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international business review

International Business Review 15 (2006) 601617 www.elsevier.com/locate/ibusrev

A review of research methodologies in international business

Zhilin Yang, Xuehua Wang, Chenting Su
Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Received 26 October 2005; received in revised form 23 February 2006, 22 May 2006, 13 August 2006; accepted 21 August 2006

Abstract What is common practice in international business (IB) research methodology? To address this question, we surveyed 1,296 empirical articles published in six leading international business journals from 1992 to 2003. The study uncovers state-of-the-art approaches in research methodologies in IB in terms of ve major aspects: data collection methods, sample sources including sampled countries and subjects, sampling methods, sample sizes, and response rates. The results indicate that (1) mail questionnaire surveys dominate empirical research, (2) 60.9% of the studies use a one-country sample (88.9% from western countries), (3) 33.7% of the studies are based upon sample frames provided by third parties, and (4) the median sample size is 180 with an average response rate of 40.1%. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided to improve the methodological rigor of IB research. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Research methods; Research design; International business; Literature review

1. Introduction Research methodologies directly impact the validity and generalizability of a study (McGrath & Brinberg, 1983), and in turn, play a vital role in knowledge development of international business (IB). Kogut (2001, p. 786) has pointed out that the development of the eld of international business has been strongly driven by innovations in research
Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2784 4644; fax: +852 2788 9146.

E-mail address: mkzyang@cityu.edu.hk (Z. Yang). 0969-5931/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2006.08.003

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design and methodologies. Advancement in research methodologies in IB, nevertheless, has been deemed to signicantly lag behind theory developments (Aulakh & Kotabe, 1993). In this sense, Craig and Douglas (2001) have recently called for expanding research settings and using more creative methods to discover complicated cross-cultural phenomena. Thus, it is desirable to review the recent development of research design in IB research so as to uncover existing gaps and to provide directions for further improvement (Craig & Douglas, 2001). This study intends to take inventory of common practices related to several important aspects of research methodologies in IB. We aim to contribute to the existing knowledge base of research methods in IB in three areas. First, we uncover the current status of the development of research methods through an extensive review of the ve major methodological aspects pertaining to all empirical studies in IB, namely, data collection methods, sample sources including sampled countries and subjects, sampling techniques, sample sizes, and response rates, based on a survey of 1,296 empirical articles published in the six leading IB journals from 1992 to 2003. Second, we report typical practice of such methodological issues as data collection methods and countries/subjects studied for each journal by making cross-serial and cross-study comparisons. Third, we identify the major problems and challenges facing IB researchers by contrasting our results with those of similar studies in light of theoretical or ideal criteria. Finally, we provide directions for further improvement based upon a trade-off between theoretical and practical considerations. 2. Conceptual background The literature on research methodologies in IB has primarily focused on the issue of generalizability of the ndings of cross-cultural studies (for a comprehensive review, refer to Malhotra, Agarwal, & Peterson, 1996). For example, Schaffer and Riordan (2003) examine key methodological issues for organizational research by focusing on the development of the research question, the alignment of the research contexts, and the validation of the research instruments. They provide a good practice for such issues as emic or etic perspectives, prompt treatment of culture, sample equivalence, survey administration, and validation of research instruments, semantic equivalence, conceptual and scaling equivalence, interpretation of ndings in order to minimize meaningless, inconclusive, or misguiding empirical results across cultures. However, most studies in this research stream are either conceptual in nature (e.g., Cavusgil & Das, 1997) or use a very limited sample of articles. For instance, when assessing methodological issues in organizational research, Schaffer and Riordan (2003) only consider 210 cross-cultural studies published between 1995 and 2001 from eight leading academic management journals and the Journal of CrossCultural Psychology. Moreover, most prior studies cover only partially the domain of IB research, that is, cross-cultural studies to the exclusion of IB studies carried out in a single foreign country. We attempt to extend the previous efforts in this study by surveying all empirical articles published in six leading IB journals from 1992 to 2003 with the hope of providing a broader empirical review of the updated status of research methodologies in IB. Unlike previous studies, we focus on ve important issues, i.e., data collection methods, sample sources including sampled countries and subjects, sampling techniques, sample sizes, and response rates. Two main reasons justify the structure of our research design. First, the

