Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101307
Jamie Hurst , Dylan Sutherland
Corporate inversions, whereby MNEs relocate their ultimate owner to another jurisdiction, pose potential challenges for IB researchers developing samples of MNEs and their foreign subsidiaries using firm-level databases like Orbis. Here we develop a method for identifying inverted MNEs from around the world. We then test two hypotheses relating to whether systematic biases may exist in MNE sampling procedures. Analyzing data from over 52,000 MNEs across 30 nations, we hypothesise that emerging market MNEs and larger MNEs with extensive foreign networks are more likely to invert. Our findings confirm this, revealing systematic differences between inverted and non-inverted MNEs, leading to potential sampling biases. We discuss implications for current IB research and propose ways forward for enhancing cross country MNE sampling procedures.
{"title":"Do corporate inversions create systematic MNE sampling biases when using the Orbis database?","authors":"Jamie Hurst , Dylan Sutherland","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Corporate inversions, whereby MNEs relocate their ultimate owner to another jurisdiction, pose potential challenges for IB researchers developing samples of MNEs and their foreign subsidiaries using firm-level databases like Orbis. Here we develop a method for identifying inverted MNEs from around the world. We then test two hypotheses relating to whether systematic biases may exist in MNE sampling procedures. Analyzing data from over 52,000 MNEs across 30 nations, we hypothesise that emerging market MNEs and larger MNEs with extensive foreign networks are more likely to invert. Our findings confirm this, revealing systematic differences between inverted and non-inverted MNEs, leading to potential sampling biases. We discuss implications for current IB research and propose ways forward for enhancing cross country MNE sampling procedures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101307"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study explores the contribution of diaspora networks – individuals who maintain strong ties to both their countries of origin and residence – to the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Internationalisation between developed and developing countries presents institutional complexities for both outward (exporting) and inward (importing) activities, which can be particularly challenging for resource-constrained SMEs. While prior research has largely examined inward and outward internationalisation in isolation, the potential synergistic role of diaspora networks across both directions remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, we draw on network theory and conduct a qualitative case study of a UK-based healthcare SME using interviews and documentary analysis. Our findings show that diaspora networks play a crucial role in accelerating internationalisation by bridging institutional voids, transferring cultural and market-specific knowledge, enhancing credibility, expanding network access, and enabling the development of culturally adapted products and services. This study contributes to network theory by illustrating how diaspora networks' dual embeddedness creates unique advantages over traditional networks in supporting healthcare SMEs' inward and outward internationalisation and has important managerial and policy implications.
{"title":"The contribution of diaspora networks to the internationalisation of SMEs: a case study in the healthcare industry","authors":"Unisa Dizo-Conteh , Misagh Tasavori , Bahare Afrahi","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the contribution of diaspora networks – individuals who maintain strong ties to both their countries of origin and residence – to the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Internationalisation between developed and developing countries presents institutional complexities for both outward (exporting) and inward (importing) activities, which can be particularly challenging for resource-constrained SMEs. While prior research has largely examined inward and outward internationalisation in isolation, the potential synergistic role of diaspora networks across both directions remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, we draw on network theory and conduct a qualitative case study of a UK-based healthcare SME using interviews and documentary analysis. Our findings show that diaspora networks play a crucial role in accelerating internationalisation by bridging institutional voids, transferring cultural and market-specific knowledge, enhancing credibility, expanding network access, and enabling the development of culturally adapted products and services. This study contributes to network theory by illustrating how diaspora networks' dual embeddedness creates unique advantages over traditional networks in supporting healthcare SMEs' inward and outward internationalisation and has important managerial and policy implications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101306"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101278
Michiel de Roo , Christopher Wickert , Gerwin van der Laan , Tom Elfring , Florian B. Zapkau
Research on the relationship between financial slack and corporate social performance (CSP) provides ambiguous findings and is context-dependent. This study employs institutional theory to address this ambiguity and theorizes how formal institutions influence the relationship between financial slack and CSP. We argue that the relationship between financial slack and CSP is not per se positive or negative but depends on critical formal institutions, namely, government integrity, labor freedom, and financial freedom. Formal institutions define a country's incentive structures and, therefore, affect firms' decisions to allocate financial slack to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, which impact CSP in turn. Our findings are based on a large dataset of firms across 38 countries. Our multilevel study expands prior research on the financial slack-CSP relationship by demonstrating how the relationship depends on the formal institutional context. Moreover, we contribute to international business research by illustrating how formal institutions in different countries provide incentive structures for firms to allocate financial slack to CSR activities. Finally, our study offers practical implications for firms aiming to improve their CSP and whose operations reach across different country-specific formal institutions across the globe.
