What Determined Success During the Asian Economic Crisis??The Importance of Experiential Knowledge and Group Affiliation

Abstract

This study investigated the factors that determined the change in firm performance during the Asian economic crisis. Applying a process-oriented resource-based view and MNC network theory, we argued that host country experience, industry experience, subsidiary experience, and group affiliation would influence subsidiary performance during an economic crisis. By testing the hypotheses on a sample of 1128 Japanese subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Korea, we found that, among different knowledge resources that the MNC accumulated in its internationalization process, subsidiary experiential knowledge was most significant in picking the winners from the losers during the crisis. Keiretsu affiliation and the parent firm’s industry experience were also significant, positive factors for firms remaining profitable or even better after the crisis. However, firm size and industry effects were not related to performance.