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objectives of this study suggest that our focus is not only on cross-cultural/country research, but on all empirical studies in leading IB journals as well. Only a small portion of IB research is cross-cultural/national oriented; single-country studies are still prevalent (Hyman & Yang, 2001). Thus, many methodological issues pertaining to comparative studies are not relevant. This leads us to focus on methodological issues applicable to studies using samples from both single and multiple countries. The focus also enables us to make cross-serial and cross-study comparisons. Second, the ve selected aspects have been considered as the most important fundamental indicators of quality research design, substantially inuencing the quality of an IB study (Ember & Ember, 2001). Specically, as we elaborate subsequently, the quality of the ve issues and their combination contributes to ensuring the validity of IB studies. 2.1. Data collection methods Data collection methods inuence a tests reliability and validity (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991). Some frequently used methods include survey (mail or administrated questionnaire survey), experiment, personal or telephone interviews, and secondary data. Each data collection method has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, conducting surveys in a question format may induce problems of vagueness and generalizability. The situation or scenario could be described so briey to the respondent that it is difcult for him or her to evaluate and for the researcher to attain any reasonable degree of within-subject reliability (Randall & Gibson, 1990, p. 465). An experiment usually involves pre-existing groups or non-random assignment of units to treatment which inuences internal validity. Thus, researchers advocate multiple methods of data collection, e.g., a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, to overcome single method bias. In addition, it is argued that the selection of modes of data collection could inuence non-response error and response rates (Shettle & Mooney, 1999). Sudman and Bradburn (1982) argue that less educated people are more willing to respond to telephone surveys than to mail questionnaires, which require literacy skills. Furthermore, Ember and Ember (2001, p. 13) have pointed out that an important feature of cross-cultural comparison is whether the data used are primary (collected by the investigator in various eld sites explicitly for a comparative study) or secondary (collected by others and found by the comparative researcher in ethnographies, censuses, and histories). Using both primary and secondary data is also highly recommended, though the difculty lies in ensuring the equivalence and comparability of secondary and primary data obtained from different cultures (Malhotra et al., 1996). 2.2. Sample sources Sample sources refer to the researched environment (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991) and the subjects used in a study. Ember and Ember (2001, p. 12) emphasize the critical role of geographical scope of the comparisonwhether the sample is worldwide or is limited to a geographic area (e.g., a region such as North America) in cross-cultural studies. People in different countries and areas differ in many ways, e.g., demographic and psychographic characteristics, which could cause a treatmentsattributes interaction and in turn inuence external validity and generalizability of research ndings (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991). Culture is an even broader setting for research, exerting signicant inuence on subjects

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responses. Thus, this treatmentssettings interaction could be stronger in cross-cultural research studies. 2.3. Sampling techniques Research objectives and questions often determine the sampling frame as to whom or what to sample, leading to two different sampling techniques, i.e., probability and nonprobability sampling (Palys, 1997). A good sample has two properties: representativeness and adequacy (Singh, 1986). In general, random samples provide a good approximation of the population and offer better assurance against sampling bias; thus are more representative than non-probability samples (e.g., Lazerwitz, 1968). Nevertheless, due to situational and nancial constraints, researchers in many elds rely heavily upon convenience sampling (Randall & Gibson, 1990). For instance, it would be difcult to obtain an appropriate sampling frame for a study of behaviors of homosexual consumers in China. Thus, it is desirable to learn how IB researchers make a trade-off between sample representativeness and costs. 2.4. Sample sizes Sample size inuences the accuracy of estimation. In general, a large sample size can help minimize sampling errors, and improve generalizability of research ndings. Sample size affects statistic power through inuencing standard errors (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991). The adequacy of sample size is determined by such factors as the way the respondents are selected (random or convenient), the distribution of the population parameters (the variables of interest), the purpose of the research project (exploratory or applied), and data analytic procedures (Randall & Gibson, 1990). It is essential for researchers to nd the optimal point between the costs and adequacy of a sample size. 2.5. Response rates The problem of low response rates or non-response error occurs when some sample subjects do not respond. Such non-response errors distort the information drawn from the selected sample (Assael & Keon, 1982), thus decreasing reliability and validity of a study, and making it difcult for generalization. Therefore, to do quality research, scholars need to know not only the average response rates of different methods, but must also identify factors that affect response rates. For IB research, it is critical to focus attention on question relevancy, language ambiguity, cultural and geographical distances, and the sensitivity of the studys subject that may signicantly inuence non-response errors (Helgeson, Voss, & Terpening, 2002). In the following section, we empirically review the adequacy of these ve aspects in IB research methodology based on a more comprehensive survey. 3. Research design The research design for this study follows procedures suggested in previous studies (Hyman & Yang, 2001; Sila & Ebrahimpour, 2002). First, based upon the purpose of our research, we selected our sampling frame and further narrowed our samples. Second, we

