Title: Overcoming institutional voids in emerging markets: a contingency framework

Authors: Kamal Sakhdari; Fatemeh Askari

Addresses: Corporate Entrepreneurship Department, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran ' Corporate Entrepreneurship Department, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Emerging markets are identified by their inefficient and underdeveloped market-supporting institutions. Yet, these markets are considered as suitable factor and consumer markets for multinational companies. Despite the growing body of the literature, void-filling strategies are mainly considered universal and less is known about the boundary conditions of the strategies. In this vein, we sought to reveal the strategies that MNEs adopt to more effectively operate in the novel context of Iran. Having designed a qualitative exploratory research on 13 MNEs active in the market, we found that MNEs use relational, substitution, signalling and borrowing strategies to decrease the negative effect of institutional voids in the context. More importantly, the effectiveness of these strategies is subject to the target market, entry mode and type of voids. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of using void-filling strategies in emerging markets for better international performance.

Keywords: institutional voids; emerging markets; void-filling strategies; MNEs; qualitative method.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2026.155272

European Journal of International Management, 2026 Vol.29 No.4, pp.729 - 747

Received: 29 Apr 2021
Accepted: 05 Dec 2021
Published online: 30 Jul 2026 *

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