Showing papers on "Internationalization published in 1989"

Diversification strategy and internationalization: implications for mne performance

Abstract: This study examines potential explanations for performance differenlces among mnultinational enterprises (MNEs). The research variables, diversification strategy and degree of internationalization, involve basic elements of firms' strategy: range and relatedness of products, and relative emphasis on foreign versus domestic operations. The samnple included the 100 largest MNEs from the U.S. and Europe. Diversification strategy was significantly related to MNE performance, extending Rumelt's seminal research to international business. Degree of internationalization was also significantly related to MNE performance. An important phenomenon within international business is the increased role of multinational enterprises (MNEs), particularly large multinationals. In 1981 the sales of the largest 500 MNEs were equal to over 20 per cent of the world's gross domestic product, over 50 per cent of the world's traded output, and over 80 per cent of the foreign direct investment (Rugman, 1987; Stopford and Dunning, 1983). Management of these enterprises and their immense resources is a more complex and challenging task than for firms whose activities are largely confined to a single nation. Because of their important role in the world economy, much attention has been lavished upon MNEs, including examination of the rationale for their existence; their influence upon politics, culture, and industries; and their structure, strategies and management. One observation reported by several researchers involves

Global Hegemony and the Structural Power of Capital

Abstract: dimensions. These distinctions are elaborated to help explain aspects of the changing nature of present-day capitalism, with particular reference to aspects of transformation in the 1980s and beyond. Partly building upon Robert Cox's analysis of social forces and world orders, and Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony, we seek to explain some of the conditions under which a more "transnational" regime of accumulation and an associated hegemony of transnational capital might develop. Such a hegemony could never be complete because of counterhegemonic forces and contradictory elements in the internationalization of capital. Some requirements for an alternative counter-hegemonic historic bloc are sketched, with suggestions for a research agenda. In this essay we seek to advance the theorization and interpretation of the dynamics and contours of the emerging global political economy, and to outline an agenda for study in this field. Our perspective differs from and can be read as a critique of classical marxism, world systems theory, public choice, and neo-realist theory. Central to our argument is the distinction between direct and structural forms of power and their place within present-day capitalism. Through developing this contrast, in combination with Gramscian concepts-of hegemony historic bloc and the "extended" state-we seek to meet two major challenges. The first is to better integrate domestic and international levels of analysis. We think that a key to the resolution of this problem has been provided by Cox (1987). His analysis of social forces points to a more comprehensive and flexible approach to the question of

The internationalisation of research and development by multinational enterprises

Abstract: Evolution and characteristics of overseas R&D of MNES the determinants of the geographical diversification of R&D by MNES an empirical study of the internationalization of research and development by leading firms organisation and control of international R&D in MNES MNE R&D and host countries - issues, evidence.

A practical but theory‐based framework for selecting cross‐cultural training methods

Abstract: Increased internationalization in the economic, political, and social arenas has led to greater interpersonal cross-cultural contact. Because much of this contact has not been successful, cross-cultural training has been proposed by many scholars as a means of facilitating more effective interaction. However, most firms do not utilize cross-cultural training. The cross-cultural training framework proposed in this article is based on both theory and a review of the cross-cultural training literature. The contingency framework proposed provides a practical guide for determining the method and rigor of cross-cultural training most effective in various circumstances.

Managing the Internationalization Process : The Swedish Case

Abstract: slim, 114-page book addresses some of the most exciting conceptualizations that have emerged in recent years to explain the evolving complexity of multinational enterprise (MNE) behavior. Practical insights are offered in this book and many of the explanations and arguments presented are quite realistic since the author attempts to simultaneously take into account the MNE's economic-, market-, and power-based decisions within a growing complexity of internal and external relationships. The analysis is cast within the Uppsala School's historical and incremental perspective on the internationalization process and the network theory developed by this school as part of its research on industrial and international marketing. It is also based on interorganization theory and the resource-based theory of power which are increasingly viewed as central to a better understanding of the unfolding behavior of MNEs.

