Pub Date : 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102538
Farok J. Contractor , John Cantwell , Gary Gereffi , Karl P. Sauvant
Since the mid-2010s, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have operated in an increasingly turbulent international business (IB) environment characterized by geoplitical frictions, trade protectionism, intensified FDI screening, and assertive techno-nationalist industrial policies. These developments mark a shift from the efficiency-driven globalization of 1980–2016 toward strategies emphasizing supply chain resilience and local responsiveness. This paper contrasts the relative stability of the neoliberal era with today’s fragmented regulatory landscape, tracing the transition from multilateralism to renewed economic nationalism. It examines how evolving industrial policies affect MNEs from advanced and emerging economies. The paper identifies adaptive responses—including reconfiguring global value chains, increasing inventories, diversifying suppliers, engaging in non-market strategies, and enhancing digital transparency. It concludes by outlining alternative trajectories for globalization: a bifurcation into hegemon-led blocs or a revival of multilateral cooperation grounded in comparative advantage, knowledge diffusion, and the enduring mutual gains from cross-border investment.
{"title":"The shift to a more turbulent IB environment, and how MNEs respond to this shift","authors":"Farok J. Contractor , John Cantwell , Gary Gereffi , Karl P. Sauvant","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102538","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102538","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since the mid-2010s, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have operated in an increasingly turbulent international business (IB) environment characterized by geoplitical frictions, trade protectionism, intensified FDI screening, and assertive techno-nationalist industrial policies. These developments mark a shift from the efficiency-driven globalization of 1980–2016 toward strategies emphasizing supply chain resilience and local responsiveness. This paper contrasts the relative stability of the neoliberal era with today’s fragmented regulatory landscape, tracing the transition from multilateralism to renewed economic nationalism. It examines how evolving industrial policies affect MNEs from advanced and emerging economies. The paper identifies adaptive responses—including reconfiguring global value chains, increasing inventories, diversifying suppliers, engaging in non-market strategies, and enhancing digital transparency. It concludes by outlining alternative trajectories for globalization: a bifurcation into hegemon-led blocs or a revival of multilateral cooperation grounded in comparative advantage, knowledge diffusion, and the enduring mutual gains from cross-border investment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 2","pages":"Article 102538"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145738523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102527
Young Un Kim , Salih Zeki Ozdemir
Although board independence and gender diversity are recognized as globally accepted good governance norms, firms’ conformance to these norms varies widely within and across countries. This variation suggests complex underlying factors. Drawing on actor-centered institutionalism, we explore how international business actors interact to shape firms’ decisions to conform to both, either one, or neither of the governance norms. Adopting a configurational approach, we analyze 4257 firms across 38 countries in 2020. Our results uncover heterogeneous combinations of institutional and firm-level factors that drive varied governance outcomes. Our findings emphasize the principle of equifinality and asymmetry, demonstrating that multiple configurations can lead to similar governance outcomes and factors affecting conformance are not necessarily the same factors affecting non-conformance. These findings further highlight the power dynamics of multiple actors co-existing at institutional and firm levels, which simultaneously affect the willingness and ability of firms to conform. This study contributes to the comparative governance literature by illustrating how shareholders, labor, state, and society-at-large actors interact to shape diverse configurations of conformance responses across and within institutions. Moreover, we stress the agentic roles of firms and their owners (i.e., family and state ownership) in conjunction with other institutional actors, emphasizing their interconnected influence on governance practices within broader international business trends. Furthermore, our results challenge the notion of a universal governance model by showing the potential trade-off between the two good governance norms through a joint analysis. Finally, we contribute to discussions on governance norm diffusion by demonstrating that the adoption of good governance practices is an ongoing process. Not all firms are influenced in the same way by global pressures.
