Expansion of an E-Commerce Company into the European Market: The Huboo Case
Author
Adriana Marisa Machado Palhau
Internship Report
Master in Economics of Business and Strategy
Supervisor
Professor Ana Paula Africano
2022
Declaration of Originality
I am aware of and understand the University of Porto policy on academic integrity and we have followed the good academic practices referred to in the UP Code of Academic Conduct.
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work except where there is clear acknowledgement and appropriate reference to the work of others. Citation and attribution rules were followed to the best of our knowledge. No portion of this work has been submitted as coursework in this or any other university or institution of learning by us or any other student.
_____________________________
Adriana Palhau
Acknowledgements
“Dare to dream big dreams. For those are the dreams that have the power to push your whole world forward.”
Ralph Marston (2021)
If there is one thing, I have learned in the last few months, it is that nothing happens randomly. Dreams are only possible when we believe in them, and we have people on our side who believe in who we are and in our work. And that is why it makes sense to start this internship report by thanking all the people who contributed in some way to the study described in this thesis. First and foremost, I want to thank all the people I met during the Erasmus study program in Frankfurt (Germany), as they were the ones who pushed me to challenge myself and continue this international experience. A special thanks to Peleg Hillel, Veronika Morozova, Agnieszka Zebrowska, Soyan Bae, Ana Ramiro and so many other amazing people who shared this international experience with me.
I thank my academic supervisor, Professor Ana Paula Africano, for all the support, availability, dedication and for the encouragement that did not let me give up the realization of this study.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my parents and my little sister for allowing and supporting me to carry out this international experience. Thank you for trusting me and letting me fly by myself.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Huboo Fulfilment for giving me the opportunity to have an international work experience and, for the knowledge that was transmitted to me, and also all those involved in the study (interviews), which I will not nominate for reasons of anonymity, for the kind and helpful staff who were willing to participate in it.
I also would like to thank all the people that worked along with me, in special Eliz Lebel- Akpolat, Paul Mockenhaupt, Jonathan Wallman, Cato Goffin, Annalena Ochs, Conor Hogan, Isabelle Hall, Marianna Frantzi, Melissa Finkele, Petra Koponen, Isabela Franiov, Joshua Philip, Vera Catalão, Luís Martins, such a long list I could go on.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Russell Patrick with whom I had the opportunity to work for five months. He taught me the importance of dreaming and thinking big, and still valuing my worth. Only we can determine our worth and, no person or company can diminish or offer less than what we deserve as the world has so much more to offer than it
Resumo
Nos dias de hoje, a internacionalização é uma das estratégias mais importantes que as empresas seguem para enfrentar a globalização e mercados cada vez mais competitivos.
Contudo, a internacionalização é um processo muito complexo que acarreta certos riscos e dificuldades, sendo o desconhecimento sobre os mercados externos uma das maiores dificuldades a superar. Neste contexto, as dimensões estratégicas dos recursos, da indústria e das instituições são decisivas no sucesso de qualquer processo de internacionalização. Neste relatório consideramos o tripé estratégico para analisar em que medida fatores relacionados com aquelas três dimensões estratégias afetam o desempenho das empresas que implementam um processo de internacionalização. Este estudo pretende analisar as dificuldades que as empresas podem ter na internacionalização para outros mercados. Para isso, estudamos o caso de uma start-up analisando dados obtidos durante o estágio internacional na Huboo Fulfilment. A metodologia aplicada é definida como um estudo de caso. A aplicação deste passou por 6 entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os entrevistados selecionados para a recolha de dados têm funções distintas na Huboo, o que contribui para a robustez dos resultados. As entrevistas revelaram que, as dimensões do tripé estratégico (Peng, 2001) - indústria, recursos e instituições – têm um impacto significativo na performance e decisão estratégica das empresas, durante o processo de internacionalização.
Através deste relatório, foi possível verificar o impacto que a cultura, a ética, a legislação, os conhecimentos e skills dos trabalhadores, o reconhecimento da marca, os recursos financeiros, a pressão concorrencial podem ter durante a expansão das empresas para novos mercados.
Código JEL: F00, F23
Palavras-chave: Internacionalização, Estágio, Huboo Fulfilment, Barreiras, Tripé Estratégico
Abstract
Nowadays, internationalization is one of the most important strategies that companies follow to face globalization and increasingly competitive markets. However, internationalization is a very complex process that entails certain risks and difficulties, and the lack of knowledge about foreign markets is one of the biggest difficulties to overcome. In this context, the strategic dimensions of resources, industry and institutions are decisive in the success of any internationalization process. In this report we consider the strategic tripod to analyse the extent to which factors related to those three strategic dimensions affect the performance of companies implementing an internationalization process. This study aims to analyse the difficulties that companies may have in internationalizing to other markets. For this, we studied the case of a start-up analysing data obtained during the international internship at Huboo Fulfilment. The methodology applied is defined as a case study. The application of this went through six semi-structured interviews. The interviewees selected for data collection have different roles at Huboo, which contributes to the robustness of the results.
The interviews revealed that the dimensions of the strategic tripod (Peng, 2001) - industry, resources, and institutions - have a significant impact on the performance and strategic decision of companies during the internationalization process. Through this report, it was possible to verify the impact that culture, ethics, legislation, knowledge and skills of workers, brand recognition, financial resources, competitive pressure can have during the expansion of companies into new markets.