International Business Education: A Corporate View

Abstract: As a preliminary step in the internationalization of business school curricula, 122 major Canadian corporations were surveyed for their views on the importance of various management skills and international courses, as well as their opinion on the mechanisms (Institutions and academics) for delivering them This article reports on the responses obtained and suggests methods for improving the overall effectiveness of international business education

Telecommunications and the globalization of financial services

Abstract: Financial services are undergoing a major period of internationalization. National markets are interlinked by telecommunications, a process induced through deregulation and new communications technologies. This paper reviews the recent, intertwined trends in the finance and telecommunications industries in light of urban and regional restructuring theory, cites several company-specific examples, explores the impacts on the international urban hierarchy and the labor process (e.g., back offices), and assesses the role of teleports. Finally, it offers an agenda for further research.

Global restructuring and territorial development

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Techno-Economic Restructuring, Socio-Political Processes and Spatial Transformation - Manuel Castells and Jeffrey Henderson A Global Perspective CAPITAL, LABOUR AND THE DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING Global Factory and Company Town - Richard Child Hill The Changing Division of Labour in the International Automobile Industry US-Japanese Competition and the Worldwide Restructuring of the Electronics Industry - Dieter Ernst A European View Issues of Core and Periphery - Saskia Sassen-Koob Labour Migration and Global Restructuring Policing the Frontiers - Robin Cohen The State and the Migrant in the International Division of Labour Women Electronics Workers in Southeast Asia - Vivian Lin The Emergence of a Working Class REGIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING Exploring the Spatial Effects of the Internationalization of the Mexican Economy - Manuel Perlo Cohen Social Forces, the State and the International Division of Labour - Kamal Salih and Mei Ling Young The Case of Malaysia THE URBAN DIMENSION OF GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING The Fixers - Nigel Thrift The Urban Geography of International Commercial Capital Global Capital Restructuring and Local Political Crises in the US Cities - Michael Peter Smith

The Global Economy

Abstract: By the end of the nineteenth century a truly global economy had been created. In this century the internationalisation of production has continued apace. National economies are now more closely linked than at any time in history. Although the bipolar division of the world after World War II created two international economic systems they have never functioned completely independently of each other and are now more increasingly intertwined. The increased sensitivity and vulnerability of national economies to economic events outside their borders coupled with the increased role of governments within national economies combined to transform the dialogue on international economic relations. A key feature of post-1945 international relations is the attempt by states to institutionalise multilateral management of the international economic system. Furthermore, the accession to independence of the Afro-Asian states produced new demands on the international economic system. The new political consciousness of these states served to highlight the issue of global economic inequality and they attempted to use international organisations to redress their grievances. The number of actors in international economic relations has also increased with the spread of the transnational corporation and the increase in international banking. The readings in this chapter are concerned with the globalisation of economic activity.

Government and the Chemical Industry: A Comparative Study of Britain and West Germany

Abstract: Though the international chemical industry will surely be one of the 21st century's most important, there have been few academic studies of government-chemical industry relations. This study draws on interviews with key individuals in firms, organizations and government bodies to compare the industry's relationship with government in Britain and West Germany. The authors also focus on wider issues of European Community decisions, the impact of national governments, and the industry's pattern of industrial relations to provide new insights into a key growth industry and the effects of internationalization on government-industry cooperation.

Managerial Barriers to the Internationalization of U.S. Property and Liability Insurers: Theory and Perspectives