{"title":"Examining the financial slack–corporate social performance relationship across countries: The influence of formal institutions","authors":"Michiel de Roo , Christopher Wickert , Gerwin van der Laan , Tom Elfring , Florian B. Zapkau","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101278","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101278","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research on the relationship between financial slack and corporate social performance (CSP) provides ambiguous findings and is context-dependent. This study employs institutional theory to address this ambiguity and theorizes how formal institutions influence the relationship between financial slack and CSP. We argue that the relationship between financial slack and CSP is not per se positive or negative but depends on critical formal institutions, namely, government integrity, labor freedom, and financial freedom. Formal institutions define a country's incentive structures and, therefore, affect firms' decisions to allocate financial slack to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, which impact CSP in turn. Our findings are based on a large dataset of firms across 38 countries. Our multilevel study expands prior research on the financial slack-CSP relationship by demonstrating how the relationship depends on the formal institutional context. Moreover, we contribute to international business research by illustrating how formal institutions in different countries provide incentive structures for firms to allocate financial slack to CSR activities. Finally, our study offers practical implications for firms aiming to improve their CSP and whose operations reach across different country-specific formal institutions across the globe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101278"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101293
Yiwen Sun , Jonatan Pinkse , Mercedes Bleda
Global digital platforms span diverse domains, from social media to online marketplaces, and wield significant influence within their respective sectors. The rise of social media platforms, in particular, has sparked growing concern over their impact on individual behaviour, political discourse, and the management of personal data. These concerns have led to mounting institutional pressure from governments and the public, especially around issues of content curation, moderation, and data security. Responding to such pressures is complex for platforms, as they operate across multiple jurisdictions with overlapping yet often contradictory institutional demands. This paper investigates the institutional pressures faced by social media platforms in host-country contexts, focusing on their influence over users through content moderation and data governance. It examines how these platforms deploy nonmarket strategies to navigate these challenges, using TikTok's operations in the US market as a case study. The findings reveal that despite persistent scrutiny from the US government, TikTok has employed a range of nonmarket actions. These include direct actions such as enhancing content moderation and pursuing legal avenues, as well as indirect approaches like mobilising its user base. This study offers insights into the unique political challenges social media platforms encounter in host-country contexts and highlights the platform-specific strategies they develop to address these pressures.
{"title":"Social media platforms' use of nonmarket strategy to manage politically contentious issues in host countries: The case of TikTok in the US market","authors":"Yiwen Sun , Jonatan Pinkse , Mercedes Bleda","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101293","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global digital platforms span diverse domains, from social media to online marketplaces, and wield significant influence within their respective sectors. The rise of social media platforms, in particular, has sparked growing concern over their impact on individual behaviour, political discourse, and the management of personal data. These concerns have led to mounting institutional pressure from governments and the public, especially around issues of content curation, moderation, and data security. Responding to such pressures is complex for platforms, as they operate across multiple jurisdictions with overlapping yet often contradictory institutional demands. This paper investigates the institutional pressures faced by social media platforms in host-country contexts, focusing on their influence over users through content moderation and data governance. It examines how these platforms deploy nonmarket strategies to navigate these challenges, using TikTok's operations in the US market as a case study. The findings reveal that despite persistent scrutiny from the US government, TikTok has employed a range of nonmarket actions. These include direct actions such as enhancing content moderation and pursuing legal avenues, as well as indirect approaches like mobilising its user base. This study offers insights into the unique political challenges social media platforms encounter in host-country contexts and highlights the platform-specific strategies they develop to address these pressures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101293"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101296
Xinmin Peng , Yanze Liang , Yao Wang , Steven Shijin Zhou
Rising geopolitical tensions and the fragmentation of global markets are reshaping the strategic landscape for multinationals, forcing them to manage competing demands in an increasingly uncertain world. This study examines how firms navigate these tensions through a longitudinal case study of Haitian, a Chinese multinational in the injection molding industry over a seven-year period between 2017 and 2024. Drawing on paradox theory, we identify three core internationalization paradoxes in terms of top management team (TMT) orientations, organizational configurations, and strategic actions which arise from the fragmented but interconnected nature of the “new globalization.” We show how Haitian manages these persistent contradictions through integrated response mechanisms, involving realignment at the TMT level, organizational restructuring, and relocation of global value chain activities. By linking geopolitical disruption with firm-level adaptation, this study contributes to emerging research on how multinationals maintain global engagement under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty and decoupling.