JEL Code: F00, F23
Keywords: Internationalization, Internship, Huboo Fulfilment, Barriers, Strategic Tripod
List of Abbreviation
API - Application Programming Interface B2B - Business to business
B2C - Business to consumer C2B – Customer to Business C2C - Customer to customer
CBRE - Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis CEO - Chief Executive Officer CTO - Chief Technology Officer CTT - Correios de Portugal
ESPA - European Student Placement Agency EU - European Union
FEP - School of Economics and Management of the University of Porto IBV - Institutional Based View
IT – Information Technology
MEBS - Master’s in Economics of Business and Strategy OLX - Online Exchange
OPA - Order Selection Accuracy
PESTEL - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental RBV - Resource Based View
RFI - Request for Information RFP - Request for Proposal RFQ - Request for Quotation
SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats UK – United Kingdom
UPS - Unique Selling Points US – United States
VAT - Value-Added Tax VC - Venture Capital
VRIO - Valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized WDI - Web Data Integration
Contents
Declaration of Originality ... ii
Acknowledgements ... iv
Resumo ... vi
Abstract ... viii
List of Abbreviation ... x
Contents ... xiii
List of Figures ... xvi
List of Tables ... xvi
1. Introduction ... 1
1.1. Topic and Relevance of the Work ... 1
1.2. Purpose of this Report ... 2
1.3. Internship Report Structure ... 3
2. Literature Review ... 4
2.1. Basic Concepts ... 4
2.1.1. Internationalization and Globalization ... 4
2.1.2. E-Commerce and E-Marketplaces ... 5
2.2. E-Logistic and Warehouse Sector ... 10
2.2.1. Importance of E-Logistic ... 10
2.2.2. E-Logistic Sector ... 11
2.3. Strategy Tripod ... 12
2.3.1. Resources Based View ... 15
2.3.2. Industry Based View ... 18
2.3.3. Institution Based View ... 24
3. Methodology ... 27
3.1. Definition of Applied Methodology: Case Study ... 27
3.2. Data Collection Procedure ... 28
3.3. Brief History of Huboo Fulfilment ... 33
3.3. Unique Selling Points (USP) ... 36
4. Empirical Results ... 40
5. Internship ... 51
5.1. Description of the Curricular Internship ... 51
6. Conclusion ... 54
References ... 57
Annexes ... 63
List of Figures
Figure 1 - Strategic Tripod ... 14
Figure 2 – Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Analysis ... 19
Figure 3 - Porter's Generic Strategies ... 23
Figure 4 - Huboo 3PL Scheme ... 33
Figure 5 - Current UK Warehouses & Offices ... 35
Figure 6 - Current European Warehouses & Facilities ... 35
List of Tables Table 1 - Summary of the Strategic Tripod Perspectives ... 26
Table 2 - Characterization of Interviewees (Sample) ... 30
Table 3 - Interview Guide ... 31
Table 4 - UK Fulfilment (per item) - Standard services 24 and 48 hours [up to 2kg] ... 38
1. Introduction
In this section, the theme and relevance of this work are presented, based on a brief theoretical review of approaches to the internationalization of companies. Then it is explained the objective of this internship report and its structure.
1.1. Topic and Relevance of the Work
Nowadays, the Internet is a key online sales channel with growth records in terms of both number of users and sales volume. The sector’s growth has contributed to companies understanding the possibility of their use as a means of doing business and modify the way they perform their economic activities, contributing to the growth of e-commerce and marketplaces. With the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce benefited even more from the continuous developments registered on the Internet because it allowed consumers to buy goods and services electronically without barriers of time or distance, even when physical stores were closed during the lockdown (Alfonso et al., 2021).
The pandemic quickly changed consumers’ behavior towards the online universe, and now it is believed that some changes will last in the future. During this period, the role of e- commerce and e-marketplaces gained greater prominence, especially for companies that joined the digital world for the first time. In the United States, in 2020, e-commerce registered a growth of 32.4% (Alfonso et al., 2021). According to Verdon (2021), global e- commerce sales are expected to reach $4.2 trillion in 2021.
Moreover, as logistics processes, both stock and delivery, are complex tasks, many companies turn to fulfillment service companies for e-commerce businesses to facilitate the process and make it more efficient. In this context, many e-commerce and e-marketplace companies felt the need to expand globally. Today it is no longer possible to face the activity of a company only in the context of its national market. Companies deal with international competition in domestic markets and at the same time many enter in foreign markets to take advantage of new business opportunities (Freire, 1997). Although internationalization appears as an alternative to saturated domestic markets, to achieve a good performance at an international level, companies must make an in-depth study of the internationalization strategy (Gama, 2011).
1.2. Purpose of this Report
This study aims to analyze the real case of a British startup – Huboo Fulfilment. The purpose of this report is to (1) understand how strategic perspectives based on the industry, on the institutions and on the resources are relevant in the internationalization process of companies; and (2) understand the motivations and barriers for the internationalization of companies in the sector under study.
So, through the curricular internship at Huboo, it was possible not only to link some concepts and theories covered in the Master in Economics of Business and Strategy (MEBS), but also to analyze and discuss the company expansion into the European market. The internship also allowed to be in contact with the departments of Sales, and of Market Research.
This research will contribute to a better understanding the strategic challenges Huboo may face in its process of internationalization to Europe, namely by using the comprehensive approach to strategy provided by the strategy tripod framework.
To sum up, it is argued that this work intends to advance the knowledge of strategic management and internationalization in two ways: (I) bring together three perspectives of business strategy (industry, resources, and institutional analysis) and linking them to the study of international business in general and, later, in the specific case of Huboo; (II) deepen empirical research on the topic in question with theoretical foundation in the strategy tripod.
Despite the large volume of citations on the strategic tripod, few studies have empirically analyzed the three elements of the tripod simultaneously (Yamakawa, Peng, & Deeds, 2007;
Jensen & Skovgaard, 2001; Ahn & York, 2011). By expanding the understanding of the subject in the European context, this study seeks to highlight the strength of the strategic tripod in the configuration of interest and involvement in foreign markets with a special focus on the case of Huboo.
1.3. Internship Report Structure
According to the goals of the present dissertation, this study will be divided into four major sections – introduction, literature review, methodology, discussion of results and conclusion.
The first section is dedicated to a brief introduction of the report where the relevance of the studies, its goals and structure are addressed. In section two the literature review is done through a reading of material produced and made available on the Scopus platform, consulted from November 2021 to September 2022. This section is subdivided into three sub-sections: the first deals with the basic concepts of e-commerce and e-marketplaces, and also explains the key factors for the success of these digital platforms; the second one focus on the importance of e-logistic sector, and the third one on the strategic tripod framework.
Section three presents the methodology. The methodology adopted is defined as a case study and the data collection for this study was obtained by carrying out 6 semi-structured interviews. All information in this study is mostly from the experience of the international internship and the interviews carried out. Also, other secondary resources were also used such as books, websites, articles, etc. The method and process of collection, sampling, analysis, validity, and reliability of the data collected, followed by the results achieved, the sample characterization and analysis of the data collected with the discussion of the results.
After the transcript of the interviews, Section four is dedicated to the analysis of the results.