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developed corresponding measures and a content analysis scheme dened in terms of our research domain. Finally, major issues concerning data collection and coding reliability were addressed. 3.1. Samples Knowledge of IB has spread over various publication outlets, including academic journals, trade magazines, and conference proceedings. Due to certain constraints such as time, nancial resources, and language, we limited the scope of our investigation to publications in the most inuential English-language academic journals in IB. We selected the top six IB journals based on DuBois and Reebs (2000, p. 700) integrated rankings of 30 IB journals (i.e., a combination of adjusted impact factors based on citations in ve core IB journals from 1995 to 1997 and results from a questionnaire survey). The top six journals are: Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS, from the US), Management International Review (MIR, from Germany), Journal of World Business (Formerly Columbia Journal of World Business, JWB, from the US), International Marketing Review (IMR, from the UK), Journal of International Marketing (JIM, from the US), and International Business Review (IBR, from the UK) (the six journals are referred to as IBJ, herein after). We chose the period of 19922003 to reect the recent trend of research methodologies in IB. This period has also witnessed the rapid expansion of IB practice and research. As research methodology is the main focus of this study, only empirical articles and research notes were considered; editorials, book reviews, keynotes, credits, glossary, and letters to editors were excluded (Hoverstad, Shipp, & Higgins, 1995; Hyman & Yang, 2001; Thomas, Shenkar, & Clarke, 1994; Urbancic, 1995). A study is classied as an empirical study if it is based on the collection and analysis of primary and/or secondary data (Sin & Ho, 2001, p. 23). As a result, a total of 1,296 empirical studies were selected, representing 67.3% (1,296 of 1,926) of all the articles published in the six IB journals. 3.2. Measures and content analysis Among the numerous elements of research design and methodology, we focus on aspects signicantly affecting reliability and validity of the ndings of a study. A coding sheet was developed based on eight major elements of research design. They are (1) data collection methods, (2) sampling techniques, (3) population (the entire group under study as dened by research objectives), (4) sample frame (a master list of the entire population), (5) sample (a subset of the population), (6) sample subjects, (7) sample size, and (8) response rate (Burns & Bush, 2002; Sin, Cheung, & Lee, 1999). For this study, a country is dened as nations, specic areas, or regions. For example, the UK, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico, are each coded as one country. The few cases of researcher-identied regions, such as General Europe or Middle Asia, also were coded as one country. If an article conducted multiple studies, the mean sample size was calculated and used. We recorded response rates according to data collection methods. The primary data collection methods were coded as the most important for the study if there was more than one method. For example, De Mortandes and Vossen (1999) conducted a telephone interview rst to identify and determine participants, followed by a mail survey. Therefore, we coded mail survey as the primary data collection method. When a study did not specify

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its sampling method, response rate, or other information, we categorized each item as do not know. To develop a coding scheme, two researchers coded the rst 200 articles together. The 200 articles were drawn from the rst 11 empirical studies published in 1993, 1997, and 2001, respectively, for each IB serial (total articles: 11 3 6 198). In addition, two more empirical articles published in JIBS in 2001 were selected to reect the fact that JIBS has the largest number of empirical articles in the examined period. The sampling technique enables us to choose articles roughly representing each serial. Based upon the initial coding scheme, the two researchers then coded the remaining 1,096 articles independently. The coding scheme was further expanded and incorporated new items whenever necessary. For instance, new countries studied such as Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Czech Republic were added in the process of coding. In addition, the researchers reclassied and redened a category through either combining similar items or further dividing a category into two or more. For example, sample types were initially categorized into convenience, probability, judgment, sample based on lists supplied by others, secondary data, and others. Later, we further divided secondary data into nancial data, and government data to specify the two distinct secondary data sources. The inter-coder reliabilities, measured by the percent agreement index across the eight categories, ranged from 95.5% to 99.1%, indicating satisfactory results. Specically, the inter-coder reliability was 99.1% for population, 98.5% for data collection methods, 98.3% for sample frame, 97.7% for sample, 97.5% for sampling techniques, 97.6% for response rate, 96.5% for sample size, and 95.5% for sample subjects. All disagreements and inconsistencies were resolved through further discussion. 4. Results 4.1. Data collection methods In Table 1, we present types of empirical studies in IBJ. Survey methods predominate in collecting data in IBJ and account for 60.3% of empirical articles. Mail questionnaire survey is the most popular method, followed by administered questionnaire survey, personal interview, and telephone interview. Mail questionnaire and administered questionnaire together have been utilized in almost 50% of the empirical studies. In fact, the percentages of mail questionnaire survey-based studies across IB journals are relatively higher, ranging from 27.7% to 47.9%. The second most popular method is administered questionnaire survey for JIBS, IMR, and MIR; and personal interview for IBR, JIM, and JWB. The percentage of studies using personal interviews in IB is 9.9% which is much lower than 23% on the basis of 522 empirical articles in international marketing (Li & Cavusgil, 1995). Consistent with Li and Cavusgil (1995)s study, telephone interview is the least frequently used technique, ranging from 0% to 1.8%. Other non-experiment-related primary data collection methods, e.g., focus group, panel, and intercept, constitute only 4.9% of the empirical articles. For instance, a total of 14 studies use intercept as a primary data collection method, drawing samples from US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, respectively. Overall, mall intercepts are not popular in Europe as a whole or in developing countries (DCs) (Kaiser, 1988). Similarly, experiment design plays a minor role with only 27 articles employing the method, representing 2.1% of all empirical studies. JIM has the highest percentages of

