopting high-control entry modes is particularly important for firms entering developing countries.