The analysis came from the three perspectives of the Strategic Tripod, which were addressed in the Literature Review - Resources Based View, Industry Based View, and Institution Based View.
Section five summarizes the curricular internship and its main objectives. The internship took place between January 2022 and July 2022 with a total duration of 960 hours. The main objective was to understand how the internationalization process of an e-commerce and logistics company works. This curricular internship served as the basis for this report.
Finally, the last section presents a summary of the work with some final considerations, contributions and limitations found in the study, as well as suggestions for future investigations.
2. Literature Review
This section presents a contextualization and theoretical framework of e-commerce and e- marketplaces. First, we have the definition of the basic concepts and the key factors for their success, and then it is presented the importance of the e-logistics sector. Subsequently, the Strategic Tripe is presented since it is one of the most used approaches to understand the competitive challenges in the internationalization of companies.
2.1. Basic Concepts
2.1.1. Internationalization and Globalization
In a world in constant change, with the progressive liberalization of trade worldwide, internationalization has been the response of companies to the increase widespread competition and threats to its survival.
According to Martins (2014, p. 15), “countries have an incentive to specialize into distinct innovations, disseminating knowledge both through commerce and through exchange of ideas and generating a greater effect on well-being” (Martins, 2014). In this sense, the author also defends that internationalization cannot be considered a current phenomenon, if we bear in mind that exchanges between nations are lost over the years. From an international trade perspective, these exchanges occur with liberalization and internationalization of companies. This term consists of a growing process of involvement in international operations (Welch, Lawrence & Luostarinen, 1988). Internationalization is a process that aims to increase participation in operations international and is the way in which the company is involved in the international market (Ruzzier, 2006). This includes export, the presence of foreign subsidiaries, the sharing in the ownership of shares by foreigners and the appointment of foreigners to its organizational structure (Chellah, Sulaiman & Yusoff, 2010).
Internationalization arises from the need to penetrate products and services in new markets.
So, this concept can be considered as a consequence of innovation and this is also seen as a matter of survival since companies, by expanding, are able to reduce costs, acquire more resources, more technology, more efficiency in the production, better satisfy customers and even acquire better logistical conditions, thus achieving the desired competitive advantage (Martinez, 2007).
Moreover, when defining internationalization, it is equally important to differentiate it from other concepts wrongly regarded as similar, as is the case with globalization. The concept of 'globalization' is often confused with ‘internationalization’, but in fact, it consists of something quite different. Briefly, globalization refers to the integration of different economies into a single global economy, mainly due to the free movement of goods, capital, and people, while internationalization refers to the growing importance of international trade, international relations, treaties, alliances between nations, etc. (Daly, 1999).
Globalization is a process economic, social, cultural, spatial, and political between all countries in the world (Martinez, 2007). In other words, it is the combination of several aspects that unite civilizations from different parts of the globe (Welford & Prescott, 1994).
The main factors that characterize the formation of globalization are the economy, culture, and information (Welford & Prescott, 1994).
The phenomenon of globalization is based on the idea that the differences between markets are blurring, tending to disappear. The term ‘globalization’ appeared for the first time in 1983 by Theodore Levitt (Paliwoda & Slater, 2009). However, it has not yet possible to establish a consensual definition of this concept. This difficulty in defining ‘globalization’
demonstrates the multidimensionality and complexity that lies behind this phenomenon (Ahamer, Hardaker & Wittmann, 2014). This comprises a set of social, cultural, political, and economic processes that generate and intensify interdependence between countries.
However, nowadays globalization is an unavoidable reality with a greater number of companies, countries and other economic actors participating in an increasingly global economy, affecting the flows of goods, capital, services, and people creating new opportunities, challenges and also leading to the phenomenon of the internationalization of companies (Peng, 2001).
2.1.2. E-Commerce and E-Marketplaces
In addition to the concepts of internationalization and globalization, it is also important to mention two other very different concepts: e-commerce and e-marketplace. The development of the Internet as well as its continued persistent contributed for organizations to understand the possibility of its use as a means of doing business and modifying the way they perform their economic activities, thus establishing the Internet as a key shopping channel (Asper Brothers, 2019).
Nowadays, a lot of companies use the concepts of e-commerce and marketplaces as synonyms. However, the inappropriate use of these terms can lead to misunderstandings about this reality. While e-commerce is about sales made by a company on its exclusive digital platform, the marketplace is a digital platform where multiple companies are gathered to sell their goods and services. In other words, on the marketplace, companies do not have exclusive authorization or license to have a section (Asper Brothers, 2019).
E-Commerce is a concept applicable to any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information via the Internet. It covers a range of several types of businesses, from consumer retail sites to auction sites, through trade in goods and services between organizations (UNCTAD, 2021). Furthermore, this platform allows consumers to transact goods and services online without barriers of time or distance. Today, e-commerce has expanded rapidly in recent years and growth is expected to accelerate due to the Covid- 19 pandemic (UNCTAD, 2021).
Moreover, in this case, it is also important to talk about Business to Business (B2B) e- commerce because it allows thousands of transactions either with customers or suppliers (Jensen & Skovgaard, 2001; Baron et al., 2000). From the point of view of companies, B2B e-commerce facilitates acquisition innovations and, consequently, this will reduce the purchase price of a particular good or service. Furthermore, it may also reduce cycle time and improve supplier outsourcing (Turban et al., 2008). In other words, when properly implemented, e-commerce is faster, cheaper, and more convenient than traditional methods of transacting goods and services. An example of B2B e-commerce is online retailers that sell office furniture because their main target audience is businesses.
There are other types of e-commerce that are important to mention in this work: Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer to Consumer (C2C) and Consumer to Business (C2B). The concept of B2C e-commerce is used when a consumer purchases a good or service from an online retailer. In other words, this means that the sale takes place between the company and the consumer (Brunn, Jensen, & Skovgaard, 2002). In this case, some examples of B2C e- commerce are the case of Booking.com and Adidas because consumers will book a hotel for their holidays or buy new sneakers. C2C e-commerce refers to online commerce that involves consumer-to-consumer transactions. C2C e-commerce includes sites for buying and selling old and used products. Usually, it is a third-party intermediary that manages these transactions, providing an online platform (Brunn, Jensen, & Skovgaard, 2002). C2C
transactions may not have the same business impact as other types of e-commerce, but they are just as important. Some examples of this type of ecommerce are Vinted, Custo Justo, and OLX. Despite not buying or selling products, these platforms offer services to its users.