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Z. Yang et al. / International Business Review 15 (2006) 601617 Table 1 Data collection methods for empirical studies Type of study Pct. IBJ Survey Mail survey Administered questionnaire Personal interview Telephone interview Secondary data (e.g. database, case study) Other (e.g. content analysis, focus group, intercept, panel) Experiment Total Number of articles 60.3 37.6 11.9 9.9 1.0 32.7 4.9 JIBS 51.8 34.2 11.6 5.4 0.5 42.6 4.0 IMR 67.7 38.2 21.4 6.4 1.8 17.7 11.8 IBR 60.2 35.1 9.7 14.3 1.2 34.0 4.6 JIM 65.5 47.9 6.7 10.9 0.0 24.8 3.6 JWB 58.9 27.7 8.9 20.5 1.8 38.4 0.9 MIR 65.7 44.4 10.7 9.5 1.2 32.5 1.8 782 487 154 128 13 424 63 Number of articles 607

2.1 100.0 1,296

1.6 100.0 371

2.7 100.0 220

1.2 100.0 259

6.1 100.0 165

1.8 100.0 112

0.0 100.0 169

27 100.0 1296

Notes: 1. Percentages based on empirical articles only. 2. IBJ: International Business Journals including JIBS, MIR, JWB, IMR, JIM, and IBR;JIBS: Journal of International Business Studies; MIR: Management International Review; JWB: Journal of World Business; IMR: International Marketing Review; JIM: Journal of International Marketing, and IBR: International Business Review.

experiment-based studies. Surprisingly, MIR has not published any research using experiment as a primary research method. Secondary data has been widely utilized in IB research with a total of 32.7% of studies employing pre-existing quantitative and qualitative data such as government database, nancial data, census data, social surveys, organizational administrative data, public records, and longitudinal studies. JIBS published the highest percentages of secondary data-based research, demonstrating a good balance between survey-based data and secondary data (51.8% versus 42.6%). In comparison, studies in two international marketing-specic journals, IMR and JIM, utilized less secondary data (17.7% and 24.8%, respectively). Therefore, researchers in IM may be encouraged to exploit secondary data as they are less expensive and time-consuming (Heaton, 2004). 4.2. Data sources 4.2.1. Countries sampled The 12 countries or areas mostly frequently sampled are the USA (39.0%), UK (15.7%), Japan (14.4%), China (10.7%), Germany (9.5%), Canada (8.6%), France (8.2%), Australia (6.4%), Sweden (5.6%), Holland (5.6%), Hong Kong (4.8%) and Korea (4.6%) (see Table 2). IB researchers still concentrated on a limited set of countries, mainly, USA, UK, and Japan, reecting the size of a countrys economy. Over the study period, countries such as China, Holland, and Korea have increasingly attracted attention from IB scholars. In particular, China has been luring more researchers because of its thriving economy along with two unique special situationsits ongoing transition from a planned economy to a market economy and its representativeness of Eastern culture.

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Table 2 Top 15 countries studied by empirical articles in IBJ and IMS Pct. IMSb (19851993) JIBSc (19701993) JIBSd MIRd JWBd IMRd IBRd JIMd

No.

Country/area

Pct.e (freq.f)

IBJa (19922003)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 11 12 13 14 15 665 602 371 169 112 220

USA UK Japan China Germany Canada France Australia Sweden Holland Hong Kong Korea Italy Spain Norway

39.0 15.7 14.4 10.7 9.5 8.6 8.2 6.4 5.6 5.6 4.8 4.6 4.6 3.9 3.9

(506) (204) (187) (139) (123) (112) (106) (83) (73) (73) (62) (60) (59) (51) (50)

27.7 6.2 5.7 3.5 1.7 3.3 1.1 2.7 0.8 1.7 2.9 3.6 0.5 0.5 0.5

(184) (41) (38) (23) (11) (22) (7) (18) (5) (11) (19) (24) (3) (3) (3)