{"title":"How do MNEs respond to internationalization tensions under “new globalization”: A paradoxical view","authors":"Xinmin Peng , Yanze Liang , Yao Wang , Steven Shijin Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rising geopolitical tensions and the fragmentation of global markets are reshaping the strategic landscape for multinationals, forcing them to manage competing demands in an increasingly uncertain world. This study examines how firms navigate these tensions through a longitudinal case study of Haitian, a Chinese multinational in the injection molding industry over a seven-year period between 2017 and 2024. Drawing on paradox theory, we identify three core internationalization paradoxes in terms of top management team (TMT) orientations, organizational configurations, and strategic actions which arise from the fragmented but interconnected nature of the “new globalization.” We show how Haitian manages these persistent contradictions through integrated response mechanisms, involving realignment at the TMT level, organizational restructuring, and relocation of global value chain activities. By linking geopolitical disruption with firm-level adaptation, this study contributes to emerging research on how multinationals maintain global engagement under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty and decoupling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101296"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101308
Cong Cheng, Linyi Chen
This study applies the multiple performance feedback model to explain how performance-aspiration gaps relative to profitability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals influence emerging economy firms' (EEFs) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) location choices. A sample of Chinese listed firms is used to understand the relationship between firms' inconsistent performance feedback and their OFDI location choices in developed and developing countries. We find that when performance on a profitability goal is high, and performance on a CSR goal is low, it increases EEFs' OFDI in developed countries; when performance on a profitability goal is low, and performance on a CSR goal is high, it increases EEFs' OFDI in developing countries. Our results further show that these effects are more significant in EEFs operating in high-pollution industries. Our theory and findings highlight the importance of performance feedback regarding multiple goals in regulating the key locus of search choices and extend research on EEFs' internationalization and multiple performance feedback.
{"title":"Profitability and CSR: Inconsistent performance feedback and OFDI location choices for firms in emerging countries","authors":"Cong Cheng, Linyi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101308","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101308","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study applies the multiple performance feedback model to explain how performance-aspiration gaps relative to profitability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals influence emerging economy firms' (EEFs) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) location choices. A sample of Chinese listed firms is used to understand the relationship between firms' inconsistent performance feedback and their OFDI location choices in developed and developing countries. We find that when performance on a profitability goal is high, and performance on a CSR goal is low, it increases EEFs' OFDI in developed countries; when performance on a profitability goal is low, and performance on a CSR goal is high, it increases EEFs' OFDI in developing countries. Our results further show that these effects are more significant in EEFs operating in high-pollution industries. Our theory and findings highlight the importance of performance feedback regarding multiple goals in regulating the key locus of search choices and extend research on EEFs' internationalization and multiple performance feedback.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101308"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101295
Alfredo D'Angelo , Marco Grazzi , Le Li , Daniele Moschella
The termination of an exporter-importer (E-I) relationship could challenge the company's export process. What are the consequences on the company's export performance in the foreign country? What role does export experience play in this relationship? The paper explores the overlooked phenomenon of E-I relationship termination and provides robust empirical evidence that the event has negative consequences on the firm's export performance in the foreign country. Despite this unsurprising, yet previously untested finding, our study shows a second important remark i.e., if the exporting firm has prior export experience, it is then able to cope with the negative effect of the termination event. Moreover, we find that the positive effect of prior export experience is only present in the early years of exporting. The results are based on a large longitudinal sample of French firms exporting to foreign buyers in EU countries. Findings are discussed along an in-depth case study to enhance robustness and comprehensiveness.
