Showing papers on "Internationalization published in 2001"

The internationalization and performance of SMEs

Abstract: We discuss and explore the effects of internationalization, an entrepreneurial strategy employed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on firm performance. Using concepts derived from the international business and entrepreneurship literatures, we develop four hypotheses that relate the extent of foreign direct investment (FDI) and exporting activity, and the relative use of alliances, to the corporate performance of internationalizing SMEs. Using a sample of 164 Japanese SMEs to test these hypotheses, we find that the positive impact of internationalization on performance extends primarily from the extent of a firm's FDI activity. We also find evidence consistent with the perspective that firms face a liability of foreignness. When firms first begin FDI activity, profitability declines, but greater levels of FDI are associated with higher performance. Exporting moderates the relationship FDI has with performance, as pursuing a strategy of high exporting concurrent with high FDI is less profitable than one that involves lower levels of exports when FDI levels are high. Finally, we find that alliances with partners with local knowledge can be an effective strategy to overcome the deficiencies SMEs face in resources and capabilities, when they expand into international markets. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Market versus Technology Drive in R&D Internationalization

Abstract: Research and development are subject to different location drivers. The analysis of 1021 R&D units, each distinguished by its main orientation towards either research or development work, reveals that research is concentrated in only five regions worldwide, while development is more globally dispersed. Our research is based on 290 research interviews and database research in 81 technology-intensive multinational companies. We identify two principal location rationales-access to markets and access to science-as the principal determinants for four trends that lead to four archetypes of R&D internationalization: ‘national treasure', ‘market-driven', ‘technology-driven', and ‘global'. Their organizational evolution is characterized by four trends. The model is illustrated with short cases of international R&D organization at Kubota, Schindler, Xerox, and Glaxo-Wellcome. Differences in RD separation seems to contradict this trend. We argue that this need not be the case, for there are good reasons to maintain some independence between research and development.

The Migration of Professionals: Theories and Typologies

Abstract: In an historical context, highly skilled migration typically involved the forced movement of professionals as a result of political conflicts, followed by the emergence of the “brain drain” in the 1960s. In the current situation, highly skilled migration represents an increasingly large component of global migration streams. The current state of theory in relation to highly skilled migration is far from adequate in terms of explaining what is occurring at the high skill end of the migration spectrum. Continuing growth of temporary skilled migration is heralding changes in the operation of professions. Formal procedures for recognizing the skills of permanent immigrant professionals are breaking down as “fast-track” processes for assessing the skills of temporary professional migrants are put in place. The increasing globalization of firms and the internationalization of higher education are encouraging professions to internationalize. In this article, four professions are cited as case studies to show that professional inclusion/exclusion is no longer defined by national professional bodies alone. The operation of professions has become a transnational matter although the extent of internationalization varies with professions. Typologies for analysing professional migration flows are discussed and a sixth means of categorization, by profession or industry, is introduced to allow for the nature of interactions between the market, the state and the profession/industry. The question whether states should continue to be concerned about self-sufficiency in national professional labour markets in an increasingly globalized environment is also addressed.

Guest editors' introduction to the special issue strategic entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial strategies for wealth creation

Abstract: Entrepreneurship involves identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities. However, to create the most value entrepreneurial firms also need to act strategically. This calls for an integration of entrepreneurial and strategic thinking. We explore this strategic entrepreneurship in several important organizational domains to include external networks and alliances, resources and organizational learning, innovation and internationalization. The research in this special issue examines both traditional (e.g., contingency theory, strategic fit) and new theory (e.g., cultural entrepreneurship, business model drivers). The research also integrates, extends, and tests theory and research from entrepreneurship and strategic management in new ways such as creative destruction (discontinuities), resource-based view, organizational learning, network theory, transaction costs and institutional theory. The research presented herein provides a basis for future research on strategic entrepreneurship for wealth creation.Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The age of progress is over. It was born in the Renaissance, achieved its exuberant adolescence during the Enlightenment, reached a robust maturity in the industrial age, and died with the dawn of the twenty-first century … We now stand on the threshold of a new age—the age of revolution … it is going to be an age of upheaval, of tumult, of fortunes made and unmade at headsnapping speed. For change has changed. No longer is it additive. No longer does it move in a straight line. In the twenty-first century, change