42.9 14.0 15.4 2.0 11.0 10.1 9.3 4.2 5.8 6.6 1.8 4.5 4.7 2.2 2.8

(258) (84) (93) (12) (66) (61) (11) (25) (35) (40) (11) (27) (28) (13) (17)

48.5 16.2 18.9 10.8 11.1 12.1 10.2 7.0 6.7 9.4 5.4 5.1 6.7 5.1 4.6

46.7 14.2 14.8 11.8 14.8 10.7 8.3 4.1 6.5 5.3 3.6 3.6 3.0 5.3 3.0

29.5 13.4 12.5 15.2 14.3 9.8 11.6 6.3 5.4 7.1 5.4 4.5 11.6 7.1 2.7

36.4 16.8 9.5 5.9 5.0 5.9 6.4 7.7 0.9 1.8 4.5 5.0 1.4 3.2 2.7

25.1 19.7 13.5 10.4 7.7 6.6 7.7 6.2 8.1 4.6 5.4 3.1 3.1 1.5 3.9 259

41.8 10.3 13.3 13.3 6.1 4.8 4.2 6.1 3.0 3.0 3.6 6.7 3.0 2.4 5.5 165

Number of articles

1296

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IBJ: International Business Journals including JIBS, MIR, JWB, IMR, JIM, and IBR. Percentages for sampled ve international marketing journals based on Hyman and Yang (2001). c Percentages based on Thomas et al. (1994). d JIBS: Journal of International Business Studies; MIR: Management International Review; JWB: Journal of World Business; IMR: International Marketing Review; JIM: Journal of International Marketing, and IBR: International Business Review (19922003). e Percent frequency of the country studied/no. of articles. f Frequency of the countries studied.

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The distribution of sampled countries is also skewed at the regional level. Europe is the continent studied most frequently (1,152 studies), followed by Asia (859), North America (670), Oceania (mainly Australia, New Zealand) (121), Central and South America (81), and Africa (29). In terms of the mean studies per region, North America ranks rst (134), followed by Oceania (60.5), Europe (36), Asia (14.6), Central and South America (6.2), and Africa (3.2). Thus, Central and South America and Africa are under-researched areas. The mean number of countries studied per empirical article is 1.56 (s.d. 3.37) in IBJ, which is similar to that in IMS (mean 1.55, s.d. 0.52) (Hyman & Yang, 2001). Of the empirical studies in IBJ, 60.9% (740 of 1,216) are limited to one-country samples, which is lower than 73.4% in IMS, 17.4% (211 of 1,216) are limited to two-country samples, and 21.7% involve three- or-more-country samples. While the mean number of countries sampled has been increasing over time, one-country samples still dominate IB research. 4.2.2. Subjects used The most preferred subject in IB studies is managers (e.g., CEOs and VPs) with 49.5% of the empirical articles, followed by individuals (e.g., consumers, citizens, 11.3%), nancial and government data (10.3%, respectively), students (3.9%), journal articles (3.2%), product and sales data (2.1%), advertisements (0.8%), and newspaper articles (0.8%) (see Table 3). The ndings are somewhat consistent with those of Hyman and Yang (2001). They have shown that managers/CEOs/VPs are also the most attractive group (52%) in IMS, followed next by individuals (20.3%), students (10%), government data (4.8%), advertisements (3.8%), nancial data (3.1%), and serial articles (2.6%). Government data and nancial data are very popular because they are easier to access and are relatively cheaper. Only a few studies retrieved data from articles in newspapers or newsletters. These studies typically cover the least number of countries due to language and culture barriers.

Table 3 Prole of data sources Source Percent (frequency) IBJa Managers/CEOs/VPs Individuals (e.g. consumers and citizens) Financial data Government data Students Journal articles Product/sales data Advertisements Newspaper articles Other Total
a b

IMSb (641) (146) (134) (134) (50) (41) (27) (11) (11) (101) 52.0 20.3 3.1 4.8 10.0 2.6 NAc 3.8 NAc 3.3 (218) (85) (13) (20) (42) (11) (16) (14)

49.5 11.3 10.3 10.3 3.9 3.2 2.1 0.8 0.8 7.8

100.0 (1,296)

100.0 (419)

IBJ: International Business Journals including JIBS, MIR, JWB, IMR, JIM, and IBR. Frequencies and percentages for sampled ve international marketing journals based on Hyman and Yang (2001). c NA not applicable/available.

