Management International Review最新文献

According to international entrepreneurship scholars, the success of Born Globals (BGs) depends on their capacity to develop an organizational ambidexterity perspective, i.e. a dual function of simultaneous knowledge exploration and exploitation. In this respect, it has been pointed out that ambidexterity can be associated with the ability to balance the development of different strategic orientations (SOs), namely, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO), and learning orientation (LO). While several authors have investigated the impact of MO, EO and LO on BGs’ performance, the results of such research are often inconsistent. Based on the resource orchestration view, we assume that the combined – rather than the single – contribution of resources and capabilities provided by EO, MO, and LO, ultimately result in a superior export performance. Such an indicator is typically adopted to evaluate international performance, especially for micro and small companies. More specifically, the study aims to verify the significance of dyadic (namely, MO*EO, EO*LO, and MO*LO) and triadic (MO*EO* LO) interactions of the SO typologies on BGs’ export performance. Moreover, the paper aspires to verify if some of these interactions are more relevant than others. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 100 Italian hi-tech BGs located inside a technological cluster near Rome through a longitudinal analysis. Our findings show that all the investigated interactions positively and significantly impact on the BGs’ export performances, independently of the adopted measurement variable. However, a certain type of hierarchy emerges among the different impacts of the investigated interactions among the three SO typologies.

Our paper revisits one of the fundamental questions of International Business (IB) scholarship, investigating the ways through which multinational enterprises (MNEs) establish legitimacy when entering a foreign market. We address this question in a novel context of Central and Eastern European (CEE) firms venturing into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), employing a multiple case study approach. We investigate the process of legitimacy formation by Polish firms entering SSA for market-seeking reasons. We find that the firms studied use their initial liabilities of foreignness, outsidership, and origin as starting points for pragmatic, moral, and cognitive legitimacy-building by developing narratives that neutralize the distance between themselves and important local stakeholders. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the contingent nature of ‘liabilities’ in IB literature and shed light on the role of narratives in the internationalization process.

Despite growing concern in the social innovation (SI) literature about the tackling of grand challenges, our understanding of the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) remains in its infancy. This article examines foreign MNE subsidiaries’ SI investments focusing on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) in host countries. Using financial data from large, listed subsidiaries of foreign MNEs operating in India, along with hand-collected data from firms’ disclosures of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity for five years starting in 2015, we utilise the externalities framework propounded by Montiel et al. (2021). This neatly translates the 17 UNSDGS into actionable goals to examine the efforts of foreign MNE subsidiaries in increasing positive externalities as opposed to reducing negative externalities via SI-related investment in host countries. The study also evaluates the effects of the local embeddedness of the foreign MNE subsidiaries on SI investment. We find that MNE subsidiaries tend to favour increasing positive externalities as compared to reducing negative externalities through their SI investments. Also, older subsidiaries tend to prioritize greater investments in SI projects related to reducing negative externalities and subsidiaries with higher MNE ownership tend to reduce investments in SI projects related to increasing positive externalities. We discuss possible interpretations of the exploratory results using the institutional logics perspective and conclude with implications for policy and future research.

This study examines (i) the relationship between first social mover multinational corporations (MNCs) and corporate social innovation (CSI); (ii) the impact of MNCs’ CSI on social value creation; and (iii) the moderating role of local embeddedness on the relationship between the first social mover MNCs, CSI, and social value creation. The study builds from the behavioral theory of social entrepreneurship. Primary data was collected from 150 MNCs operating in Nigeria—a social and resource-constrained emerging market in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings show that there is a positive relationship between first social mover MNCs and CSI. The findings also show that CSI has a positive relationship with social value creation. Furthermore, the findings reveal that local embeddedness strengthens the path between first social mover MNCs, CSI, and social value creation path. These findings have important implications for CSI and international management research as well as the growth and management of MNCs operating in emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

This paper examines the influence of social innovation on financial risk of emerging economy multinational corporations (EMNCs). Traditionally, research has focussed on Western MNCs’ and their financial performance implications. However, the growing involvement of EMNCs in social innovation—albeit in environments characterized by institutional voids—and its effects on financial risk necessitate an in-depth examination. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we explored how EMNCs balance their social innovation initiatives with financial risks. To this end, we first examine how social innovation reduces the financial risk of EMNCs. Second, we examine the association between excessive social innovation and EMNCs’ financial risk. In addition, borrowing insights from institutional theory, we assess the role played by institutional legitimacy in this process, acknowledging institutional legitimacy’s potential to mitigate the financial risks associated with social innovation in emerging economies. We test our hypotheses based on data drawn from 90 EMNCs in 14 emerging economies, applying a panel regression model with robust standard errors and a rigorous robustness propensity score matching test. Our findings show that social innovation reduces EMNC financial risk, and challenge the assertions made regarding the potential negative implications of excessive social innovation on financial risk. Our results also demonstrate the intricate moderating effects of institutional legitimacy in balancing social innovation, excessive social innovation, and EMNC financial risk. Finally, we proffer critical implications for managers and policymakers in emerging economies.