{"title":"Unbundling the effect of E-I relationship termination on export performance: The moderating role of export experience","authors":"Alfredo D'Angelo , Marco Grazzi , Le Li , Daniele Moschella","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The termination of an exporter-importer (<em>E</em>-I) relationship could challenge the company's export process. What are the consequences on the company's export performance in the foreign country? What role does export experience play in this relationship? The paper explores the overlooked phenomenon of E-I relationship termination and provides robust empirical evidence that the event has negative consequences on the firm's export performance in the foreign country. Despite this unsurprising, yet previously untested finding, our study shows a second important remark i.e., if the exporting firm has prior export experience, it is then able to cope with the negative effect of the termination event. Moreover, we find that the positive effect of prior export experience is only present in the early years of exporting. The results are based on a large longitudinal sample of French firms exporting to foreign buyers in EU countries. Findings are discussed along an in-depth case study to enhance robustness and comprehensiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"31 6","pages":"Article 101295"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101314
Alfred Presbitero
Utilizing the attribution theoretical perspective, this study aims to surface potential bias blind spot in cultural intelligence (CQ) by exploring self-assessment and other-assessment of CQ. Situated within the context of intercultural service encounters involving 497 samples across two interrelated studies (Study 1: N = 214; Study 2: N = 283), the findings indicate that low self-assessment of CQ does not exert influence on the relationship between customer entitlement and verbal/nonverbal reactions, whereas low other-assessment of CQ does. These suggest a potential bias blind spot in attribution, where individuals tend to ascribe low CQ to others compared to themselves, which can influence interpersonal interactions and exacerbate undesirable cross-cultural encounters. Building on these novel insights, the implications for CQ research are discussed. Future research directions are also identified, and practical recommendations are generated to manage these potential blind spots in CQ.
{"title":"Exploring self-assessment and other-assessment of cultural intelligence: An attribution theoretical perspective to surface potential bias blind spot","authors":"Alfred Presbitero","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101314","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101314","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Utilizing the attribution theoretical perspective, this study aims to surface potential bias blind spot in cultural intelligence (CQ) by exploring self-assessment and other-assessment of CQ. Situated within the context of intercultural service encounters involving 497 samples across two interrelated studies (Study 1: <em>N</em> = 214; Study 2: <em>N</em> = 283), the findings indicate that low self-assessment of CQ does not exert influence on the relationship between customer entitlement and verbal/nonverbal reactions, whereas low other-assessment of CQ does. These suggest a potential bias blind spot in attribution, where individuals tend to ascribe low CQ to others compared to themselves, which can influence interpersonal interactions and exacerbate undesirable cross-cultural encounters. Building on these novel insights, the implications for CQ research are discussed. Future research directions are also identified, and practical recommendations are generated to manage these potential blind spots in CQ.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"32 1","pages":"Article 101314"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145915368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101313
Paolo Barbieri , Cristina Di Stefano , Stefano Elia , Luciano Fratocchi , Cristina Pensa
In recent years, the global economic landscape has become increasingly turbulent, exposing Global Value Chains (GVCs) to unexpected disruptions and leading companies to reassess their international strategies. To enhance their resilience and reduce dependencies on unstable markets, firms are adopting, among others, relocation strategies, including supply backshoring: the substitution of foreign suppliers with those in the home country. In this paper, we investigate the supply backshoring phenomenon through the lens of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). Our empirical analysis, based on a dataset of Italian manufacturing companies integrating primary data from a survey conducted from June 2021 to February 2022 and archival data, supports the hypothesis that firms with higher asset specificity—measured by R&D and advertising intensity, as well as Intellectual Property rights intensity—display a greater likelihood of adopting supply backshoring. We also find some contingent effect, i.e., the positive relationship between firm asset specificity and the probability of implementing a supply backshoring strategy is stronger for medium-sized firms and for supplier-dominated and specialized supplier industries, while we do not find significant differences between firms operating in high-tech and low-tech industries. Our findings contribute to the understanding of supply backshoring by empirically validating TCE's relevance in this context and highlighting the role of asset specificity in firms' strategic decisions. This study offers one of the first comprehensive characterizations of the supply backshoring phenomenon, providing valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners.