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4.3. Sampling methods Theoretically, probability samples are preferred since they offer better assurance against sampling bias. Nevertheless, the majority of IB studies were found to rely on nonprobability sampling methods. Specically, judgment samples are most frequently used (15.1%), convenience sample (14.6%), probability sample (9.3%), nancial data (7.7%), government data (7.0%), census (1.9%), and newspaper articles (1.6%) (see Table 4). Sin, Hung, and Cheung (2001) identify a similar pattern based on cross-cultural advertising studies. They nd that the most frequently used method was convenience sampling, followed by judgment sampling, and random sampling. In the same vein, Hyman and Yang (2001) observe that only 19.3% of empirical articles use probability samples while 26% rely on convenience samples and 31.3% on lists supplied by others. Thus, this is consistent with the nding of Sin and Ho (2001, p. 25) that researchers studying Chinese consumer behavior have a tradition of relying heavily on non-probability sampling in selecting sample units. Furthermore, lists provided by various third parties have been widely utilized, representing 33.7% of studies in IBJ. The most popular sample frames are multinational companies directories compiled by commercial organizations such as Fortune 500, Macmillan Directory of Multinationals, International Firm Directory (IFD), and Kompass Directory of Enterprises, followed by lists compiled by government and trade associations such as the US Department of Commerce Directory, member lists of the China Business Club, World Business Directory, and Singapore China Trade and Investment Directory, AMA and Thai Marketing Association, American Countertrade Association, and Defense Industry Offset Association. Lists compiled by non-prot, world-wide organizations such as the OECD and EU are also quite popular.

Table 4 Frequency of sample type Percent (frequency) Sample type Sample based on lists supplied by others Judgment Convenience sample Probability sample Financial data Government data Others Census Newspaper articles Unspecied Total
a b

IBJa 33.7 15.1 14.6 9.3 7.7 7.0 5.4 1.9 1.6 3.7 (437) (195) (189) (120) (100) (91) (70) (25) (21) (48)

IMSb 31.3 13.8 26.0 19.3 2.1 3.5 1.6 0.5 0.5 1.6 (136) (60) (113) (84) (9) (15) (7) (2) (2) (7)

100.0 (1,296)

100.0 (419)

IBJ: International Business Journals including JIBS, MIR, JWB, IMR, JIM, and IBR. Frequencies and percentages for sampled ve international marketing journals based on Hyman and Yang (2001).

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4.4. Sample sizes The mean sample size of empirical studies in IBJ varies dramatically according to unit of analysis, ranging from 181 to 5,186. For example, the mean size is 426 for manager samples, and 5,186 for studies using secondary nancial data. As the mean sample size is likely skewed by either very small or very large samples, the median size, 180, is considered as more representative of the typical sample size in IB. In terms of sample unit, advertisements have the largest median sample size of 647, followed by individuals (343), students (248), newspaper articles (201), government data (187), nancial data (177), managers/CEOs/VPs (175), journal articles (119), and product/sales data (116). The median sample sizes also vary by types of study and by sampling methods. The median sample size of census is the largest (351), followed by probability sample (242), list (203), nancial data (197), newspaper articles (186), convenience sample (174), government data (154), and judgment (135) (see Table 5). The median sample size is larger than a minimum satisfactory sample size which is usually set at 100 subjects per study (Bailey, 1982). 4.5. Response rates The average response rates of studies using survey questionnaire across IB journals are relatively higher, ranging from 27.4% to 51.2%. In comparison, Hyman and Yang (2001) have found that the mean response rate of studies in IMJ is 40.0%, which is within the above range. Studies employing administered questionnaire survey have the highest response rate (51.2%), followed by telephone interview (45.2%), personal interview (36.6%, response rates are calculated as the ratio of people agreed to be interviewed versus people contacted), and mail survey (27.4%). It is not surprising to see that mail questionnaire surveys, being most popular, have received a lower response rate relative to other survey methods (Malhotra et al., 1996). In spite of its high cost, personal interview with survey questionnaire is the dominant mode for collecting data in most European countries, newly industrialized countries (NICs), and the developing world (Honomichl, 1984; Monk, 1987).
Table 5 Sample size by type Sample type Median sample size IBJa Census Probability sample Sample based on lists supplied by others Financial data Newspaper articles Convenience sample Government data Judgment
a b

IMSb NAc 367 185 17,191 2,115 205 12 89

351 242 203 197 186 174 154 135

IBJ: International Business Journals including JIBS, MIR, JWB, IMR, JIM, and IBR. Median sample size for sampled ve international marketing journals based on Hyman and Yang (2001). c NA not applicable/available.

