Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Influence of Managerial Self-Interest on Foreign Exit Decisions

Seminar abstract

Based on the agency theory and the social exchange theory, this study investigates how FA managers can utilize two mechanisms that the principal adopts to deal with the agency problem of influencing the foreign exit/non-exit decision of the parent company (PC). Specifically, we examine whether and under which conditions FA managers’ self-interest affects the decision of PCs to exit a foreign market. Using secondary and primary data collected from multiple informants in Chinese firms engaged in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), we find that although the FA managers’ self-interest has no direct impact on the PC’s foreign exit decision, the PC is less likely to exit the foreign market when the FA managers hold a high level of trust in the PC. Furthermore, when the FA is locally embedded in the foreign host market, the managers’ self-interest has the strongest negative impact on the PC’s foreign exit decision.

How to attend this seminar

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

We welcome you to join us online on Wednesday 13 July 2022 at 12.30pm.

Speaker bio

Qun Tan is Associate Professor in Marketing at the School of Management, Xiamen University, China. She received her Ph.D. from Durham University.

Her research interests are in the area of international marketing strategy, export performance, and foreign exit decision.

She has published in Global Strategy Journal, Journal of International Marketing, Management International Review, and International Marketing Review.