Abstract
Theory and research suggests that firms’ environmental context affect the way they manage their resources and the strategies they employ. This research examines effects of institutional polycentricity (multiplex and multilevel institutions) on firms’ resource orchestration and the resulting performance in firms from 17 countries across three continents. Secondary data on national formal institutions (regulatory, economic, political) and industry (dynamism, munificence) and primary data from 658 firms on resource leveraging strategies, synchronization of resource orchestration processes and firm performance were used in this study. The hypotheses were largely supported by the results. The results showed that national formal institutions constrain the degree of dynamism and munificence in industries. In turn, these attributes of industries create industry recipes—norms of behavior—that influence the resource leveraging strategies and the synchronization of the resource orchestration processes. Both strategies examined, building an advantage on capabilities and creating new market opportunities were found to enhance performance. The research supports the concept of institutional polycentricity—multiplex institutions and multilevel institutions suggestion that national formal institutions and industry informal institutions influence the way in which resources are managed to create value. As such, the research contributes to our understanding of institutional theory and the resource based view in the strategic management of resources.