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5. Discussion In this research, we summarized the common practice of the ve key aspects of IB research design through an extensive examination of 1,296 empirical articles. The results indicate that (1) the most popular data collection method is mail questionnaire survey, followed by secondary database, and administrated questionnaire survey, (2) 60.9% of the studies used a one-country sample (88.9% from western countries), (3) 33.7% of studies drew sample frames from authoritative lists, and (4) the median sample size was 180 with an average response rate of 40.1%. The ndings provide directions for further improvement in terms of data collection methods, data sources and quality. 5.1. Choosing appropriate data collection methods The choice of data collection method is determined by factors such as sample controllability, accessibility to data sources, availability of subjects, literacy of subjects, and penetration of communication vehicles (e.g., telephone, fax, and Internet). Because of low costs, mail surveys have been widely used in most developed countries where literacy is high and the postal system is well developed (Malhotra et al., 1996). In contrast to developed countries, telephones in most DCs are often not widely installed and directories are either incorrect or out of date. Telephone, therefore, does not constitute an especially feasible interviewing vehicle. Salehi-Sangari and Lemar (1993) recommend the use of mail questionnaire and/or personal interview in DCs and consider telephone interview not very useful because of technical problems, language, and high associated costs. They also suggest the use of personal distribution, follow-up letters, cash remuneration and gifts to increase the return rate of mail questionnaires. The inadequate use of experiment-based studies reects two realities in IB research. First, as Malpass and Poortinga (1986) explain, conducting experiments in cross-cultural research has encountered obstacles in manipulating cultural treatment and in changing subjects from one cultural treatment to another. In this sense, researchers have little or even no control over the impact of cultural factors on behavior. As a consequence, any inference drawn within the results is purely post hoc. The difculty of experiments in IB research is also endorsed by Sin et al. (2001) who claim that contrary to a previous study on general advertising research (mainly in the US) by Yale and Gilly (1988), which nds that 35% of advertising studies employed laboratory experiments, the low percentage of using experimental design in cross-cultural advertising research may be due to the fact that this method is more time-consuming than doing surveys in collecting cross-cultural data (p. 18). The second reality is that IB as a discipline is still striding toward maturity. Experiments have been considered as an important method for such disciplines as psychology and sociology from which IB studies often derive theories. While mail and administered surveys dominate empirical research in IB, other methods such as content analysis, focus group, intercept and panel have lacked adequate attention, which is evidenced by only 4.9% of the studies. For many IB problems, observation, case studies (Paliwoda, 1999), secondary data, and experimental designs may prove more reliable and valid. For instance, some observation methods used to track and record consumer behavior, trace analysis, audits, and even content analysis have been seldom employed in IB research. These methods are time-consuming and tedious, yet they possess promising potential. Archival data, including statistical records and other governmental or

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organizational records (such as census data), survey archives (such as the General Social Survey), and written records (such as newspapers), are suitable for longitudinal and multicountry studies (Judd, Smith, & Kidder, 1991). However, Salehi-Sangari and Lemar (1993, p. 132) have argued in DCs, the use of secondary data compiled by DCs is not recommended owing to the existence of a high degree of unreliability. In this case, researchers may try to get approval of top management in an organization and use cash remuneration to acquire the full cooperation of the lower management to obtain higher rate of return for questionnaire, increase in quality of response, and possibility of availability of document, if needed for research (Salehi-Sangari & Lemar, 1993, p. 132). In addition to these traditional approaches, more IB scholars could adopt the Internet and the recently emerged communication media such as CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing) and CAPI (computer assisted personal interviewing), to take advantage of low cost, fast response time, and access to any location (Sackmary, 1998, p. 41). For instance, researchers could employ online sampling such as random online intercept sampling, invitation online sampling, and online panel sampling. Furthermore, researchers could benet from using new methods such as Netnography method (Kozinets, 2002) and online content analysis (Yang & Peterson, 2003). Compared with traditional research methods such as personal interviews and focus groups, these methods are less time-consuming, less obtrusive, but more timely and cheaper, providing a unique opportunity for IB researchers to collect data. For example, Netnography, as a qualitative research technique, employs ethnographic methods which draw upon the information publicly available in online forums to identify and understand the needs and decision inuences of relevant online consumer groups. (Kozinets, 2002, p. 62). 5.2. Collecting reliable and valid data Previous studies call for increasing the number of countries sampled in IB study (Hyman & Yang, 2001; Sin et al., 2001). Researchers using data collected from multiple countries could control unmatched factors, increase validity, and rule out alternative explanations (Malhotra et al., 1996; Sin et al., 1999; Berry, 1980), and, in turn, enhance the generalizability of the ndings. Multi-country sampling is possibly restricted for two reasons. First, survey sample in more than one country involves large nancial and human costs. Second, researchers opportunity for international cooperation is limited (Aulakh & Kotabe, 1993). This could be partially solved by editors or other research organizations through their efforts in coordinating researchers across countries. IB researchers heavily concentrated on the Western countries, reecting their economic power. As rapid globalization of business continues to evolve, it is reasonable to call for more studies focusing on emerging and DCs. Regarding subjects, while it is reasonable to acknowledge that the majority of respondents are managers/CEOs/VPs, IB scholars should extend their research scope by surveying more IB stakeholders, such as shareholders, environmental groups, and the community. Studying the interplay between these subjects and MNCs tends to enrich our knowledge. For secondary data, because a single data set only addresses some aspects of a researched phenomenon, various sources should be used to verify accuracy of the data and the robustness of the results. For instance, to measure the institutional environment, scholars can utilize multiple sources such as the Institutional Proles database, the Fraser Institute database, World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report, the PRS

