ABSTRACT
Following the logic of the theory on network externalities, this study argues that a company with higher business complexity associated with fewer geographical or sector-related limits more likely falls into the category of firms benefiting the most from using a common set of standards. Therefore such a company derives additional benefits from becoming a member of the international network of companies with a comparable, less impartial, and more open set of financial statements. The extenuating effects of countries’ context characteristics, such as jurisdictions and national levels of bureaucratic formalities in business, on firms’ decisions to adopt a common set of standards cannot be discounted, however.
