Estrategias Chilenas

chilean Regional Strategies in Response to Economic Liberalization
Estrategias regionales chilenas como respuesta a la liberalización económica
1. IntroductIon
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Patricio del Sol1 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

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pdelsol@ing.puc.cl

Chile has been a leader in the worldwide trend toward liberalization of markets that has characterized recent decades. The liberalizationprocess began in that country in 1975, spreading a decade later to the rest of Latin America. Chilean firms responded to the process by completely reformulating their competitive strategies, making a multiple set of choices regarding scope, assets, resources, capabilities and geographic markets. The most significant commitments made by these companies since the 1990s were their unprecedentedoutbound foreign direct investments (FDI) across Latin America. Economists have long been addressing a number of important questions relating to the launch of competitive liberalization processes (see Bergara et al. (1998), Büchi (1993), Corbo et al. (1996), Edwards (1995), Kennedy (1998), and Majluf and Raineri (1997)). Business strategists, however, are just starting to examine the issues surroundinghow companies operating in countries that have undergone such reforms should respond to them. Khanna and Rivkin (2001) exemplifies a recent stream of research focusing on strategy and competition in developing countries that have adopted liberalization policies (see also: del Sol (2002), Fisman and Khanna (1998), Ghemawat and del Sol (1998a), Ghemawat, Kennedy and Khanna (1998), Ghemawat andKennedy (1999), Ghemawat and Khanna (1998), Khanna (2000), Khanna and Palepu (1997, 1999a, 1999b, 2000a, 2000b), and Toulan (2002)). Cuervo-Cazurra (2007) studies the sequence of value-added activities in the multinationalization of firms from Latin America. The same
Fecha de recepción y acuse de recibo: 21 de agosto de 2009. Fecha inicio proceso de evaluación: 21 de agosto de 2009. Fecha últimaversión: 8 de diciembre de 2009. Fecha de aceptación: 23 de diciembre de 2009

JEL CODES: F23, P11

UNIVERSIA BUSINESS REVIEW | pRImER cUAtRImEStRE 2010 | ISSN: 1698-5117

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executive summary The article analyzes the foreign investment decision as a response to the economic liberalization in Chile, using data obtained from a survey of 102 managers. I argue that the knowledge on strategies inresponse to reforms was a source of competitive advantage for Chilean firms, which enables them to successfully invest in other Latin American countries that were undertaking promarket reforms similar to the ones Chile did in the previous decade.

resumeN del artÍculo Este artículo analiza las decisiones de inversión en el extranjero en respuesta a la liberalización económica en Chile,utilizando datos recolectados a través de una encuesta a 102 gerentes generales. Argumento que el conocimiento sobre estrategia de negocios en tiempos de reformas fue una fuente de ventaja competitiva para las empresas chilenas que les permitió invertir exitosamente en otros países latinoamericanos que estaban realizando reformas económicas pro mercado similares a las que había realizado Chile en la décadaanterior.

UNIVERSIA BUSINESS REVIEW | pRImER cUAtRImEStRE 2010 | ISSN: 1698-5117

chILEAN REgIoNAL StRAtEgIES IN RESpoNSE to EcoNomIc LIBERALIzAtIoN

author also shows (2008) that Latin American companies have been induced to establish foreign direct investment (FDI) after changes in their home countries stemming from structural reform spurred them to upgrade their competitiveness tointernational levels. CuervoCazurra and Dau (2009a, 2009b) analyze how pro-market reforms impact the performance of domestic firms and subsidiaries of foreign firms operating in Latin America. The present article, written in the context of this new body of research, discusses the impact of the reforms in Chile and other Latin American countries on the competitive strategies of firms operating in...