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This paper discusses the firm-level determinants of international hotels’ foreign markets entry choices, contrasting acquisition with management and franchise contracts, based on a resource-dependency perspective and appropriability theory. It points out that brand equity, relatedness of products and market segmentation, partner-specific knowledge of hotels, international experience, and the duration of proprietary knowledge impact hotels’ decisions on how to enter a foreign market. In addition, the paper suggests the existence of entry choices sequence favorable to acquisition probability after the end of management contract when the franchisors’ or management companies’ proprietary knowledge attenuates. Contract activity is likely to be renewed after the acquisition, once the management company has established a new form or a higher level of proprietary knowledge.

This paper discusses the firm-level determinants of international hotels' foreign markets entry choices, contrasting acquisition with management and franchise contracts, based on a resource-dependency perspective and appropriability theory. It points out that brand equity, relatedness of products and market segmentation, partner-specific knowledge of hotels, international experience, and the duration of proprietary knowledge impact hotels' decisions on how to enter a foreign market. In addition, the paper suggests the existence of entry choices sequence favorable to acquisition probability after the end of management contract when the franchisors' or management companies' proprietary knowledge attenuates. Contract activity is likely to be renewed after the acquisition, once the management company has established a new form or a higher level of proprietary knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]