{"title":"Exploring joint conformance to board independence and board gender diversity norms: An actor-centered configurational approach","authors":"Young Un Kim , Salih Zeki Ozdemir","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although board independence and gender diversity are recognized as globally accepted good governance norms, firms’ conformance to these norms varies widely within and across countries. This variation suggests complex underlying factors. Drawing on actor-centered institutionalism, we explore how international business actors interact to shape firms’ decisions to conform to both, either one, or neither of the governance norms. Adopting a configurational approach, we analyze 4257 firms across 38 countries in 2020. Our results uncover heterogeneous combinations of institutional and firm-level factors that drive varied governance outcomes. Our findings emphasize the principle of equifinality and asymmetry, demonstrating that multiple configurations can lead to similar governance outcomes and factors affecting conformance are not necessarily the same factors affecting non-conformance. These findings further highlight the power dynamics of multiple actors co-existing at institutional and firm levels, which simultaneously affect the willingness and ability of firms to conform. This study contributes to the comparative governance literature by illustrating how shareholders, labor, state, and society-at-large actors interact to shape diverse configurations of conformance responses across and within institutions. Moreover, we stress the agentic roles of firms and their owners (i.e., family and state ownership) in conjunction with other institutional actors, emphasizing their interconnected influence on governance practices within broader international business trends. Furthermore, our results challenge the notion of a universal governance model by showing the potential trade-off between the two good governance norms through a joint analysis. Finally, we contribute to discussions on governance norm diffusion by demonstrating that the adoption of good governance practices is an ongoing process. Not all firms are influenced in the same way by global pressures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 2","pages":"Article 102527"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102534
Charles Mbalyohere , Thomas Lawton
We examine how multinational enterprises (MNEs) employ contestable nonmarket strategies as political sense-making mechanisms to navigate institutionally fragmented environments in sub-Saharan Africa. Our contribution reconceptualizes sensemaking as a dynamic, political capability that enables proactive adaptation rather than mere cognitive interpretation. Through qualitative analysis of MNEs operating across multiple African markets, we demonstrate how firms strategically leverage duplicity, risk tolerance, social engagement, home support, and anticipatory embeddedness strategies to navigate institutional ambiguity. We integrate sensemaking with the dynamic capabilities framework, showing how sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring operate not only in market-facing strategies but in politically charged institutional arenas. Our findings illustrate how oscillatory and seemingly contradictory behaviors, such as simultaneous rule compliance and circumvention, serve as deliberate tools of strategic adaptation. We offer a novel theorization of how MNEs leverage ambiguity to build a competitive advantage in complex host environments.
{"title":"Strategic sensemaking as dynamic capability: How MNEs navigate institutional challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Charles Mbalyohere , Thomas Lawton","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine how multinational enterprises (MNEs) employ contestable nonmarket strategies as political sense-making mechanisms to navigate institutionally fragmented environments in sub-Saharan Africa. Our contribution reconceptualizes sensemaking as a dynamic, political capability that enables proactive adaptation rather than mere cognitive interpretation. Through qualitative analysis of MNEs operating across multiple African markets, we demonstrate how firms strategically leverage duplicity, risk tolerance, social engagement, home support, and anticipatory embeddedness strategies to navigate institutional ambiguity. We integrate sensemaking with the dynamic capabilities framework, showing how sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring operate not only in market-facing strategies but in politically charged institutional arenas. Our findings illustrate how oscillatory and seemingly contradictory behaviors, such as simultaneous rule compliance and circumvention, serve as deliberate tools of strategic adaptation. We offer a novel theorization of how MNEs leverage ambiguity to build a competitive advantage in complex host environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102534"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102536
Ulf Andersson , Paul Ryan , Majella Giblin , Edward Gillmore
This perspective article calls for a conceptual reset of subsidiary strategy research, addressing the fragmentation and semantic ambiguity that have diluted its theoretical coherence. We trace the field’s evolution from static role typologies to dynamic, capability- and knowledge-based views that recognize subsidiaries as active strategists within multinational enterprises (MNEs). In today’s world of deglobalization, geopolitical tension, and technological disruption, we re-anchor subsidiary strategy in the core principles of strategy, where deliberate and emergent choices, the configuration of activities, and the pursuit of sustained advantage are adapted to the MNE’s internal competitive arena. We advance an integrative framework highlighting identity, legitimacy, subsidiary leadership agency and non-market engagement as complementary factors influencing subsidiary strategic trajectories. We propose a future research agenda emphasizing processual, longitudinal, and microfoundational approaches to explain how subsidiaries build influence, reconfigure mandates, and secure survival within evolving global value chains.
