“…This is unfortunate, given that growing liberalization of the world trade and intense domestic market competition have rendered global expansion activities increasingly important for the survival, growth, and success of modern firms (Morgan, Kaleka, & Katsikeas, 2004). With increasing frequency, firms begin to realize that going international may no longer be one of their options, but rather an urgent necessity (Mehta, Larsen, Rosenbloom, & Ganitsky, 2005). Further, most firms rely on cross-border business-tobusiness partnerships to enter overseas markets since it is a less difficult and risky foreign market entry mode that requires fewer capital and management resources than setting up joint ventures or subsidiaries overseas (Bello, Chelariu, & Zhang, 2003;Cavusgil, 1998).…”