FSA Exportability Check

Score each of your firm-specific advantages on five dimensions (cultural, regulatory, infrastructure, economic, competitive) for one target country, so you know what to lead with and what needs adaptation before you commit.

Mixed evidence. The firm-specific advantage idea is established theory. The distance dimensions follow a practitioner framework (Ghemawat), not a tested instrument; cultural distance scores are informed judgment. The score bands are a rule of thumb.

Use it when:

• You have run 7.15 VRIO FSA Finder and want to know whether the winners work in one specific country.
• You are about to choose between exporting, partnering and building locally, and the answer depends on how much must change.
• Someone says "it will work there too" and you want evidence for each dimension.

Skip it when:

• You do not yet know your advantages: start with 7.15 VRIO FSA Finder.
• You are still choosing which country: use 7.11 Market Screening Table.

The premise is from internalization theory. Rugman and Verbeke (1992) distinguish advantages bound to their home location from advantages that travel, and international strategy is largely knowing which of yours is which. The dimensions rest on evidence of varying strength. Ghemawat (2001) is a framework from Harvard Business Review, not a tested instrument: cultural, administrative, geographic and economic distance still shape where firms succeed. That distance dampens trade is strongly supported separately (Disdier & Head, 2008). Cultural distance has a research base back to Kogut and Singh (1988), with a well-known measurement critique, so score it as informed judgment.

The entry consequence draws on Hennart and Park (1993): firms with strong transferable advantages tend to carry them abroad through greenfield builds, while acquisitions suit buyers of capabilities they lack.

That is why you score dimension by dimension instead of asking whether your advantage is great. Competitive exportability earns its own row: an advantage can transfer perfectly and still meet local parity on arrival.

Strong answer: (illustrative) "FSA 1: moisture-survey method that produces an insurer-ready report in 48 hours. Process." Not: "Our quality."

Your firm:

Target country:

Illustrative example: the company, scores and costs are made up.

A Swedish firm surveys moisture damage in buildings. Its advantage is a method that gives an insurer-ready report within two days. It tests Germany.

Section 3: adapt, not leave. The certification is the main change. Section 4: a licensing or joint-venture partner that already holds the certification fits better than building alone. Decision: proceed with caution. Biggest adaptation: certification and German-language report format.