{"title":"Subsidiary strategy in the modern multinational: Grappling with change and complexity","authors":"Ulf Andersson , Paul Ryan , Majella Giblin , Edward Gillmore","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This perspective article calls for a conceptual reset of subsidiary strategy research, addressing the fragmentation and semantic ambiguity that have diluted its theoretical coherence. We trace the field’s evolution from static role typologies to dynamic, capability- and knowledge-based views that recognize subsidiaries as active strategists within multinational enterprises (MNEs). In today’s world of deglobalization, geopolitical tension, and technological disruption, we re-anchor subsidiary strategy in the core principles of strategy, where deliberate and emergent choices, the configuration of activities, and the pursuit of sustained advantage are adapted to the MNE’s internal competitive arena. We advance an integrative framework highlighting identity, legitimacy, subsidiary leadership agency and non-market engagement as complementary factors influencing subsidiary strategic trajectories. We propose a future research agenda emphasizing processual, longitudinal, and microfoundational approaches to explain how subsidiaries build influence, reconfigure mandates, and secure survival within evolving global value chains.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102536"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102525
Der-Ting Huang
International economic agreements—classified as multilateral, regional, and bilateral—mitigate institutional barriers that firms face when engaging in cross-border business. Such agreements facilitate cross-border business by providing safeguards, but variations in their safeguarding quality are evident. Building on new institutional economics and regionalization literature, this paper brings the regional dimension to institutional analysis, suggesting that regional agreements are higher quality than other types. I theorize that regional economic agreements involve greater safeguarding advantages for enhancing trade and FDI, in comparison to multilateral and bilateral economic agreements. I further propose that their relative strengths are more pronounced in countries with low institutional quality than in those with high institutional quality. Using panel data on trade and FDI relationships in Asia from 2000 to 2016, the results corroborate the hypotheses, highlighting that regional agreements define regional borders that matter to foreign transactions, which contributes to research on the nexus between regions and international business.
{"title":"Why regional economic agreements matter more than multilateral and bilateral agreements: Evidence from trade and investment in East Asia","authors":"Der-Ting Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>International economic agreements—classified as multilateral, regional, and bilateral—mitigate institutional barriers that firms face when engaging in cross-border business. Such agreements facilitate cross-border business by providing safeguards, but variations in their safeguarding quality are evident. Building on new institutional economics and regionalization literature, this paper brings the regional dimension to institutional analysis, suggesting that regional agreements are higher quality than other types. I theorize that regional economic agreements involve greater safeguarding advantages for enhancing trade and FDI, in comparison to multilateral and bilateral economic agreements. I further propose that their relative strengths are more pronounced in countries with low institutional quality than in those with high institutional quality. Using panel data on trade and FDI relationships in Asia from 2000 to 2016, the results corroborate the hypotheses, highlighting that regional agreements define regional borders that matter to foreign transactions, which contributes to research on the nexus between regions and international business.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102525"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102533
Henrique Correa da Cunha , Vikkram Singh , Mohamed Amal , Carlyle Farrell , Shivanie Mangal , Glaucia Grellmann
We examine the impacts of the US and the Chinese geopolitical risk (GPR) on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Latin America (LATAM) from 2000 to 2022, focusing on how bilateral trade and escalating US-China tensions (UCT) moderate these effects. LATAM’s neutrality in major geopolitical conflicts makes it an ideal region for analyzing indirect GPR effects. US and China's GPR may not directly impact LATAM's GPR levels but can create indirect spillovers affecting the FDI flows in the region through economic ties and escalating global tensions, particularly between the US and China. The findings reveal distinct spillover patterns. US GPR negatively impacts FDI in LATAM due to geographic proximity, while the positive impact of China GPR suggests a dynamic of risk-diversification-driven FDI inflows to LATAM. Higher bilateral trade with China turns the impact of Chinese GPR on FDI negative, while trade with the US amplifies the negative effect of US GPR. At high UCT levels, both US and Chinese GPR reduce FDI in LATAM, whereas at low UCT levels, their impact turns positive, highlighting the role of bilateral trade and UCT as key factors in shaping the impact of GPR spillovers from the US and China to FDI inflows in LATAM. Furthermore, GPR deters US FDI but not Chinese FDI, highlighting how firms' responses to geopolitical risk vary based on strategic priorities, risk tolerance, and state involvement. We contribute to the GPR literature by demonstrating that even regions distant from direct geopolitical conflicts remain vulnerable due to economic interconnections and global ripple effects. The findings provide key insights for policymakers and investors, highlighting the need for proactive strategies to mitigate geopolitical risks.