Finally, the other type of e-commerce is C2B e-ecommerce that involves the sale of an individual consumer to a company. In this case, consumers create value for the product and value for the business in the relationships between consumers and companies (Brunn, Jensen, & Skovgaard, 2002). This entire sale and purchase process is reversed with this ecommerce business model. In this ecommerce business model, consumers sell products or services to companies. An example of this model is online image banks such as iStock and Shutterstock. In this case, photographers and video producers exhibit their work, making them available to companies that want to acquire them and, in this way, offering the price for each product.
In turn, the marketplace is a network whose companies or brands can make their offers within a single website (Brunn, Jensen, & Skovgaard, 2002). According to these authors, the main service of marketplaces is to provide a central market space where e-commerce can be conducted by many companies. However, despite e-commerce being an important feature of e-marketplaces, it is important to understand that marketplaces are not just limited to reduce the complexity of the e-commerce process. For example, marketplaces can complement e-commerce with the functionality of electronic catalogs and auctions and providing order fulfillment services such as tracking, financing and organization.
Furthermore, this can also play a role in organizing various forms of collaboration for the marketplace participants such as demand forecasting and inventory management. These marketplaces activities are based on three fundamental elements: increased market efficiency, increased supply chain efficiencies and new value creation (Brunn, Jensen, & Skovgaard, 2002).
E-marketplace companies such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and Etsy maintain stock and have no control over order fulfillment process. These companies only serve as intermediaries, providing the websites to a wide network of consumers and sellers, relying on the performance and capacity of their partners. On e-marketplace, consumers purchase goods or services from known or unknown sellers, regardless of the risk, given the reputation and trust of the intermediary (Hong & Cho, 2011). In e-marketplace, different sellers can sell the same product or service, and what can distinguish them is the price, delivery time, seller
performance, among other factors. For this reason, the quality of seller’s standards must align with customer expectations for the platform as a whole (Hong & Cho, 2011).
Moreover, there are two types of e-marketplaces: B2B Marketplace and B2C Marketplace (Turban et al., 2008). While the B2B marketplace brings together companies that target other companies, the B2C marketplace involves transactions between companies directly with end consumers. In e-marketplaces for products and services, platforms bring together all types of sellers on a single place and sell only and exclusively products or services. In the case of rental e-marketplaces, these encompass the fashion, transport, home appliance, electronic accessories, and gear industries.
A) Success factors for e-commerce and e-marketplaces
Over the years, several studies have been carried out to identify and analyze the various determinants of e-commerce and e-marketplaces’ performance, as well as their impact. For example, Chen and Sun (2021) identified four types of determinants of platform ecosystem health through literature review and in-depth interviews: (1) trust; (2) quick adaptability to the environment; (3) cyber-attacks security; and (4) empathy. The core of the platforms are the companies, and, for that reason, they have the greatest impact on the integrity of the platform ecosystem. So, they must constantly improve “construction, governance, and leadership capabilities” with the aim of improving the platform’s ecosystem (Chen; Sun, 2021).
In the context of e-commerce and e-marketplaces, the trust is an important determinant that plays a decisive role insofar as it could influence the purchase intentions of consumers (Shankar, 1996; Eriksson & Tenfalt, 2015).
Currently, with globalization and digitization, different sectors have had to adapt to new technologies and e-commerce and the marketplace were no exception. As these digital platforms work towards digitization, customer expectations about online commerce sector have visibly increased, and it was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions derived from the lockdown, consumers have increased their online purchases. However, the need for different strategies around innovation and online commerce was evident long before the pandemic (Gu et al., 2021). As technology develops, there is an increase in customer expectations for online shopping, mainly because of the personalized products or services provided by companies.
As consumers began to make more purchases online, this has exposed them to more cyber- attacks and fraudulent activities such as scams and phishing (Gu, Slusarczyk, Hajizada, Kovalyova, & Sakhbieva, 2021). Unfortunately, most of the time customers don’t realize that their online habits can put them at risk. For this reason, e-commerce and e-marketplaces must ensure the security of their customers’ accounts. In doing so, it will have a significantly positive impact on consumer’s confidence and hence it will help to establish a long-term relationship (Turban et al., 2008). Furthermore, one of the key points in creating consumer confidence is communication. With the closing of many physical stores, communication becomes essential to maintain or create a long-lasting relationship with the consumer.
Communication between the customer and the company will help to build a relationship of trust (Barney & Hesterly, 2011).
Another crucial factor for the effectiveness of digital platforms is empathy. In this case, empathy refers to the extent to which a platform provides care, individualized information, and customer service. In other words, it is the presence of response mechanisms to improve the quality of communication on the websites, such as emails, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and online service (Chen, 2001). The concept of ‘empathy’ involves exchanging individualized messages regardless of location or time. The internet is well suited in this regard, where users can visit virtually any website anytime, anywhere. E-commerce is an interactive function between customers and companies (Bakos, 1991).
Moreover, according to Watson et al. (1998), it is still important to mention the attractiveness factor of a digital platform. The attractiveness is to know if digital platforms are interesting to read and subjectively pleasing (Watson et al., 1998). The same authors further argue that overall appeal is a key component of the site. It doesn't matter how good the content is or how reliable and easy to search on the site is, if users do not find the platform attractive, consequently, this will affect the time spent on the digital platform by users (Smith &
Merchant, 2001).
In addition to the four types of determinants mentioned above, within the ecosystem of a platform, it is also important to mention the complementary partnerships, which are all the client and partner companies that work with the main team (core). According to Virassammy (2014), complementary partnerships are those in which different forces are brought together to achieve a certain objective. Nowadays, it is quite common for companies to look for strategic partners with complementary capabilities to gain access to new markets and
channels, share intellectual property or infrastructure, or reduce risk. The more complex the business environment becomes - for example, with the emergence of new technologies or the accelerating pace of innovation cycles - the more these relationships make sense (Virassammy, 2014).
