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ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the impact of social and business interactions on firm internationalisation within the context of an industrial cluster created from scratch by policymakers. Based on in-depth interviews with firms in Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor cluster, our findings suggest that a permanent cluster of this nature may not be able to stimulate the development of frequent, spontaneous, informal interaction and rich social networks often seen in ‘organic’ clusters, thus limiting the cluster's effect on firm internationalisation. However, the paper also shows that ‘temporary clusters’, such as trade shows and conferences, organised by policymakers on a regular basis within the broader context of the permanent cluster, can help firms to quickly acquire relevant knowledge.
International Business Review. 01/2012; 21(5):794-805.
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ABSTRACT: The existence of rapidly internationalising small to medium sized firms has been widely documented in the literature. Liberalisation of markets and the emergence of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are the most frequently cited enablers of this phenomenon. However, despite their unprecedented potential to reach customers and reduce trade barriers, the anticipated positive impact of ICTs on firm performance has not been empirically supported to the expected degree. This study addresses this topical issue and investigates the effect of online media use on export performance by using multivariate statistical analysis on data drawn from a survey of 115 UK-based SMEs.
01/2012: pages 185-213; , ISBN: 9781848449534
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ABSTRACT: Mobile marketing provides an innovative channel for transmitting advertising messages to customers via mobile devices. The growth of mobile advertising in recent years requires that researchers and practitioners understand consumer perceptions of this form of advertising. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors influencing the perception of mobile advertising in different cultures. Based on samples from Austria and Japan, we empirically examine relevant m-advertising effects. The results suggest that infotainment and credibility are key factors predicting advertising value among Austrians and the Japanese. However, our findings show that Japanese customers are more irritated by mobile advertising than are Austrian respondents.
Journal of Interactive Marketing 01/2012; 26(1):21-32. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Global technology alliances (GTAs) and innovation capabilities are the two main themes in this chapter. Drawing on innovation concepts and the resource-based view, this chapter explains how firms gain access to complementary resources, dispersed in the international realm, and incorporate these within their organizations through GTAs
01/2012: pages 242-261; , ISBN: 9780230320987
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ABSTRACT: • Building upon knowledge-based and network views, this paper seeks to examine how subsidiary characteristics (subsidiary willingness and subsidiary external embeddedness) and relationship characteristics (internal embeddedness, socialization mechanisms and shared values) impact the extent of Reverse Knowledge Transfer (RKT). • A survey was carried out to build a database of 178 subsidiaries operating in Knowledge Intensive Business Service (KIBS) sectors in the United Kingdom. • Our analysis indicates that willingness and socialization mechanisms are the most significant determinants of the extent of RKT. Further, the impacts of shared values and internal embeddedness are mediated by subsidiary willingness. The results also highlight the significant association between socialization mechanisms and internal embeddedness. Contrary to our expectation, external embeddedness has a negative influence on the extent of RKT.
Management International Review. 01/2012; 52(3):461-488.
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ABSTRACT: It is generally acknowledged in the business and management literature that qualitative research tends to be ‘messy’. In contrast to the typical linear structure of the quantitative research task (find or develop a theory, gather empirical data, confirm or disconfirm the theory), qualitative findings often emerge through a complex process of gradual evolution, driven by the interaction between theory and data. This iterative, cyclical process can be considered a hallmark of qualitative research. It lies at the heart of terms such as evolution of perspective (Peshkin, 1985), zipping (Orton, 1997), systematic combining (Dubois & Gadde, 2002), cycles of deliberation (McGaughey, 2004, 2007) and the term we adopt in this chapter, progressive focusing (Parlett & Hamilton, 1972; Stake, 1981, 1995). Our aim is to demonstrate how such an inherently ‘messy’ process can be made more manageable and rigorous through the use of CAQDAS. We acknowledge potential dangers in the indiscriminate and overly mechanistic use of CAQDAS (Hesse-Biber, 1996; Marshall, 2001). However, drawing on the example of a research project carried out by one of the authors, we illustrate ways to use CAQDAS in fruitful way to make non-linear research processes more systematic and add to both flexibility and rigour (Sinkovics, Penz, & Ghauri, 2008).
