European Management Review最新文献

We look at the past, present and possible futures of the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE). We argue that the modern theory of the MNE, propounded by Stephen Hymer, viewed rivalry reduction and/through the internalization of advantages by firms as a strategy to acquire market power. Hymer anticipated the modern theory of the domestic firm and strategic management and later the transaction costs-focused ‘internalization theory’. While ‘internalization theory’ focused on efficiency, Hymer viewed efficiency and market power as complementary. His theory of the MNE was influential in the development of International Business scholarship and has itself developed through cross-fertilization with adjacent fields. It has significant scope for further development by leveraging resource-based, international entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities ideas. It faces technical and substantive challenges, notably that its focus on the sustainability of firm-level competitive advantage underplays wider multilevel environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges.

This article provides a commentary on the paper by Pitelis and Piteli on Hymer as the pioneer of the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE). I suggest that Stephen Hymer and his contemporary, John Dunning, also laid the foundation for an analysis of an international business (IB) system, which reaches well beyond the theory of the MNE and its strategy. I argue firstly that early IB theories, including Hymer's, which emerged from the late 1950s onwards, mostly had a holistic view of the IB system, of which the MNE was just one element. Secondly, I contend that both Hymer and Dunning developed from the outset some seminal ideas on the interrelationships that exist between the MNE and its strategy, on the one hand, and the wider economic and social environment in which firms are embedded, on the other. I suggest that Dunning's eclectic paradigm was intended as a framework for the study of the IB system in its entirety as a complex, relational system. Thirdly, while Hymer's ideas on cross-border geographic hierarchy, uneven development and IB were highly original and remain relevant today, they need to be substantially updated and revised in the current IB context, as opposed to the context which prevailed in the IB system of the 1950s through to the 1970s.

The discussion of the economic theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE) in Pitelis and Piteli (2024) illuminates how different strands of thought have been developed and built upon one another. In this commentary, I focus on two aspects that remain in the shadows in Pitelis and Piteli (2024): the nature of the “international” dimension in the theory of the MNE and the social embeddedness of the MNE. More attention to these two interrelated aspects is necessary for developing a satisfactory theory of the MNE.

Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) provide industry-changing inputs to the business processes of other organizations that face complex tendering procedures. Service triads emerge as a response to resource and capability constraints due to high procedure benchmarks. Despite calls, research remains fragmented. Recent challenges driven by a pandemic and conflicts call for a systematic literature review that coherently integrates and describes the body of knowledge on sourcing KIBS triads. Employing the SPAR-4-SLR protocol to systematically review 205 articles, we integrate and describe key areas such as sourcing strategies, service delivery, ante-contract considerations, and overarching relationship dynamics. We highlight future research avenues toward bridging domain linkages including the development of an integrated model and the exploration of environmental uncertainties and individual behaviors in the sourcing of KIBS triads.

We propose a novel methodological framework based on the emerging field of quantum cognition and illustrate its application to a central problem in management and strategy research: causal ambiguity. The current literature often assumes that causal ambiguity—the difficulty of managers to understand the causal link between resources and outcomes at the basis of a firm's performance—can be reduced through learning. This literature overlooks the fact that causal ambiguity reduction is impossible when causal systems exhibit so-called complementary properties. Building upon quantum cognition—specifically the idea of complementarity as an alternative to causality—we illustrate that causal ambiguity is only a special case of ambiguity and we offer a novel methodological framework to model what we label as ‘acausal ambiguity’, which refers to the insurmountable limit of managers to achieve causal ambiguity reduction. Managers can, of course, cognize some causal links. However, this comes at the price of being agnostic about complementary ones. The implications of this novel methodological framework applied to causal ambiguity are twofold: while complementarity opacifies the attentional faculties of managers, it also accounts for the cognitive origins of novelty.