{"title":"Supply backshoring as a strategy to reduce transaction costs in an era of global value chain reconfiguration","authors":"Paolo Barbieri , Cristina Di Stefano , Stefano Elia , Luciano Fratocchi , Cristina Pensa","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, the global economic landscape has become increasingly turbulent, exposing Global Value Chains (GVCs) to unexpected disruptions and leading companies to reassess their international strategies. To enhance their resilience and reduce dependencies on unstable markets, firms are adopting, among others, relocation strategies, including supply backshoring: the substitution of foreign suppliers with those in the home country. In this paper, we investigate the supply backshoring phenomenon through the lens of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). Our empirical analysis, based on a dataset of Italian manufacturing companies integrating primary data from a survey conducted from June 2021 to February 2022 and archival data, supports the hypothesis that firms with higher asset specificity—measured by R&D and advertising intensity, as well as Intellectual Property rights intensity—display a greater likelihood of adopting supply backshoring. We also find some contingent effect, i.e., the positive relationship between firm asset specificity and the probability of implementing a supply backshoring strategy is stronger for medium-sized firms and for supplier-dominated and specialized supplier industries, while we do not find significant differences between firms operating in high-tech and low-tech industries. Our findings contribute to the understanding of supply backshoring by empirically validating TCE's relevance in this context and highlighting the role of asset specificity in firms' strategic decisions. This study offers one of the first comprehensive characterizations of the supply backshoring phenomenon, providing valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"32 1","pages":"Article 101313"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145915367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2025.101311
Xinxiang Li , Noelia-Sarah Reynolds , Le Bo
Amid growing scholarly interest in institutional perspectives on MNE subsidiary embeddedness, this study develops a theoretical framework to explain how longstanding MNE subsidiaries navigate competing institutional logics by constructing organizational identities to develop embeddedness strategies in host-country contexts. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a Chinese MNE subsidiary in Ghana, we identify three embeddedness strategies – active engagement, pronounced resistance, and deliberate avoidance – that reflect subsidiaries' ability, willingness and constraints in responding to competing institutional logics. The study contributes to current literature by highlighting how organizational identity serves as a strategic lens for aligning or preserving selected organizational identities and shaping the strategic choices of embeddedness pathways. In particular, we highlight the agentic capabilities of subsidiary managers who, by acknowledging the inevitability of institutional constraints arising from competing institutional logics, adaptively mobilize alternative embeddedness strategies to mitigate and bypass potential institutional frictions.
{"title":"Unravelling the interplay between institutional logics, organizational identity, and the embeddedness of MNE subsidiaries in host countries","authors":"Xinxiang Li , Noelia-Sarah Reynolds , Le Bo","doi":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intman.2025.101311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid growing scholarly interest in institutional perspectives on MNE subsidiary embeddedness, this study develops a theoretical framework to explain how longstanding MNE subsidiaries navigate competing institutional logics by constructing organizational identities to develop embeddedness strategies in host-country contexts. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a Chinese MNE subsidiary in Ghana, we identify three embeddedness strategies – active engagement, pronounced resistance, and deliberate avoidance – that reflect subsidiaries' ability, willingness and constraints in responding to competing institutional logics. The study contributes to current literature by highlighting how organizational identity serves as a strategic lens for aligning or preserving selected organizational identities and shaping the strategic choices of embeddedness pathways. In particular, we highlight the agentic capabilities of subsidiary managers who, by acknowledging the inevitability of institutional constraints arising from competing institutional logics, adaptively mobilize alternative embeddedness strategies to mitigate and bypass potential institutional frictions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47937,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Management","volume":"32 1","pages":"Article 101311"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145915366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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