Other studies also talk about of two different determinants. Firstly, the companies’ products and services, which are the drivers’ strengths of platform ecosystems. These are important tools to meet market demand. The platforms and complementary companies can realize the needs of consumers and produce goods and services with stronger competitiveness through the establishment of user communities and forums. In this way, they will be able to enhance the integrity of the digital platform ecosystem, improving the consumer experience and adherence (Chen; Sun, 2021).
Finally, the situational determinant mentioned in the study is the industry environment. If this does not suffer any negative effects, the other three determinants will have a significantly greater impact on the health of the platform’s ecosystem. In this case, the authors also divide the industry environment into two sub-categories. The first (industry attributes) refers to the basic technology cycle, market characteristics, customer attributes and industrial policies of industries. The other category is the innovation environment which refers to new technologies or, as the authors describe it, the “Era of Cloud 2.0” (Chen; Sun, 2021).
2.2. E-Logistic and Warehouse Sector 2.2.1. Importance of E-Logistic
In addition to all the factors mentioned before, it is also relevant to reflect on the role of the e-logistics sector in e-commerce and e-marketplace. With the development of digital resources, e-commerce and e-marketplaces have become dependent on e-logistics in order to make the business more dynamic and effective.
E-logistics deals with a set of activities that integrate the logistics chain of the business and involve receiving products or supplies, storage, picking, performance of carriers, companies that are responsible for deliveries, tracking of the orders sent and management of deliveries.
In other words, e-logistics is responsible for managing and controlling the warehouse and the flow of goods, as well as managing all information related to them, from the starting
point to the destination point. By tracking orders, the customer himself can follow the journey of his order (Gunasekaran & Ngai, 2003).
For that reason, it is so important the quality in which the product reaches its final destination is related to the way it is stowed. The final consumer does not like to receive damaged products, so it is responsibility of logistics and storage ensure that these arrive in perfect condition. Also, it is extremely important to choose warehouses in logistics centers that are easily accessible, without tolls (to reduce their costs) and near large distribution centers (Ballou, 2010; Guimarães et al., 2014).
When the consumer buys a product online, he does not only receive the product itself, but everything that it involves: packaging, transportation, trust, punctuality, security, etc. The e- logistics sector allows to ensure the necessary structure to work with quality - equipped shed, reliable transportation and competent staff are crucial for its growth (Guimarães et al., 2014).
Also, both e-commerce and e-marketplaces must invest in logistics companies that ensure the growth of digital platforms, capture, and retain customers. For the consumer, factors such as delivery time and shipping price are relevant when choosing the online store. So, well-structured e-logistics can easily become a valuable differential for any virtual enterprise.
For example, in addition to all the services mentioned above, the e-logistics sector can also offer several technological solutions such as inventory management software, which facilitate the control of order entry and exit according to purchases made and dispatches (Guimarães et al., 2014).
2.2.2. E-Logistic Sector
As stated in the previous sub-section, the e-logistic sector covers not only the warehouse activities relating to safely stoking, protecting, and storing the goods for the period required, but also deals with the management, transportation, location, handling, and packaging of the warehouse from their receipt to their shipment. Moreover, this sector covers both operational and strategic activities, and, for that reason, it can be subdivided into seven processes: logistic slum; storage and packaging; loss prevention; controller logistic;
management of demand and stock; supply chain and order processing (Gunasekaran & Ngai, 2003).
Ballou (2010) states that e-logistics sector is more than just physical distribution. It is more than simple materials management and resupply (Ballou, 2010). It has two main characteristics: firstly, its intrinsic nature. This sector crosses the various traditional functions of the company colliding with all of them and its systemic nature. Furthermore, logistic and warehouse sector consists of an administration subsystem. In other words, it is a complete system in constant interaction with the other subsystems, which in turn constitute a superior system (Ballou, 2010). Knowing that the overall performance of a system depends on the balance achieved between the various components and not necessarily on the optimal performance of each of them.
Moreover, it is important to mention the difference between international logistics and national logistics. The main difference is that the movement of goods is carried out between two countries that may differ greatly from each other (Davies, 1987), not only the simple act of crossing borders but comprising a high degree of complexity of cultural, political, technological, and economic combinations (Davies, 1987). The differences also extend to the distribution channels through which the goods are transported, the international transaction and payment, the communication channel and documentation that are distinct from the domestic aspect (Meersman; Van de Voorde, 2001).
One of the most important aspects for the success of international trade is the support of the e-logistics sector. This explains why many authors focus on studying the characteristics of the international e-logistics system, as well as the environment in which they operate (Meersman; Van de Voorde, 2001). The aspects that are most influencing international trade flows and international logistics are the globalization of the production process, increasing competitiveness in international trade, supply chain management strategies, the growth of information systems, and e-commerce.
2.3. Strategy Tripod
Internationalization is assumed to be an evolutionary process, of growing involvement in international operations (Luostarinen & Welch, 1988). However, the internationalization process does not necessarily require a growing involvement. There are also disinvestments or withdrawals of a product from the market. In this sense, a broader definition is that internationalization is "the process of adapting the company's operations (strategy, structure,
resources, etc.) to international environments” (Calof & Beamish, 1995). So, by getting involved in international markets, several organizational and strategic changes are carried out such as the inclusion of an export department or the hiring of executives with international experience, adaptations when approaching specific international markets, which may lead to the development of new products or the adaptation of products to the local nuances of each country (Calof & Beamish, 1995).
Internationalization is considered one of the strategies that companies can adopt to leverage competitive advantages and face their competitors within the national and international markets. However, there is no need to talk about any corporate strategy without this being preceded by adequate planning to evaluate all scenarios, options, and risks of each choice, as well as the ability to implement the planned actions (Carmo, 2012; Lahiri, Mukherjee, &
Peng, 2020). For that reason, and as mentioned before, this study adopts the strategic tripod to assess the extent to which the three complementary views industry, resources, and institutions, affect the formulation of internationalization strategies and firm competitiveness.
In the tripod approach the definition of strategy results from the analysis of competition in the industry, the specific resources and capabilities of the firm, and institutional conditions that combined provide an integrated view of the company's strategic behavior (Peng, Sun, Pinkham, & Chen, 2009). In this sense, the company's strategic choices and performance are not only influenced by the company's conditions and resources, but also by formal and informal restrictions of the institutional framework that companies face (Peng, 2001; Krull, Smith & Ge, 2012). So, through the strategy tripod model it is possible to identify what are the success factors in the internationalization of a company.
