Leadership, Orientations, and Global Boundaries: International Diversification & Firm Performance

Due to rapid globalization of industries, international diversification has become a very important albeit complex strategic decision for organizations. Firms have realized that in order to compete in the global marketplace and to sustain their competitive advantages, they have to engage in internationalization, and learn to manage in a more complex international environment. This study contributes to the extant literature on international diversification by developing and testing an integrated framework examining the influence of top management heterogeneity, as well as, firm-level strategic orientations (market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation) on international diversification. The framework also revisits and tests the international diversity-firm performance relation. Using data gathered from 234 managers from industries where international diversification is prevalent, the study demonstrates that both market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation bolster international diversification. ...