Building on the resource‐based view (RBV) and competitive dynamics literatures, this paper proposes that considering resources or actions independently offers an incomplete understanding of the drivers of superior performance. Instead, we hypothesize that resources enable competitive actions and that when these actions leverage the firm's resources, superior performance results. We tested these hypotheses with panelized data on the technological resources and competitive actions of firms in the in‐vitro medical diagnostic substance manufacturing industry. The results provide substantial support for our hypotheses, specifically with respect to mediation. Our theory and results underscore how the integration of the competitive dynamics and RBV literatures can significantly improve our understanding of firm performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

While theory and evidence show that firms' competitive actions mediate the resource-performance relationship, details of top managements' roles in shaping resource utilization choices have been underemphasized. We address this oversight by integrating top management team heterogeneity and any resulting faultline strength with the resource-action-performance model to investigate how TMT composition differentially affects the model's two linkages. Specifically, we argue that TMT heterogeneity positively affects the resource-action linkage, yet negatively affects the action-performance linkage. Moreover, when heterogeneity begets strong faultlines, all such positive effect is lost. Supportive evidence from the in-vitro medical diagnostic substance manufacturing industry allows us to discuss how our findings contribute to upper echelons theory, as well as the emerging stream on resource utilization.

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PurposeWhile many studies on institutional environment have primarily focused on the influence of the host country environment, limited insights have been offered on how the different dimensions of home institutions affect firm internationalization. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the effects of regulatory institutions at home.Design/methodology/approachUsing country governance quality to proxy quality of regulatory institutions, this study attempts to reveal how regulatory institutions at home facilitate a multinational enterprise's (MNE's) international expansion and why the influence differs in different country clusters. Using hierarchical linear modeling and cluster analysis, proposed hypotheses were tested with a three‐year panel of 511 firms from 38 countries.FindingsThe results provide substantial support for the authors' hypotheses that MNEs with high governance quality at home are more engaged in internationalization than those with low governance quality at home. Moreover, differences in institutional effect do exist between country clusters.Practical implicationsThis study provides evidence that while country differences exist, governance quality at home can facilitate MNEs' expansion into foreign markets. This finding will help managers of any MNEs to consider country‐level factors and evaluate the governance quality at home before committing resources into foreign operations.Originality/valueBuilding on the institutional environment literature, this theory and results make original contributions by underscoring how the consideration of regulatory institutions at home can significantly improve understanding of institutional influence on MNEs. The findings have important implications for both international business researchers and managers of MNEs.

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