In this process of consolidation of internationalization via exports, business practices, their rules, and norms, as well as the sharing of information, become essential in formulating a company’s strategy (Monticelli et al., 2017). So, the application of the strategy tripod allows an understanding of the insertion of emerging economies in global businesses (Yamakawa, Peng & Deeds, 2008). According to Peng (2001), the strategy tripod assumes that all companies are under the influence of the institutional environment in which they are inserted.
The strategic tripod has become a great way to understand the process of strategy formulation, especially when complex institutional environments can define the success or
failure of the planning (Carmo, 2012). Also, several authors argue that institution-based and industry-based views interact with resource-based view to determine a company's strategic choices for internationalization (Gao, Murray, Kotabe, & Lu, 2010). In other words, this means that during the formulation and implementation of a firm’s strategy, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, a company needs to analyze the resources it has, its position in the industry in relation to its competitors and the institutional environment in which it is inserted (Peng, 2002). Therefore, strategic management of a company is so important these days. The strategic management process involves a set of analyzes and choices that increase the probability of a company to choose a strategy that generates competitive advantages (Barney & Hesterly, 2011). For this, the company must conduct analyzes both internally and external sources, in order to identify the organization's strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats from the competitive environment.
These analyzes refer to the understanding of the structure-conduct-performance model (structure-conduct-performance or SCP) and to the Resource Based View (RBV).
As no company is immune to the influences of the institutional environment in which is inserted, Peng (2001) states that it is also necessary to include the influences of the state and society in the implementation of strategies (Peng, 2001; Yamakawa et al., 2007). Considering the list of some works on the Institutional Based View (IBV) with a focus on emerging markets (Yamakawa et al., 2007; Krull, Smith & Ge, 2012), this study also addresses the influence of each of the elements of the strategic tripod in determining the strategy, touching on the theme of performance, the last element of the Strategy Tripod (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Strategic Tripod
Source: Adapted from Yamakawa et al. (2007).
Performance
Industry-based Competition (IBC)
Firm-specific Resources and
Capabilities
Instituitional Conditions and
Transitions Strategy
The activities in the national and international context present some similarities. However, the biggest difference lies in the fact that transactions take place in more than one country and environment. By environment it is understood market structure, economic-political-legal forces, distribution channels, cultural and social characteristics (Cavusgil, Knight, &
Riesenberger, 2008).
In the field of internationalization, research has shown that different theories and factors are important in the early and late stages of the international development of companies (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009). Different models and theories were developed to increase the understanding of the international expansion of organizations such as PESTEL and SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces framework, critical success factor analysis, among others.
Peng (2001) presents the ‘Strategic Tripod’ model, which summarizes in three major dimensions or perspectives to explain an organization’s strategy: (i) the organization’s resources and capabilities, (ii) the competitive environment of the industry in which the company operates and (iii) variables related to the institutional environment (Peng, 2001).
According to the author, these three factors directly influence the strategy, which impact the company's performance.
2.3.1. Resources Based View
The barriers faced by companies depend on several factors such as the management, organizational capacity among others and, therefore, even if they are in identical levels of internationalization, do not necessarily have to face the same barriers (Leonidou, 2004). For example, according to Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul (1975), one of the main barriers to the internationalization of a company is the internal barriers like the lack of knowledge and resources. The necessity of information and knowledge about the foreign market presents itself as one of the main barriers to internationalization which may incite fear and block the internationalization of company (Dominguez, 2018). Another internal barrier is associated with insufficient financial resources to ensure the success of internationalization; with too much bureaucracy to access support programs, or incorrect disclosure of these programs, which makes it difficult for companies to access capital to expand their business internationally (Cahen, Lahiri, & Borini, 2016). Also, the company's human resources may
not be competent enough to manage international business activities, hence it is extremely important to tackle the problems of human resources (Cahen, Lahiri, & Borini, 2016).
In that sense, the Resource Based View (RBV) aims to explain how companies obtain a sustainable competitive advantage through the accumulation of tangible and intangible resources (Krull, Smith, & Ge, 2012). It understands that firms that have specific capabilities and resources may be different from other organizations (Johanson; Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). But to fulfill their distinctive role, these capabilities and resources must be valuable, rare, inimitable, and well leveraged by the organization - these characteristics are the causes of differences in competitiveness and profitability across organizations (Barney; Hesterly, 2018).
Barney (1991) defines resources as assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, which are controlled by the firm, and which allow it to understand and put into action strategies capable of increasing its effectiveness and efficiency. Some examples of factors difficult to replicate are the organizational culture and distinctive competencies (Sousa Filho; Barbieri, 2015). On the other hand, Peng (2001) states that resources can be tangible or intangible. While tangible resources are, for example, financial resources, technological infrastructure, and physical organizational resources;
intangible assets are more difficult to imitate by competitors (example: human resources, innovation, reputation, etc.) since they can be identified as valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized (VRIO) and as such able to create sustainable competitive advantages (Porter, 1979). In the VRIO perspective the value of a resource can be understood as the company's ability to create value by exploiting some opportunity. These are the ones that help the company to reduce costs or increase revenue. A productive improvement or innovative product design might fall into this category. As for the rarity element, it can be defined as an exclusive resource or one that few competitors have access to, such as a very experienced professional or even an exclusive product or brand. In addition to being rare, the resource should not be imitated or copied, at least not in a simple way. Even if there is competition, it will be more difficult to find something to replace it and that makes it a competitive advantage. However, nowadays, it is more difficult to make a product inimitable, since when a product is launched and is very successful in the market, other developers focus on improving it to offer something competitive. The last dimension analyzed by VRIO concerns the organization of the company. This is a dimension that assesses the company's conditions
to take advantage of the competitive advantage it has. In other words, it is a way of checking whether the institution is prepared to use the resource. To sum up, according to RBV, the company's competitive advantage will be greater if the company's ability to attract or develop VRIO resources is also strong.
In this sense, the internationalization of the company can be defined as a regular process of accumulation, and adaptation of the knowledge that companies obtain in foreign markets.
Prange and Vendier (2011) defend that, by expanding their activities internationally, companies accumulate capabilities such as learning, cultural adaptation and receptiveness to change. This means that companies develop or improve knowledge about a particular market through learning and know-how generated about it (Prange; Verdier, 2011). So, the company can take advantage of this knowledge to explore opportunities in new markets (Skarmeas, Lisbon, & Saridakis, 2016).
