Unveiling Internationalization Decision-Making of Burmese Managers: A Strategic Cognition Perspective

ABSTRACT

Building on concepts from cognitive science, we explored how managers in the transitional economy of Myanmar undergo an international market entry strategic dilemma. We investigated potential framing effects and the thought process in making such decisions. Three-hundred-and-five Burmese managers participated in one of three separate studies. A two-by-two experimental design and the cognitive mapping were used to examine biases in the internationalization decision-making process. Data were analyzed using non-parametric tests and content analyses. Results reveal that strategic choice was not associated with framing bias, personal characteristics, or sense-making approach. However, different risk preferences were detected between different business contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Internationalization
• strategic cognition
• cognitive bias
• mental mapping
• transitional economy
• Myanmar

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.