01/2012: pages 109-131; , ISBN: 9780857024114
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ABSTRACT: In an increasingly dynamic global business environment, it is of fundamental theoretical and managerial interests to understand how firms can successfully adapt to changing marketplaces through new product development. The article examines the impact of internal resources, external networks and export activities on the international innovation performance of Chinese manufacturing firms. The effect is tested simultaneously by drawing on data from a firm-level World Bank survey involving 998 manufacturing firms. A Tobit model is adopted to examine the export performance of new products. Findings from the hierarchical regressions demonstrate that local competition contributes to innovation, as do firms’ external networks. Firms involved in exporting can leverage their learning and this can be a key driver for innovation. Although higher R&D intensity may be hampered when local competition is high, returnee managers can stimulate the international innovation performance of firms in highly competitive environments.
Asian Business & Management 01/2012; 11(1):31-55. · 0.31 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study examines how two dimensions of strategic orientation (customer and competitor orientation) influence logistics and market performance. Two capabilities, operational flexibility and collaboration, are studied. Data were collected from manufacturers working with third party logistics providers. The findings suggest that customer and competitor orientations have different influences upon performance when leveraged through the capabilities. Competitor orientation, while having a detrimental direct effect on logistics performance, appears to be the better strategic approach, when supported with operational flexibility since it results in enhanced logistics (efficiency) and market (effectiveness) performance. Customer orientation, on the other hand, greatly improves logistics performance, i.e., internal efficiency.
Journal of Business Logistics. 05/2011; 25(2):43 - 64.
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ABSTRACT: • The focus theme International integration and coordination in MNEs—Implications for international management is introduced and the motivation for this focus issue theme is outlined. The premise of the theme is the notion that the nature of organizational response to heightened global dynamism has changed. It is argued that the managerial mechanisms or tools necessary to accomplish coordination tasks have changed accordingly. • The manuscripts included in this focused issue capture this perspective building conceptual and empirical contributions. These include cross-border knowledge transfer, global strategy implementation, IT integration as enabler of MNE-supplier responsiveness, intra-firm architectural network configuration, regional integration perspectives from Latin America and integration and coordination in the global factory.
Management International Review. 01/2011; 51(2):121-127.
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ABSTRACT: This paper examines ethnic ties and their impact on FDI location choice and firm performance. Drawing on social network theory and using data from 88 Taiwanese business groups, the study tests the impact of ethnic ties on firm FDI location choice and performance outcomes in China. Results show that ethnic ties of top managers matter in facilitating firm FDI location choice. In contrast to our expectations however, ethnic ties do not help to improve firm performance in China. Implications of these results are discussed in view of existing literature and future research opportunities are delineated.
International Business Review. 01/2011; 20(6):627-635.
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ABSTRACT: Introduction - Multinational corporations (MNCs) have been recognized as the key agents of globalization. Rugman and Verbeke (2004) highlight the fact that most MNCs’ sales are within their home region, namely in North America, the European Union and Asia. On the other hand, Dunning and Lundan (2008) emphasize that MNCs are deemed to be not only bringers of economic development but also agents of social well-being, especially in less developed countries. Thus, a growing number of MNCs are altering their strategies to play a substantial role as regional agents to solve social challenges. They are embracing a new approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) by reformulating their CSR activities. They identify social problems, not as a challenge to be avoided, but as a profitable opportunity that can be seized. Among various social problems, this paper will focus on poverty, which has inspired MNCs’ efforts in less developed countries (London and Hart, 2004; Prahalad, 2009). For instance, the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) approach explains the new strategy for implementing social responsibility and poverty reduction as well as making profit. In his seminal book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Prahalad (2004) provides examples of pioneering MNCs in emerging markets that have modified their businesses and processes. As in many emerging fields, most of the examples and case studies about the innovative initiatives of MNCs in offering sustainable solutions to social hurdles are fragmented and there have been few attempts to provide a theoretical explanation. Thus, this research aims to bridge this gap by borrowing the literature from entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship domains. The primary contribution of this chapter will be to offer a theoretical clarification of the socially entrepreneurial behaviour of MNCs. Moreover, this conceptual work will contribute to extending the literature of international business and social entrepreneurship (SE) by offering the term ‘corporate social entrepreneurship’ as a new avenue for learning about MNCs’ role as social agents.
