This study examines the impact of soft and hard infrastructure deficiencies on foreign firms’ investments in emerging markets and firm strategies to mitigate such impact. infrastructure refers to intangible components such as institutions and regulations, while infrastructure encompasses tangible physical components like transportation, energy systems, and water supply. Drawing on resource dependence theory, we argue that foreign firms are likely to decrease their investment scale in countries with deficient soft and hard infrastructures to reduce uncertainty. We further propose two strategies to mitigate the negative effects of infrastructure deficiencies. First, foreign firms can adopt an strategy, increasing their influence on the host government to alleviate the negative impact of soft infrastructure deficiencies. Second, a strategy can be employed to reduce dependence on the host government, particularly when dealing with hard infrastructure deficiencies. We analyze data from a sample of 3,341 foreign firms operating in 88 emerging economies between 2005 and 2020 and find empirical support for these arguments, highlighting the significance of infrastructural considerations for foreign investments in emerging economies.

中文翻译：

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缓解新兴市场软硬基础设施的缺陷

本研究探讨了软硬件基础设施缺陷对外国公司在新兴市场的投资的影响以及减轻这种影响的公司战略。基础设施是指制度和法规等无形组成部分，而基础设施则包括交通、能源系统和供水等有形物质组成部分。借鉴资源依赖理论，我们认为外国企业可能会减少在软硬基础设施薄弱的国家的投资规模，以减少不确定性。我们进一步提出了两种策略来减轻基础设施缺陷的​​负面影响。首先，外国企业可以采取策略，增加对东道国政府的影响力，以减轻软基础设施缺陷的​​负面影响。其次，可以采取一项策略来减少对东道国政府的依赖，特别是在处理硬基础设施缺陷时。我们分析了 2005 年至 2020 年间在 88 个新兴经济体运营的 3,341 家外国公司的样本数据，并找到了这些论点的实证支持，强调了基础设施考虑对于新兴经济体外国投资的重要性。