Thunderbird International Business Review最新文献

This study examines the effect of foreign ownership and the presence of a board of directors on commitment to environmental issues and export intensity. Based on a robust path analysis of 181 international new ventures spanning 25 European countries, it is found that foreign ownership significantly boosts the environmental commitment and exports of this breed of firms. On the contrary, board of directors bears no relationship with the aforementioned outcomes. Theoretically, this paper expands the international entrepreneurship discourse by uncommonly investigating environmental issues in the context of international new ventures. Practically, insights are offered to owners/managers of international new ventures to reflect on the distinctive value of foreign ownership and board of directors in their environmental and internationalization agenda. Regional policymakers' attention is drawn to the contribution of foreign ownership as a harbinger of environmental performance and greater export intensity.

Society's growing demand for knowledge transfer from higher education institutions to firms through academics is a notable trend. Nonetheless, the nuances of how business school academics perceive their engagement in knowledge transfer to firms remain inadequately explored. This research endeavors to bridge this knowledge gap by drawing upon interviews conducted with 52 business school academics in Ghana. The synthesized findings derived from the interpretive phenomenological data analysis provide crucial insights grounded in the ability–motivation–opportunity theory framework. Within this framework, “opportunity” describes image- and project-opportunity context drivers, such as media engagement, goodwill, in-service training students, and projects by international development organizations fostered through relationship-building and networking. “Motivation” explains the established national, societal, and self-serving mandates, stimulating institutional-, society-, and person-driven motivations. “Ability” encompasses the capacity of academics to employ both generic and relational mechanisms. The interplay among ability, motivation, and opportunity catalyzes the creation of various knowledge content types linked to specific market contexts.

Firm internationalization has been analyzed from different angles based on various theories. However, qualitative research on the stability of the factors that motivate and hinder internationalization across the export stages in emerging markets is limited. This study builds on the “stages” theories of internationalization, providing a detailed analysis of the perceived stability of stimuli and barriers during the exploration, entry, and expansion stages. We focus on a sample of Spanish wine firms exporting to China—a key wine market, with annual growth rates of over 25% between 2000 and 2020. The results suggest that the perception of most barriers is stage-dependent, varying over time as commitment levels evolve. The main stimuli, on the other hand, remain constant across the different export stages. Moreover, we find that firm size, international experience, and access to local and international networks are key factors that influence the evolution of firms' internationalization in China, while lateral rigidity continues to constrain the expansion of smaller companies. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges of doing business in an emerging market, particularly in the institutional context in China, as well as their evolution over different stages of internationalization. Furthermore, they offer insights into the dynamics of the Chinese wine market and the implications for European exporters.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Portuguese women jewelry artisan entrepreneurs are empowered using digital technology. Recently, there has been an emphasis on the artisan and craft industry due to renewed interest in handicrafts but limited research exists about how digital and international entrepreneurship has influenced its growth. This study focuses on this gap by stressing the need to take a gender lens on international digital business activity in terms of how it is conducted. In-depth semistructured interviews with women jewelry makers located in Portugal were conducted to understand how their digital experiences led to increased levels of internationalization. The findings suggest that the use of digital technology was supported by co-creation, internationalization, and sustainability initiatives. The results of the study highlight the way crisis conditions from the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased emphasis by artisan entrepreneurs on digital entrepreneurship and this had flow-on effects leading to higher internationalization rates.

Multifocal practices allow transnational migrant entrepreneurs (TMEs) to access extended opportunity structures in diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). National and regional regulations, customer relations, market demands, networks, and country-specific entrepreneurial statuses facilitate the strategic coupling of informal and formal business structures toward hybrid business models. However, “how” TMEs innovate and develop approaches to build from informal, formal business models in parallel across national borders remains largely underexplored. Our multiple case study presents three Polish–German TMEs who operate on a multifocal basis in different ecosystems. The longitude study of these entrepreneurs illustrates how transnational migrant businesses can change the owners' power dynamics, habitus, and feelings of belonging while counteracting social exclusion and self-discrimination. Our study contributes to the theoretical debate by illuminating the pathway between informality and formality facilitated by migrant entrepreneurs' transnational business models and their multifocal practices, possibly turning into transnational embeddedness in two or more ecosystems.

This study explores the intersection of international business and artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on how new ventures navigate environmental challenges for international expansion within Africa's transportation sector. Despite a wealth of literature on AI in developed countries, a notable gap exists in the understanding of the challenges emerging economies face in implementing AI practices, particularly in the context of Africa-to-Africa internationalization. The current study delved into the transformative potential of AI, identifying institutional voids as opportunities for innovation on the continent. Employing the Technology Organization and Environment framework, the study investigated the adoption of AI technology in the African business environment. Qualitative data gathered through interviews with transport tech startup founders across Africa provided insights into technological innovation, institutional dynamics, and market peculiarities. The founders recognized hurdles such as data scarcity, human resource constraints, and regulatory obstacles amid institutional voids. The study underscores the importance of understanding expectations, balancing possibilities and realities, and fostering collaboration. It offers valuable insights into the complexities faced by and opportunities for new ventures leveraging AI in internationalization, with practical implications for strategic AI implementation, policy development, market expansion, technology solutions, and cross-border transportation within Africa's unique business landscape.