{"title":"The impact of US and China geopolitical risk on foreign direct investment in Latin America","authors":"Henrique Correa da Cunha , Vikkram Singh , Mohamed Amal , Carlyle Farrell , Shivanie Mangal , Glaucia Grellmann","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102533","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102533","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the impacts of the US and the Chinese geopolitical risk (GPR) on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Latin America (LATAM) from 2000 to 2022, focusing on how bilateral trade and escalating US-China tensions (UCT) moderate these effects. LATAM’s neutrality in major geopolitical conflicts makes it an ideal region for analyzing indirect GPR effects. US and China's GPR may not directly impact LATAM's GPR levels but can create indirect spillovers affecting the FDI flows in the region through economic ties and escalating global tensions, particularly between the US and China. The findings reveal distinct spillover patterns. US GPR negatively impacts FDI in LATAM due to geographic proximity, while the positive impact of China GPR suggests a dynamic of risk-diversification-driven FDI inflows to LATAM. Higher bilateral trade with China turns the impact of Chinese GPR on FDI negative, while trade with the US amplifies the negative effect of US GPR. At high UCT levels, both US and Chinese GPR reduce FDI in LATAM, whereas at low UCT levels, their impact turns positive, highlighting the role of bilateral trade and UCT as key factors in shaping the impact of GPR spillovers from the US and China to FDI inflows in LATAM. Furthermore, GPR deters US FDI but not Chinese FDI, highlighting how firms' responses to geopolitical risk vary based on strategic priorities, risk tolerance, and state involvement. We contribute to the GPR literature by demonstrating that even regions distant from direct geopolitical conflicts remain vulnerable due to economic interconnections and global ripple effects. The findings provide key insights for policymakers and investors, highlighting the need for proactive strategies to mitigate geopolitical risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102533"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102529
Jan Knoerich , Daniel Benson
This article offers a first aggregated insight on the merits and risks of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) for the economies and development of home countries, based on a systematic review of 130 empirical studies. The review finds strong evidence for the prevalence of eight home-country effects, with 71 % of studies reporting a positive impact on home countries. Several influencing factors were found to affect the magnitude of these effects. We also find that many governments facilitate OFDI through home-country measures, suggesting that they consider OFDI to be beneficial. Yet, this is a latecomer area of inquiry, with some effects under- or not investigated, and the impact of home-country measures has yet to be conclusively studied. A reversed analytical perspective focusing on OFDI as an activity aimed at generating financial and other worthwhile and beneficial returns that manifest themselves as home-country effects can considerably enrich FDI research.
{"title":"Home-country effects of outward foreign direct investment: A systematic review of empirical and policy evidence","authors":"Jan Knoerich , Daniel Benson","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article offers a first aggregated insight on the merits and risks of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) for the economies and development of home countries, based on a systematic review of 130 empirical studies. The review finds strong evidence for the prevalence of eight home-country effects, with 71 % of studies reporting a positive impact on home countries. Several influencing factors were found to affect the magnitude of these effects. We also find that many governments facilitate OFDI through home-country measures, suggesting that they consider OFDI to be beneficial. Yet, this is a latecomer area of inquiry, with some effects under- or not investigated, and the impact of home-country measures has yet to be conclusively studied. A reversed analytical perspective focusing on OFDI as an activity aimed at generating financial and other worthwhile and beneficial returns that manifest themselves as home-country effects can considerably enrich FDI research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102529"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102532
Xiangyang Wang, Xuefei Lei, Zhiyi Liu
Existing literature focusing on knowledge creation in multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopted a static perspective, simplifying it into a combination of knowledge stocks and new knowledge flows. Actually, knowledge creation in MNEs is contextual and complicated due to the intra-organizational differences and multi-level interaction. However, surprisingly little attention has been dedicated to elucidating the dynamic process from the multi-level interaction, which limits the comprehensive understanding on knowledge creation in MNEs. This study adopts organizational knowledge creation theory to identify the specific barriers to knowledge creation from the individual, group and organizational levels in MNEs, and discusses their dynamic connections. We further introduce unlearning to discuss how different levels of unlearning remove corresponding barriers and thus promote knowledge creation. Therefore, this study offers a fresh and significant insight on the knowledge creation in MNEs by responding the call on exploring knowledge creation in MNEs from the interactions at different levels.
