Do Authors Affiliated with Emerging Asian Contexts Have Proportionate Representation in Foreign Entry Mode Choice Research: Insights from the Bibliometric Analysis?

Abstract

Despite the growing relevance of the Asian context in foreign entry mode choice (FEMC) research over the previous two decades, the underrepresentation of authors affiliated with emerging contexts is surprising, necessitating a granular investigation. Using advanced bibliometric techniques, this study first highlights the representativeness gap of authors affiliated with Asian economies and then maps the conceptual and intellectual structure of FEMC research. The findings indicate that while issues related to emerging Asian contexts have gained traction, the authors affiliated with Asian institutes are highly under-represented. The analysis of 982 papers retrieved from the Web of Science and published between 2001 and 2021 shows that while North American (30%) and European affiliations (43%) account for 73% of author appearances, Asian affiliations (7.9%) are underrepresented, except for China. Given the strong link between context-sensitivity and affiliation, researchers affiliated with emerging contexts may be better positioned to portray the context-sensitivity of the FEMC construct by granularly investigating the intricacies and subtleties that are unique to these contexts. Insights from conceptual thematic analysis point to research gaps and opportunities. The practical implications for the Asian context lie in giving voice to authors from these contexts to capture the context-sensitivity of the FEMC construct.