Abstract: Managerial Barriers to the Internationalization of U.S. Property and Liability Insurers: Theory and Perspectives Trade Barriers to International Property and Liability Operations Government Trade Barriers Numerous articles in insurance trade literature document instances where governmentally imposed trade barriers may have prevented entry into specific foreign markets [National Underwriter (1985), Risk Management (1980), McIntyre (1984), Nutter (1981)]. Academic attention has also been given to documenting the existence of trade barriers and their economic consequences [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1983), Carter and Dickinson (1977), Detwiler (1983), Pfeffer (1976), Skipper (1987)]. However, the importance of foreign trade barriers as an explanation for the lack of international involvement of U.S. property and liability insurers is not known [Fisher (1982), Ripol (1983), Skipper (1987)]. The purpose of this article is to examine, in a theoretical context, the foreign market entry patterns of U.S. property and liability insurers. The results of a survey of industry executives' attitudes toward foreign operations are analyzed. An explanation for that behavior which is consistent with theory is also proposed. An Information Gap One of the most serious obstacles to foreign operations of U.S. insurers is the lack of market information. That information gap may actually be a greater barrier to entry into foreign markets than are governmental trade barriers. According to Skipper (1987, p. 63), "the most impotant practical problems relating to [trade in] services revolve around data inadequacy." Pfeffer (1978) also speaks to the problem of obtaining data necessary for foreign market operations. Despite trade barriers and lack of information, a few U.S. property and liability companies have entered foreign markets. CIGNA Corp., American International Group, continental Insurance, Allendate Mutual and others have been exceptionally active abroad. However, the majority of U.S. insurers have made no attempt to enter foreign markets. With so many insurers in the United States, why have so few chosen to engage in international operations? Why have those who have chosen to do so become so active? The answer to these questions may, in part, lie in the nature and cost of foreign market information available in the United States. In turn, the source of this information barrier may be the result of the historical pattern of international operations of U.S. companies. The Modern History of the International Activities of U.S. Property and Liability Companies By the beginning of World War II, the number of U.S. property and liability insurers operating in Europe had declined from a high of 21 immediately following World War I to only a dozen [Glass (1960)]. During World War II, the industry responded by providing international coverages, especially war risk coverage. But the post-war era of domestic prosperity again saw the industry turn it back on international operations. The European business of U.S. companies immediately following the war was, at best, negligible. Writing in the late 1950s, Glass notes that only seven U.S. companies, excluding the American and Foreign Insurance Association (AFIA) and American International Underwriters (AIU), had substantially rebuilt their European business after World War II [Glass (1960)]. They were: The Insurance Company of North America of Philadelphia, American Home Insurance Company of New York, Glens Falls Insurance Company of Hartford, Great American Insurance Company of New York, Hanover Fire Insurance Company of New York, Home Insurance Company of New York, and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh. In addition, the Allstate Insurance Company had entered the European market on a broad scale after World War II. …

The changing geography of the service sector

Abstract: The service sector the social and political background economic background factors the location of service activities the impact on urban form technological influences and their locational significance bureaucratization internationalization - the growth of transnational operations finance and property development accessibility and the usage of facilities.

Independence and choice: Western impacts on Japanese higher education

Abstract: Japan's universities were established in order to import Western knowledge and ideas to assist in the development of the nation beginning in the mid-19th century. Because it was never colonized and because it has sucessfully developed not only its academic system but also its economy, Japan is a particularly significant case study. Japan's academic development can be seen in two phases. First there was a “window shopping” period in which many Western models were explored and some partially adopted. Second, there has been an “involvement” mode in which specific Western models are adopted. This essay follows the development of Japanese higher education through its various phases, including the post World War Two impact of the United States and the growth of a mass university system. The process of internationalization of various foreign influences is examined.

The Internationalization of Production

Abstract: The degree of internationalizaton of the enterprise or business sectors of many countries, as measured by the ratio of direct investment abroad to domestic wealth or assets, or of assets or employment abroad to that at home, has been growing over the last twenty years or more. The exception to this trend is the United States, in which the extent of internationalization, after growing until the 1970s, has stagnated or decreased somewhat. The level of internationalization of U.S. firms in the 1970s and 1980s was above that of Germany and especially above those of Japan and Korea. Canada was close to the U.S. and UK firms were by far the most internationalized. The differences among the country levels and trends seem to reflect country size and divergences between the competitiveness of countries and of their companies, including those that result from exchange-rate movements.

Little victories local economic development in European regions

Abstract: It has always been difficult to justify the concept of ‘the local economy’. In advanced economies, especially those very open to world trade, their defining characteristic could be said to be their. very lack of local economies. This obviously faces local economic policy-makers with a great dilemma on how best to maintain, sustain and/or develop local growth trajectories. In this paper, we seek to provide an overview of the general economic conditions between structural forces of internationalization and strong central control, and local effects to help revive locd economies weakened by such forces. In doing so, we will discuss some tendencies in corporate organisation which point to the necessity for local economic development initiatives to become stronger rather than weaker. In a section on local economic development in Italy, Spain and France, we shall suggest some of the more effective ways in which public-private links are being forged. We finally relate these points back to the prospect for revived...

