Nonmarket strategies predictors for foreign firms

This paper explores the preference of firms to use a particular type of proactive nonmarket strategy in a host environment and to identify which firm’s resources and role are underlying the preference. Based on international business, resource based view, and corporate political strategy literature, we identified
specific firm’s resources and roles which are most likely to affect the predilection for implementing a relational or a transactional nonmarket strategy by firms in a host environment. Evidence is provided by a survey sample of foreign firms operating in the Netherlands. It shows that firms do not prefer to use these proactive nonmarket strategies simultaneously. The results also show that firms enjoying high visibility and with a host country’s market focus are more inclined to implement a relational nonmarket strategy, while firms with a regional headquarters role and high host country experience prefer more to use a transactional nonmarket strategy instead of a relational one.