This paper explores the use of dynamic capabilities in evolving strategic factor markets (SFMs), with an emphasis on the role of resource rarity. We investigate how the three dimensions of dynamic capabilities—sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring—interact with resource rarity to influence the economic value of resource acquisition. Our framework introduces the concept of a “resource rarity lifecycle,” which tracks the trajectory of resources within SFMs, shaped by the pace of change in market conditions. In slow-paced SFMs, rare resources remain rare for longer, justifying investments in sensing and seizing capabilities. In contrast, in fast-paced SFMs, rare resources quickly become common, making investments in reconfiguring capabilities more economically viable. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical implications and suggest potential avenues for future research.

In the contemporary business landscape, employees are increasingly expected to demonstrate a wide range of competencies, which require a combination of exploration-based and exploitation-based individual abilities. In this vein, the present study investigates how individual ambidextrous abilities affect job performance. Furthermore, by bridging the gap between individual ambidexterity literature and dynamic self-concept theory, we argue that identification with both peers and leaders plays a contingency role, thus moderating the relationship between individual ambidexterity and job performance. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a multi-source field study of 380 employees operating in manufacturing firms. The collected data combines objective measures of individual ambidextrous abilities, supervisory-rated job performance, and identification measures. Our hypotheses received empirical support. Overall, this study provides practical guidance for organizations by highlighting the importance of fostering individual ambidexterity to maintain high job performance through effective cooperation with both peers and leaders at work.

Employing the organizational reputation lens and expectancy violation theory (EVT), I examine how financial market investors (investors) affect the technology acquisition activity and the likelihood of survival of firms facing technological change. I theorize that when a firm has a growth reputation, that is, investors expect revenue growth in future periods, the likelihood of making an acquisition will increase in anticipation of a positive expectancy violation on the part of investors. In contrast, for a firm that has an income reputation, that is, investors expect shareholder returns in future periods, the likelihood of making an acquisition will decrease in avoidance of a negative expectancy violation on the part of investors. I predict a novel moderating effect of investor expectations—a firm's acquisition activity will exert a stronger positive effect on its likelihood of surviving technological change when investor expectations are growth-oriented, that is, when there is a positive expectancy violation. Using a multi-industry sample of industry convergence, a salient form of technological change, I find support for my theoretical predictions. I advance research that examines the reactions of investors to firm strategies during technological change to the domain of technology acquisitions, a salient strategic decision. I also expand the predictive utility of the reputation lens and EVT to the context of firm survival during technological change.

International entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and its potential impact on business performance in foreign markets has attracted significant research attention in recent years. However, few studies have attempted to examine how, and under what conditions, IEO results in enhanced performance for international firms. The present study aims to contribute towards filling this gap by investigating the internal mechanism through which IEO influences performance, considering the mediating effects of dynamic capabilities and international business strategy. Using data collected from 258 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that engage in international business activities, we find that IEO contributes to the frequent use of sensing and reconfiguring, which in turn fosters international strategy comprehensiveness and implementation speed. Our results also indicate that international strategy comprehensiveness and implementation speed have a positive impact on international market performance. These findings suggest that research on the impact of IEO on performance should explore how it influences firms' dynamic capabilities and examine the effect of these dynamic capabilities on business strategy. For entrepreneurs and managers of emerging market SMEs, our results indicate that IEO should guide international expansion efforts.

Few studies have examined how external events that disrupt the economy impact entrepreneurial passion. To address this gap, we focus on two event aspects: event novelty and event disruption. We examine their impact on entrepreneurial passion under two contingencies: innovation capability and future orientation. We conducted a field survey study with government initiatives as the focal event (Study 1) and an online survey study with the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2). We supplemented our analysis with interviews of entrepreneurs in two Silicon Alleys of China. Study 1 shows that event novelty and disruption positively affect entrepreneurial passion when ventures have strong innovation capabilities or future-oriented entrepreneurs. However, Study 2 reveals that, during the COVID-19 outbreak, innovation capability does not significantly influence passion related to event novelty, and future orientation does not moderate the relationship between event disruption and passion. This study elucidates how and when external events influence entrepreneurial passion.