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Group International Country Risk Guide, IMF International Financial Statistics, the n database, and World Development Indicators, Kaufmann, Kraay and Zoidon-Lobato and Hofstedes Cultural Dimension Index. One notable issue we observe is that there have been very few IB studies on organizational behaviors using multiple informants. As pointed out by Bruggen, Lilien and Kacker (2002, p. 476), using multiple versus a single informant improves the quality of response data and thereby the validity of reported relationships in organizational marketing research. While organizational level studies in other top business journals have adopted a multiple informants practice to minimize response errors, IB research still lags behind this trend. 5.3. Confronting the challenges1 The above-mentioned methodological problems in IB research typically result from realworld constraints. For instance, the fact that 60.9% of empirical studies use a one-country sample indicates that researchers lack either nancial support or international experience. Some regions (e.g., Africa) or countries (e.g., Bangladesh) are under-researched. This may be due to the low acceptance possibility of such studies. Non-probability samples are preferred simply because of low costs of data collection and assessibility. The gradual adoption of innovative research approaches and advanced technology may be explained by implementation difculties. For instance, the sampling framework commonly used in webbased surveys may not accurately represent the population of interest to marketers, and samples could be highly biased. Thus, the most critical issue is: What roles should IB stakeholders, namely educational institutions, editors, editorial boards, resources gatekeepers, researchers, business communities, and governments play in confronting these challenges? Addressing these questions requires proactive solutions while considering real-world constraints. When selecting a country to study and deciding which method should be used to collect data, IB researchers are likely to compare the costs and the benets and evaluate whether their efforts have paid off. Thus, governments, multinational cooporations, and educational institutions could provide strong nancial support to encourage scholars to devote their research activities to the most challenging but under-researched IB areas, and to conduct rigorous as well as innovative research. Another effective way is to offer adequate benets or incentives. Gatekeepers in business schools could reward scholars who are willing to accept challenges. IB editors or editorial board members could set research priorities or launch special issues to reorient their contributors research efforts, thus encouraging methodolgical innovation. Creative or innovative research methods often encounter risks; extraordinary consideration should, therefore, be taken in evaluating their potential. For instance, while the Internet has denite limitations and should be used with caution, its unique bents are unquestionable. As pointed out by Craig and Douglas (2001, p. 89), [T]he fact that results will be obtained rapidly will allow additional sampling, with enhanced incentives, to compensate for shortfall. It is undeniable that international training and experience play a key role when researchers, editors or the editorial board confront these challenges and advance IB knowledge. Ph.D. programs, for example, could strengthen their training on international
1

We owe the idea to one of the anonymous reviews.

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business knowledge. More international scholar exchange programs could be established so as to faciliatate more cross-country collaborations which tend to enhance research productivity (Chan, Fung, & Leung, 2006). Finally, it is desirable to employ IB editors with international training and experience and ensure that editorial boards possess diversied cultural backgrounds or nationalities (Hyman & Yang, 2001). 6. Limitations Several limitations suggest further research. First, we only surveyed the six leading IB journals written in English, located in the USA and UK. Future studies may also include other outlets, particularly prestige journals in other business disciplines. Second, the scope of our survey of research methods is rather limited by only reviewing ve major aspects. Other important methodological issues include the choice of statistical tools, the power of the ndings, construct equivalence (e.g., functional, conceptual, instrument, and measurement equivalence) (Drasgow & Kanfer, 1985), construct reliability and validity, and scale construction for cross-cultural samples. Third, our coding practice indicates that a relatively comprehensive, detailed coding scheme is necessary for the reduction of coding inconsistency and disagreement. Researchers could use our ndings as a base to further develop the coding scheme and improve inter-coder reliability. Finally, future research can undertake systematic examination of these areas so as to provide additional insights and a comprehensive review of research methods in IB. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge a research grant from City University of Hong Kong (SRG Project No. 7001742). The authors owe several ideas to Professor Michael Hyman at New Mexico State University and would like to express appreciation of his strong support for the project. The authors also would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. References
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