Relationships between subsidiary managers and headquarters (HQ) have been investigated through various research methods in the international management field. The diary method is an experience-based research method that helps to tap into the actions, reactions, and emotions of managers working in the international domain. To our knowledge, no study has shed light on subsidiary-headquarters relations using insights from subsidiary managers’ diaries. We introduce the diary method to international management research and present an illustrative study on subsidiary-HQ relations, based on diaries written by fourteen subsidiary managers. We note that subsidiary managers display multiple types of emotions when dealing with their corporate HQ. We discuss how the diary method can enrich international management research, and in particular studies on multi-level subsidiary-HQ relations. Based on our illustrative study, we propose guidelines for using the diary method in the international management field by providing insights into the diary study preparation, the collection of diary data, and data analysis.

Despite the increasing importance of social innovation, research seeking to illuminate how firms engage in social innovation in emerging markets is limited. Utilizing survey data from 143 Pakistani micro-multinational firms operating in other emerging markets, this study examined how these firms undertook social innovation practices in host emerging markets. The findings indicate that the social innovation practices of these firms in host emerging markets are influenced by dynamic marketing capabilities. Furthermore, this influence is mediated by social embeddedness in the host market. Moreover, this mediated influence is positively moderated by a socially supportive culture of the host market. The impact of marketing capabilities on value creation in host emerging markets involves the serial mediation of social embeddedness and social innovation practices. The study demonstrates how resource-constrained emerging-market micro-multinational firms can generate value in host emerging markets, thereby validating the efficacy of dynamic marketing capabilities in the context of social innovation in emerging markets. The study also discusses practical and policy implications.

Born global firms (BGs) contribute significantly to economic growth, but few studies have examined the post-internationalization stage of BGs. In addition, studies of the impact of changes in strategic aspects as BGs mature on BG performance and survival have yielded conflicting results. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study examines the relationships between intelligence generation and innovation orientation, and branding strategies as moderated by maturity. The data were received from 133 senior managers of BGs of various ages. The analysis shows that BG maturity negatively moderates the relationship between intelligence generation and functional branding strategy but does not influence the relationships of innovation orientation with branding strategies. Furthermore, emotional branding showed stable association with both financial and market performance indicators. This study demonstrates that maturity affects the orientations and performance of BGs and calls for a reassessment of the competitive international strategy of BGs at the post-entry stage.

The purpose of this study is to examine the internal and external factors that influence the location choice decision of family firms. Drawing on two streams of literature—family firm and international business—we investigate the role that inward FDI (IFDI) and firm’s heterogeneity (ownership structure and management type) play in the location choice of family firms. Our analysis of a large sample of family firms (N = 278) from India suggests that IFDI is positively associated with a greater likelihood of advanced economy location choice compared to the choice of emerging economies. Our results also reveal that the relationship between IFDI and advanced economy location choice is stronger for family-controlled firms than for family-influenced firms. In addition, results demonstrate that within family-controlled firms, the above positive relationship is stronger for firms that are professionally-managed than for firms that are family-managed. The study concludes by explaining the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and highlighting avenues of future research.

This paper examines trends, challenges and opportunities in terms of research methodologies in qualitative IB research. In particular, it examines trends for the dominant (positivism/(post)positivism) paradigm versus alternative paradigms (i.e., social constructivism, critical realism and interpretivism) and provides a comparative analysis of data collection and methods. Using mixed methods to collect and analyze data on qualitative articles published in International Business Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, and Management International Review, we examine trends and differences between the dominant and alternative paradigms and use qualitative content analysis to investigate how alternative paradigm papers are conceptualized and presented. Moreover, we interview authors of non-positivist papers to gain in-depth understanding of the findings. We reveal differences across the paradigms and provide evidence of paradigmatic fit between methods and data collection techniques for the dominant paradigm, but more variation for alternative paradigms. Lastly, we provide prescriptions for IB scholars in terms of methodology diversity and how complex IB phenomena can be pursued vis-a-vis alternative paradigms.