01/2011: pages 397-411; , ISBN: 9780230289970
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ABSTRACT: Qualitative international research is increasingly popular in marketing, management and business practice. Cultural dimensions, most importantly language, play a central role in this research context. The importance of language in the context of questionnaire design and international data gathering has long been stressed in various sources (Pike 1966; Brislin 1970; Piekkari & Welch 2004). However, the practice of qualitative data collection and analysis has not been addressed sufficiently, although new and innovative software-based tools are available to help these efforts. This paper deals with methodological and practical issues in analysing qualitative interviews with corporate elites. We illustrate conceptual challenges in setting up qualitative projects that build on interviewing corporate elites and address practical implementation issues in terms of multilingual coding, node creation and theory building by means of computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). To this end a specific empirical example will be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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International Journal of Market Research 01/2011; 53(5):705-724. · 0.63 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Covering the key issues in regionalism and globalization, this volume provides an in-depth review of topics such as outward FDI, internationalization and performance, human resources, knowledge and networks, corporate governance and international joint ventures. Through their selection of material, the editors present an overview of the most up-to-date research and aim to stimulate ideas and promote further research into this dynamic and exciting area.
01/2011: pages 480; Palgrave MacMillan., ISBN: 9780230289970
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ABSTRACT: • In order to enhance local suppliers’ responsiveness in global supply chain relationships, MNEs must work with their local suppliers to create new forms of relationship structures. Cultural and country differences may limit the use and effectiveness of traditional tools that govern the relationships between MNE and their local suppliers. • Drawing on the resource-based view and transaction cost economics, this study uses 219 Taiwanese electronics suppliers to examine the influence of information technology integration and trust on supply chain responsiveness in varied cultural distance conditions. We find that the process is mediated by a governance mechanism including cooperativeness efforts and MNEs control. • This study demonstrates that the use of IT integration through B2B information technology and trust can help MNEs to enhance local suppliers’ responsiveness in global supply chain relationships.
Management International Review 01/2011; 51(2):193-212. · 0.75 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Qualitative international research is increasingly popular in marketing, management and business practice. Cultural dimensions, most importantly language, play a central role in this research context. The importance of language in the context of questionnaire design and international data gathering has long been stressed in various sources (Pike 1966; Brislin 1970; Piekkari & Welch 2004). However, the practice of qualitative data collection and analysis has not been addressed sufficiently, although new and innovative software-based tools are available to help these efforts. This paper deals with methodological and practical issues in analysing qualitative interviews with corporate elites. We illustrate conceptual challenges in setting up qualitative projects that build on interviewing corporate elites and address practical implementation issues in terms of multilingual coding, node creation and theory building by means of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). To this end a specific empirical example will be used. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
International Journal of Market Research 01/2011; 53(5):704-724. · 0.63 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In this study we investigate the firm specific factors which facilitate organizational over-performance in declining industries. Despite the extant rich literature on firm growth factors, we are still far from a comprehensive picture on which of them contribute to firm growth the most, especially when adverse environmental contexts are present. Yet, the cyclical nature of industrial downturns and the current economic climate add additional urgency to the above question. Building on the resource based view, the entrepreneurship and small firm growth literatures, while combining the findings from our recent empirical study on 20 highly growing UK SMEs in 19 poor performing sectors, we develop a set of propositions which re-examine the role of leaders, their teams and networks on achieving firm over-performance in adverse conditions. Our findings reveal that these outliers are run by managers with long firm tenure, long output experience and entrepreneurial attitude. They invest in human capital with high levels of firm-specific skills, promote vigorous training and encourage employee participation in the decision making. They also foster multiple informal and formal external networks by building long-term personal relationships with external actors and participating in industry-related events. Overall, by developing and testing an integrative model of SME over-performance in adverse conditions, we address an overlooked gap in the literature, set the foundations for further research and provide practical value to SME managers.
ERPN: Culture (Strategy) (Sub-Topic). 06/2010;
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ABSTRACT: El avance de las nuevas tecnologías y sobre todo de Internet ha promovido nuevas herramientas tales como las comunidades virtuales, las comunidades online y los mundos virtuales. Estas aplicaciones son vistas como fuentes de información utilizadas para compartir ideas, construir comunidades y contactar con otros consumidores. Sin embargo, existe falta de acuerdo en cómo definir cada una de estas herramientas y los términos son utilizados indistintamente. Por ello, uno de los objetivos de este estudio es analizar las diferencias entre cada una de ellas con el fin de que sirvan para identificar necesidades y deseos de los individuos. Al mismo tiempo, se analizan las principales aplicaciones empresariales de estas herramientas, con el objetivo de establecer recomendaciones útiles para las empresas.
i&m. 01/2010; 107:40-44.
