Is dunning's eclectic framework

Is Dunning's Eclectic Framework Descriptive or Normative? Author(s): Lance Eliot Brouthers, Keith D. Brouthers, Steve Werner
Source: Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 30, No. 4 (4th Qtr., 1999), pp. 831-844
Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/155348
Accessed: 26/05/2011 10:24

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Is Dunning's Eclectic Framework
Descriptive or Normative?

Lance Eliot Brouthers*
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

Keith D. Brouthers**
EAST LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON

Steve Werner***
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Can Dunning's OLI (Ownership, Location, Internalization) frame­ work be used to predict the best performinginternational entry modes or merely the most commonly selected modes? Using data from German and Dutch firms investing in Central and Eastern

H
ow do global corporations select specific international entry modes? Dunning's eclectic framework [Dunning, 1988, 1993, 1995] has been used in a number of studies [Agarwal and Ramaswami, 1992; Brouthers, Brouthers and Werner, 1996;Dunning and Kundu, 1995; Dunning and McQueen, 1982; Tatoglu and Glaister,
1998; Tse, Pan and Au, 1997] in an attempt to answer this question. These scholars suggest that Dunning's approach is superior to a transaction

Europe, we investigate the relationship between Dunning's OLI variables, entry mode selection and managerial satisfaction with firm performance. We foundempirical support for Dunning's framework as both a descriptive and a normative model.

cost approach (alone or in tandem with other unrelated theories) because Dunning's framework incorporates a plethora of influential factors including transaction cost/internalization, owner­ ship specific, and location specific vari­ ables. Previous efforts have shown that Dunning's framework appears to doan excellent job of predicting entry modes. However, no one has attempted to determine whether the framework is normative as well.
Although several studies have exam-

*Lance Eliot Brouthers (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an associate professor in the
Division of Management and Marketing at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
**Keith D. Brouthers (DBA, U.S. InternationalUniversity) is a Reader in Strategic and
International Management at the University of East London, U.K.
***Steve Werner (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an associate professor in the Department of
Management at the University of Houston

jOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES, 30, 4 (FOURTH QUARTER 1999): 831-844 831

Is DUNNING'S ECLECI'IC FRAMEWORK DESCRIPTIVE OR...