Although the RBV has undergone several criticisms and changes over the years and, in recent decades, the RBV has become a robust theoretical framework, used in several areas of management research, including international business (Peng, 2001). The main contributions of RBV for international business research are related to the dynamics of input modes in host countries (Erramilli & Sharma, 2004), to the superior performance of companies (Beamish & Dhanaraj, 2003), to the role of resources tangible and intangible assets of the organization in the host country to generate competitive advantage (Fahy, 2002), to the development of resources and capabilities throughout the process of internationalization and international entrepreneurship (Peng, 2001).
Moreover, although literature does not deny the interdependence firm-environment, theorists discuss whether the strategy outlined by the organizations is determined and depends on the external environment or if there is some degree of choice for managers (Whittington, 1988). Arguments based on institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) talk about organizational passivity.
In both approaches, organizations have environmental interdependence (Astley & Van de Ven, 1983; Hrebiniak & Joyce, 1985). However, these approaches alone do not guarantee success to organizations, given that they are subject to institutional influences. An extension debates on the use, detention, and capture of resources; competitive environment; and the influence of institutions arises in the academic realm. The Institutional influence is a useful
field of analysis for organizations to understand values and actors vying for environmental resources.
Finally, Helfat et al. (2007) state that the benefit that companies can obtain through dynamic capabilities depends not only on resources and management capacity, but also on the context in which the capabilities are being operated. So, it is necessary to understand the environment in which companies are inserted. Next, the second pillar of the strategic tripod will be discussed.
2.3.2. Industry Based View
In addition to the lack of knowledge and resources (internal barriers), another possible barrier to internationalization is external barriers to the company (Cahen, Lahiri, & Borini, 2016). The external barriers are defined as difficulties faced by companies on which they have no control. Among these can be considered the condition of the industry and its level of concentration, emphasizing the importance of knowing the type of competition companies face at home and may face in the destination market (Cahen, Lahiri, & Borini, 2016). That is why it is so important to analyze the Industry Based View.
Industry Based View analyzes the industry organization and its relationship with the company’s strategy and performance. According to Porter (1979), there are several sectoral characteristics that shape the rivalry of the environment and associate it with national competitiveness. These determinants act in a system, favoring or inhibiting the attractiveness of a given industry. For that reason, the firm’s competitiveness is influenced by the environment in which develops its activity. In other words, there are external factors that would determine the company’s strategy (Gao, Murray, Kotabe, & Lu, 2010).
This model considers five competitive forces: threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and intensity of competitive rivalry (Porter, 1979) – reflect the fact that competition in a given sector is not only limited to established participants (Figure 2). Customers, suppliers, substitute goods and potential entrants are all competitors for companies and may have a greater or lesser impact depending on particular factors. So, competition can be defined as ‘enhanced rivalry’ (Porter, 1979).
In this sense, companies must position themselves in order to adjust their strategy to the industry situation, which is characterized by the relative weight of the five competitive pressures described above. The way the customer sees the product in relation to the competition in terms of quality and price, can lead the company to compete based on low prices (cost competition) or, on the contrary, on higher prices through differentiation (competitive differentiation) – if the customer is willing to pay more for a product that he considers different and to which he attaches greater value. For a company that will enter a new market, the essential concern is how to overcome entry barriers – financial barriers (high initial costs), technical barriers (goods/services that require too much specific knowledge) and legal barriers (patents, licensing, government inspection). After, the other challenge will be how to create barriers to entry for additional competitors.
Figure 2 – Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Analysis
Source: Own elaboration.
Threat of New Entrants
According to Porter, new companies entering an industry bring with them new production capacity, new technologies, a desire to gain market share, and often substantial resources for investment (Porter, 1979). As a result, prices may decrease or participant costs may increase, reducing consequently the profitability of the business. Companies from other markets (or
5 Forces Model Threat of
EntrantsNew
Threat of Subsitutes
Bargaining Power of
Buyers Bargaining
Power of Suppliers Intensity of Competitive
Rivalry
even from other industries), and that are diversifying through acquisitions in a certain industry, often use their resources to introduce changes, as a differentiating mechanism in relation to current participants. Moreover, the acquisition of an existing company in an industry, with the intention of building a position in the market, should also be seen as an entry, even though no entirely new company has been created.
Some of the main barriers to entry are economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, switching costs, access to distribution channels, scale-independent cost disadvantages and government policies. Another factor that deserves to be highlighted is government policy. Through sectoral regulation, the presence of new entrants in a given industry can be curbed or boosted.
Threat of Substitutes
All companies in an industry are competing with companies in other industries that manufacture substitute products. Substitutes reduce an industry's potential returns by putting a ceiling on the prices that companies can profitably charge. Substitutes in an industry are products, services, or solutions, which would not be chosen naturally, but which end up being prioritized in the absence of meeting the quality or price requirements of the initially desired products, services, or solutions (Porter, 1979). According to this author, the substitute products that most demand attention are those that are subject to trends to improve their price-performance ratio vis-à-vis the industry's product or are produced by industries with high profits.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Buyers can pressure the industry, forcing prices down, bargaining for better quality or more service, and playing competitors against each other, which can undermine the industry's profitability (Porter, 1979). The power of each major group of buyers depends on certain characteristics of the market situation and the relative importance of their purchases compared to their total business. Also, depending on the potential demand that a company has, in different market situations, its bargaining power can be used in order to ensure better conditions in price negotiations, quantity sold, special delivery conditions and even
preventing or limiting the supply of the product to other companies in the sector (Porter, 1979).
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers play an important role in all industries. The success and failure of organizations are closely associated with the partnerships established with their suppliers. For this reason, quality concepts and standards increasingly treat suppliers as partners, who must be endorsed and monitored through a relationship that goes beyond the simple purchase and sale of products and services, moving on to the construction of partnership relationships with objectives of mutual gain (Porter, 1979).
Suppliers can exercise bargaining power over industry participants by threatening to raise prices or reduce the quality of the goods and services supplied, including reducing the availability of the good and changing delivery terms. According to Magretta (2012), it is possible to determine whether suppliers “have power”, when they can negotiate prices in their favor, and thus increase your company's profit. The bargaining power of suppliers can be exercised in three ways: increasing prices, decreasing quality, or reducing the availability of their products (Magretta, 2012).
