The purpose of this study was to investigate the Critical Decision Factors (CDF) of internationalization by Nigerian manufacturing firms, as well as, examines specific relationships between these CDF and Perceived International Business Performance Measure (PIBPM). 566 management staff of 14 Nigerian manufacturing companies, with international presence was randomly selected from a business-to-business database maintained by a national list provider. Using the integrated conceptual framework of international business strategy by Peng (2006), factors manifesting PIBPM were regressed on the CDF, manifesting successful internationalization. However, multivariate analyses was mathematically represented in a single equation, and this equation is expected to be used by Nigerian manufacturing companies in composing strategies to optimize their management of international entry decisions and international business performance. Overall, the paper argue that an institution-based view of international entry decision, in combination with transaction cost- and resource-based views, will not only help sustain a strategy tripod, but also shed significant light on the most fundamental questions confronting international entry decisions. Hence, a model incorporating the key elements of each approach could present a more realistic and comprehensive picture of international business strategies. The model also provides predictive implications on improved international business performance, given the activities of CDF manifesting successful internationalization.
Keywords: Institutional Theory, International Performance, Internationalization, Manufacturing Firms, Nigeria, Regression Analysis, Resource-Based View, Transaction Cost Analysis