{"title":"Promoting knowledge creation in MNEs through unlearning","authors":"Xiangyang Wang, Xuefei Lei, Zhiyi Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102532","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102532","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Existing literature focusing on knowledge creation in multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopted a static perspective, simplifying it into a combination of knowledge stocks and new knowledge flows. Actually, knowledge creation in MNEs is contextual and complicated due to the intra-organizational differences and multi-level interaction. However, surprisingly little attention has been dedicated to elucidating the dynamic process from the multi-level interaction, which limits the comprehensive understanding on knowledge creation in MNEs. This study adopts organizational knowledge creation theory to identify the specific barriers to knowledge creation from the individual, group and organizational levels in MNEs, and discusses their dynamic connections. We further introduce unlearning to discuss how different levels of unlearning remove corresponding barriers and thus promote knowledge creation. Therefore, this study offers a fresh and significant insight on the knowledge creation in MNEs by responding the call on exploring knowledge creation in MNEs from the interactions at different levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102532"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102531
Rany Salvoldi , David M. Brock
In today’s increasingly complex and globalized business landscape, knowledge-intensive service (KIS) firms face both opportunities and challenges—particularly in determining the optimal geographic scope of their internationalization strategies. Existing literature offers two contrasting narratives: one underscores the difficulties posed by KIS-specific characteristics such as knowledge intangibility and institutional embeddedness; the other highlights the advantages of expanding global reach. To reconcile these views, we adopt a configurational approach to examine how international footprints can be structured to enhance firm evaluation. Drawing on a categorization lens, we analyze how two key dimensions of international footprint—extent and dispersion—interact with firm-level contingencies to influence evaluation outcomes. Based on a configurational analysis of 50 European law firms, we identify multiple equifinal configurations of internationalization associated with superior evaluation. These configurations range from minimal to extensive international presence, and from regional concentration to broad geographic dispersion. Notably, our findings emphasize international dispersion as a critical factor in achieving favorable evaluations. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of KIS internationalization and informs ongoing debates about the optimal scale and spatial reach of global expansion strategies for KIS firms.
{"title":"How to shape internationalization: Footprint configurations of knowledge-intensive service firms","authors":"Rany Salvoldi , David M. Brock","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102531","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In today’s increasingly complex and globalized business landscape, knowledge-intensive service (KIS) firms face both opportunities and challenges—particularly in determining the optimal geographic scope of their internationalization strategies. Existing literature offers two contrasting narratives: one underscores the difficulties posed by KIS-specific characteristics such as knowledge intangibility and institutional embeddedness; the other highlights the advantages of expanding global reach. To reconcile these views, we adopt a configurational approach to examine how international footprints can be structured to enhance firm evaluation. Drawing on a categorization lens, we analyze how two key dimensions of international footprint—extent and dispersion—interact with firm-level contingencies to influence evaluation outcomes. Based on a configurational analysis of 50 European law firms, we identify multiple equifinal configurations of internationalization associated with superior evaluation. These configurations range from minimal to extensive international presence, and from regional concentration to broad geographic dispersion. Notably, our findings emphasize international dispersion as a critical factor in achieving favorable evaluations. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of KIS internationalization and informs ongoing debates about the optimal scale and spatial reach of global expansion strategies for KIS firms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102531"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102530
Chengcheng Miao , Chris Brewster
Drawing on institutional isomorphism and Bourdieu’s concept of capital, this ethnographic study provides a comprehensive examination of how institutional pressures interact with individual capital (linguistic, cultural and social) to shape expatriates’ behaviours in dealing with local petty corruption practices. We find that coercive isomorphism is often intensified by a lack of local linguistic capital, mimetic isomorphism is reinforced by uncertainty in a foreign environment, and normative isomorphism is shaped by norms and expectations originating from both the host and home countries, rather than being solely rooted in the local environment. Our findings highlight the critical role of individual capital as a moderator of institutional responses. By bridging macro-level neo-institutional theory and micro-level practices, this study deepens our understanding of how expatriates’ behaviour is shaped by both broader institutional environments and the personal resources they bring to their host country.
{"title":"Exploring one of the darker sides of expatriation: Chinese expatriates' experiences with petty corruption in Tanzania","authors":"Chengcheng Miao , Chris Brewster","doi":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drawing on institutional isomorphism and Bourdieu’s concept of capital, this ethnographic study provides a comprehensive examination of how institutional pressures interact with individual capital (linguistic, cultural and social) to shape expatriates’ behaviours in dealing with local petty corruption practices. We find that coercive isomorphism is often intensified by a lack of local linguistic capital, mimetic isomorphism is reinforced by uncertainty in a foreign environment, and normative isomorphism is shaped by norms and expectations originating from both the host and home countries, rather than being solely rooted in the local environment. Our findings highlight the critical role of individual capital as a moderator of institutional responses. By bridging macro-level neo-institutional theory and micro-level practices, this study deepens our understanding of how expatriates’ behaviour is shaped by both broader institutional environments and the personal resources they bring to their host country.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51352,"journal":{"name":"International Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"Article 102530"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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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