When suppliers are powerful, they can suck the profitability out of an industry, unable to pass on cost increases at their own prices. Furthermore, a powerful supplier, operating in multiple markets, including offering substitute products, can restrict the development of an industry, as it will seek to maximize its total profitability, which may eventually be associated with substitute products. So, we can conclude that the bargaining power of the supplier in an industry affects the competitive environment and the potential benefits of buyers, and this will also consequently affect the internationalization of a company.
Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
According to the definition of Faulkner and Bowman (1995), competition corresponds to the situation of a market in which the different producers/sellers of a certain good (or service), act independently in order to achieve a goal for their business – profits, sales and/or market share – using different instruments, such as price, quality of products/services and
which encourages companies to invest and innovate with a view to maximizing their gains and making optimal use of the scarce resources available. A perfect competitive market is one (ideal case) whose functioning is in accordance with the free play of supply and demand, without State intervention. However, in fact, this does not happen because as new competing companies appear in the market, rivalry increases (Faulkner & Bowman, 1995).
The strength of rivalry intensity refers to the level of competition within the sector itself, which is shaped by competition between competitors, but also by the current regulatory framework. According to Porter (1979), competition tends to be more intense in a sector in which the number of companies is large, even making more, or less, disguised forms of collusion more difficult.
Also, rivalry between competitors can be beneficial or dangerous for a company. Rivalry can be the engine of innovation, creativity, and technological implementation, but it can also be highly destructive, especially if it translates into price battles and unfair attacks between competitors.
The use of tactics to persuade consumers and combat this rivalry more efficiently is a widely used practice. The use of tactics such as price competition, advertising, product introduction and increase in services or customer guarantees, among others, are seen as protection tools and as a barrier to entry.
All these competitive dimensions determine how strong are the competitive pressures that characterize a particular industry (Porter, 1979) as it shows how the economic value created by industry is divided, and that is why the intensity of the five forces that will also influence the company's internationalization decision (Porter, 1979). So, the internationalization strategy of a company and their performance are leveraged by the degree of competitiveness of the sector where this company works (Yamakawa, Peng, & Deeds, 2007). In fact, the heightened competition in the domestic industry can be a motivator for companies to consider embarking on the route of internationalization (Krull, Smith, & Ge, 2012) since the existence of a very competitive internal environment means that for a firm to continue to grow sustainably, it must look for new markets in addition to the one that is already inserted.
In order to better understand the cost leadership strategy as well as the consequent competitive advantage provided by it, it was still considered essential present Porter's (1998) Generic Strategies - Cost, Differentiation and Focus. This allows visualize quite accurately
the different ways in which competitive strategies create the competitive advantage (Porter, 1998).
Figure 3 - Porter's Generic Strategies
Source: Own elaboration based on Porter (1998).
The first Cost strategy is focused on the search for efficiency and maximization of production and volume of a company, in addition to the efficient control of the distribution of advertising income, research and technical assistance (Porter, 1998). In other words, it is when a company seeks to differentiate itself by the low price. Therefore, it needs to do more with less, since its profit is closely linked to its ability to reduce spending on activities that do not generate value. An organization that has total cost leadership offers standardized products with minimal quality standards (Porter, 1998).
The second strategy called Differentiation focuses on investment in image, distribution channels, research, technical training of employees, market research and technical assistance.
This strategy focuses a lot on the customer's perception of value about a product or service (Porter, 1998). Usually, companies that adopt this type of competitive strategy are able to increase their profits. With the added value, it is possible to charge a higher price for the product without losing market share (Porter, 1998).
As a way of improving and strengthening the previous ones even more, the Focus strategy centers actions on selecting a specific target - according to market segmentation and other characteristics - to offer an exclusive product or service to a certain consumer audience, because in this way will be able to achieve unique status by its consumer (Porter, 1998).
Segmentation can be done by geographic market, income group or age group. Companies that adopt the generic strategy approach typically have little global market share but are
Cost Leadership
Cost Focus
Differentiation
Differentiation Focus
Cost Differentiation
BroadNarrow
Source of Competitive Advantage
Scope
leaders in their market bracket. The generic focus strategy is linked to the two previous strategies, and, for that reason, it can be subdivided into (1) focus on cost and (2) focus on differentiation. Each of these subdivisions has the same characteristics mentioned above, however they are applied to a niche or segment (Porter, 1998).
Regardless of the strategy adopted, there are several risks involved, such as imitation by competitors and technological changes. In the cost strategy, companies must ensure that the competitor is not the leader, with innovations in terms of technology and differentiation, which will lead to a greater market share (Porter, 1998). As for the differentiation strategy, care must be taken with the pricing of products or services so as not to overvalue them. For the focus strategy, the company needs to be careful to previously analyze the chosen segment so as not to opt for a certain niche that does not offer an operating margin (Porter, 1998).
2.3.3. Institution Based View
Unlike the Resource Based View, the institutional view approach analyzes the homogeneity of companies. This last approach indicates a perspective in which organizations are strongly influenced by the environment in which they are inserted. So, companies coexist not only with the impact of competitive forces, but also with rules and norms that exert control over them. According to North (1990), the institution-based view argues that firm’s performance is a “reflection of the constraints of institutionalist structure that the company faces” (North, 1990, p. 44). Institutions play their role in two ways. Firstly, they impact the functioning of market mechanisms (Peng, 2001). For example, due to institutional gaps and weak enforcement of legislation and regulations, companies in emerging economies often suffer from opportunistic, unfair, or even illegal competitive behavior (Palepu & Khanna, 1997).
Furthermore, institutions shape the structure of the market facilitating or restricting the development of certain industries, products, and technologies (Wright et al., 2005). One example to illustrate that is the prosperity of the Information Technology (IT) industry and the success of many IT companies in the 1990’s. They were facilitated by widespread support from the US government in that period.
Given the strong impact of institutions, companies often actively leverage their resources to take advantage of institutions, rather than passively complying with them (Oliver &
Holzinger, 2008). For that reason, a company resources and the institutions it faces together affect its strategy and performance (Oliver, 1997). In this case, the strategy tripod perspective
