Firms around the world often must manage and survive economic crises. Recent cases in Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America bear testimony to this point. As economic weak spots are integrated into the global economy, it is timely to develop an understanding of organizational capabilities that can help firms manage their way through such crises. The authors investigate the role of market orientation and strategic flexibility in helping Thai firms manage the recent Asian crisis. The results demonstrate the contingent nature of the influence of market orientation and strategic flexibility on firm performance after a crisis has occurred. As hypothesized, market orientation has an adverse effect on firm performance after a crisis. This effect is moderated by demand and technological uncertainty and is enhanced by competitive intensity. In contrast, strategic flexibility has a positive influence on firm performance after a crisis, which is enhanced by competitive intensity and moderated by demand and technological uncertainty. It seems that market orientation and strategic flexibility complement each other in their efficacy to help firms manage varying environmental conditions.

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Multinationality refers to the extent to which firms' business activities span across national borders. Moving beyond prior emphasis on the consequences of multinational expansion, this study sheds light on the antecedents by analyzing how firm resources influence changes in multinationality. Building on the resource-based view of the firm, we propose a framework that consists of resource determinants in two categories: knowledge-based and property-based resources. Empirical results obtained from a sample of publicly held US manufacturing companies show that knowledge-based resources generate faster and longer-lasting influences on international growth than property-based resources. Specifically, resources related to technological and marketing knowledge, and property-based resources related to organizational slack and internally generated profits, are found to be significant driving forces behind growth in multinationality. This study not only advances our understanding of the antecedents of multinational expansion, but also provides implications and avenues for future research. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 961–974. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400305

International entrepreneurial capability, Born global firms, Exporters, China, Global market performance,

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