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ABSTRACT: With growing competitive pressures, companies are increasingly deploying the Internet (Porter, 2001) as strategic option of performance enhancement. With the Internet representing a potentially fluid and boundary-less medium (Lim et al. 2004), this deployment takes place not only in domestic but also in international markets. The adoption of the Internet appears to be particularly important for smaller firms. They are naturally poorer in terms of resource-endowment than large MNEs (Welsh and White, 1981) and the Internet promises a fast-track and time-compressed option for international expansion (Sinkovics and Penz, 2005; Yamin and Sinkovics, 2006). However, as international business deals with a multitude of contingencies in its environment progressive expansion comes at a price and is increasingly risky (Shrader, Oviatt, and Phillips McDougall, 2000). Internet reliance and the deployment of information and communication technologies (ICT) may implicate ‘ambiguous’ effects (Jean, 2007). The virtual analogue to traditional physical exchange is not riskfree but exposes firms to an array of related risks (Scott, 2004; Viehland, 2001; Wat, Ngai, and Cheng, 2005). While some of these risks are only relevant in the online context, others have their origins in the traditional international business environment. Even though many risks belonging to the latter category are deemed less relevant for companies predominantly doing business in cyberspace, they need to be carefully examined as they might still affect these companies in a different and/or in a less visible way. Understanding international risk in both its traditional and virtual form is thus crucial. While the conscious and controlled handling of risks may represent an important source of sustainable competitive advantage in terms of the resource based view (Barney, 1991), the lack of a thorough risk assessment and of the weighing of the offline-online risk trade-off can not only deprive a business of future profits but might also lead to complete business failure. However, the development of an international e-risk framework is not only relevant from a small firm survival and prosperity perspective, it also contributes to conceptual and theoretical development of international business and international entrepreneurship thinking, as the concept of risk occupies a pivotal theoretical position in both domains. Thus, this chapter pursues two objectives. First, it aims at investigating how traditional international risks take effect in the online context based on Brouthers’s (1995) empirically tested risk dimensions taking a first step towards the construction of an international e-risk framework. Second, it endeavours to explain the risk trade-off between offline and online internationalization for small firms that give preference to a more virtualized market entrysolution rather than to traditional market entry. The structure of the chapter is as follows: The first section introduces the international e-risk framework. The second section discusses the role of risk perceptions in online market entry mode decisions by proposing a simple model based on the internalization constituent of Dunning’s eclectic (OLI) framework. The section concludes by considering limitations and implications for future research.
01/2010: pages 233-246; , ISBN: 9780230236530
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ABSTRACT: Recently, relationship learning between supply chain members has drawn a great deal of attention in the literature. In the context of the international electronics supply chain, which is characterized by cultural differences and complexity of products, relationship learning is difficult to achieve and relies largely on close collaboration between partners. The authors build on the resource-based view of the firm and adopt a communication culture theory to examine drivers and performance outcomes of relationship learning in cross-border relationships in the electronics industry. They propose a research framework in which a firm's innovativeness orientation, trust, information technology advancement, and technological uncertainty are determinants of relationship learning. In the framework, they introduce the communication cultures of the supplier and buyer as a moderator. Using 246 electronics suppliers in relationships with international original equipment manufacturer customers, the authors empirically show that innovativeness orientation, trust, and technological uncertainty affect relationship learning positively. Furthermore, the communication cultures of the supplier and buyer moderate the effects of innovativeness orientation and technological uncertainty. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications.
Journal of International Marketing. 01/2010; 18(1):63-85.
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ABSTRACT: In order to enhance local suppliers’ responsiveness in international exchange relationships, international MNE customers must work with their local suppliers to create new form of relationship structures. Cultural and country differences may limit the use and effectiveness of traditional relationship governance tools between the international MNE customers and their local suppliers. Drawing on the resource-based view and transaction cost economics, this study uses 219 electronics suppliers from Taiwan to examine the influence of virtual integration, knowledge sharing and commitment on their responsiveness in international exchange relationships. The findings demonstrate that the use of plural forms of governance can enhance interorganizational value creation in terms of supplier responsiveness in international exchange relationships. Implications for academics and practitioners are addressed.
01/2010: pages 27-43; , ISBN: 9780230236530