Multinational Corporate Restructuring and International Competitiveness

Abstract: This article addresses an important facet of corporate restructuring: namely, the implications for future competitiveness. It compares patterns of restructuring within leading U.S. and Japanese companies since the late 1970s. Marked differences are apparent. U.S. firms rely to a considerable extent on intensification, rationalization, collaboration, and incremental internationalization. In contrast, major Japanese enterprises' restructuring has concentrated on investment and technical change and incremental internationalization. In the long term, the restructuring strategies pursued by Japanese multinationals appear to offer more significant and enduring competitive benefits. This is because the most widely adopted strategies have their principal impact on proprietary competitive assets and internationalization advantages. In contrast, the emphasis of U.S. corporations has been on overcoming locational disadvantage and restoring the conditions for competitive operation in the home market. This emphasis, while enhancing locational or comparative advantage, does little to create proprietary competitive advantages.

The Management of International Advertising: A Handbook and Guide for Professionals

Abstract: Preface Marketing and Advertising Planning in Global Markets The Development of Multinational Advertising Strategy Comparative Advertising Systems Cross-Cultural and Cross-National Advertising Practices in Unlike Environments Internationalization of Advertising Agencies Advertising and Development Legal Restraints on International Advertising Bibliography Index

Technology pricing : from principles to strategy

Abstract: Introduction: international technology transfer - substance and framework. Part 1 Analysis of technology pricing: types of remuneration and forms of payment in international technology transfers the pure theory of technology pricing two approaches to pricing policy. Part 2 The strategic approach to licensing: licensing out strategies licensing in strategies a theory of the licensor/licensee relationship - the quasi-internalization model. Part 3 Pricing policies for licensing strategies: an empirical analysis of technology pricing internationalization strategies and technology pricing policies.

The IMF, the World Bank and Reconstruction in Uganda

Abstract: A recurring theme in critiques of the IMF and World Bank policies for stabilisation and adjustment is that such policies undermine national economic integration and self-reliance by promoting the greater internationalisation of trade and capital flows.1 At issue here is the question of the appropriate strategy of economic development and the extent to which countries borrowing from the international institutions to manage immediate crises forfeit control over choice of long term economic strategy. Critics contend that integration into the international economy on the basis of static comparative advantage exposes Third World countries to instability and to constrained long term growth possibilities. IMF and IBRD policies of reducing state intervention in the economy and of allowing market forces and world prices to dictate resource allocation serve, it is claimed, to reassert the logic of the (in Africa’s case) colonial division of labour and promote the interests of international capitalism at the expense of the ordinary people of the Third World. The Fund and the Bank are seen, therefore, as agents of imperialism whose role is that of ensuring the most favourable conditions for the accumulation of capital at the international level. Government dealing with them are seen, in the extreme, as conspiring against the best interests of the people they claim to serve.2

The internationalization of Japan

Abstract: There are growing tensions and frictions between the U.S. and Japan. Among them are science and technology issues that relate to the development of superconductor technology, as well as economic, trade and agricultural issues. The structure of this friction is very complex. There are many interconnected issues that cannot be resolved one by one. This article focuses on the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Some of the complexities behind the issues are discussed by defining different notions of internationalization and by presenting the positive and negative aspects of the Japanese approach that affects the future cooperation and competition between our nations in the area of superconductivity.

The internationalization of public administration and public policy: implications for teaching

Abstract: Increasingly, the nations of the world are becoming more interdependent among themselves. This is true not only in an economic sense, but in a political sense as well. The field of public administration has become internationalized, presenting a new challenge to both teachers and students of the discipline. The article argues that special attention should be given to teaching students how to manage policy interdependency. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach is advocated as a method of broadening students' perspectives in public administration. In concluding the article, the author offers several recommendations for improving public administration programs.

Consolidation, internationalization, and the future of publishing: A scenario

Abstract: Thirty years ago, traditional publishing was based on entrepreneurship, quality, and association with colleagues and competitors. How these three elements are faring in an era of consolidation is the subject of Paul Asser’s article.

Introduction: Nimble Fingers and Foreign Investments

Abstract: This book is about the interaction between multinational companies and working women in the UK, Ireland, France and the Federal Republic of Germany. It does not seek to establish whether multinationals are better, or worse, employers of women than firms which confine their operations to one national economy (so-called ‘uninationals’). Rather, it examines the contrast between the internationalisation of the activities of multinationals and the localisation of women’s lives; and between the changing international division of labour and the persisting sexual division of labour in manufacturing industry. It is concerned with the ways in which multinationals create and destroy female labour forces; and with the clash between global logic and community values.