Shaping of Strategic Behavior: How Macro-Environmental Effects Pattern the Country-Level Participation of Non-US Firms in US Equity Markets.

This paper examines the effects of macro-environmental variables on country-level patterns of participation by firms on the US NASDAQ stock exchange. NASDAQ's popularity can be linked to the strength of its technological system, as well as the high frequency of listings of technology-oriented firms. Using concepts from organization theory, strategy and international business, we consider the impact of political, legal, cultural, and colonial heritage status on the strategic capital-seeking behavior of non-US companies in US markets. We empirically demonstrate that similarity in legal systems and a shared colonial heritage will influence the probability of a non-US country having firm participation on the NASDAQ. The results also indicate that the effects of institutional forces are not static processes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]