The International Politics of Harmonization: The Case of Capital Market Regulation

Abstract: The internationalization and globalization of capital markets greatly complicates the tasks of national financial regulators. It is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to regulate the activities of banking and securities firms and the broad range of transactions in which they engage on a national level. In this article I explore the process of international regulatory harmonization in capital markets, focusing especially on the mechanisms (political pressure, market pressure, and institutional arrangements) that facilitate this process. I argue that the United States and the United Kingdom are dominant players in the capital market and that the factors most relevant for understanding harmonization processes are (1) whether other jurisdictions have incentives to emulate the regulatory innovations of the dominant financial centers, and (2) whether the dominant centers experience negative externalities in the process. These two factors shed considerable light on whether harmonization will be spurred primarily by market forces or by politics; they also suggest the likely role of international institutions in the process of regulatory harmonization. The argument is illustrated using four issue areas: capital adequacy requirements for banks, anti-money laundering rules, accounting standards, and information sharing among securities regulators.

Internationalization and Exchanges in a Globalized University

Abstract: Internationalization in higher education is an inevitable result of the globalized and knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. Other trends affecting the universities, including diversification, expansion, privatization, and so on, also have implications for the international role of academic institutions. The intersection of the logic of globalization and other pressures facing universities make a reconsideration of international programs and strategies necessary. Exchanges, university linkages, patterns of mobility, and international and regional arrangements among universities are all changing.

Assets and actions: Firm-specific factors in the internationalization of U.S. internet firms

Abstract: By providing a nearly instant connection among parties at opposite corners of the world and enabling a variety of commercial exchanges, the Internet emerged as the technology expected to create a truly global market space. Internet firms faced the challenge of capitalizing on this development. In this paper we examine what firm-specific factors are associated with the propensity of pure U.S.-based Internet firms to enhance their international presence on the Internet by developing country-specific websites. Despite the assertion that all Internet firms are born global, our findings show that the pursuit of internationalization by Internet firms is related to the levels of their intangible assets and strategic activity. Two types of intangible assets—reputation and website traffic—are positively related to the degree of internationalization; so are the levels of competitive and cooperative activity, and the interaction effects between reputation and competitive and cooperative activity. These findings suggest that ideas from both resource-based theory and research on competitive dynamics can contribute to understanding the internationalization of Internet firms.

The knowledge‐based economy: intellectual origins and new economic perspectives

Abstract: This paper discusses the intellectual origins of the knowledge-based economy or KBE, and recent economic theories used to provide an intellectual foundation for the KBE. The KBE is the dominant post-industrial economic development paradigm that emerged in the 1980s, with an emphasis on the role of knowledge creation and distribution as the primary driver in the process of economic growth, the distribution of income, the growing importance of knowledge-based networks among firms, and the interface between government business and citizens in the advanced economies. Recent empirical evidence on rates of return, geographic spillovers, and the internationalization of knowledge flows are discussed in relation to the theoretical foundations of the KBE.

Political economy discourses of globalization and feminist politics

Abstract: here seems to be general agreement that global capitalism is here to * stay. The rapid integration of the world into one economic space through Ithe internationalization of goods, capital, and money markets is more often than not represented as an inevitable and irreversible phase of capitalist development. The globalization of production and consumption by transnational corporations (with the assistance of intergovernmental organizations such as the World Bank and World Trade Organization [WTO]) is characterized as a force that shapes and transforms all of the economic, political, and cultural forms it encounters. Triumphalist accounts that celebrate the victory of the market over all other economic forms produce such descriptions of the so-called reality of globalization. But so, too, do globalization's critics, who tend to emphasize the dark side of the new world order.

The founding of the Born Global company in Denmark and Australia: sensemaking and networking

Abstract: Attempts to consider how a founder has reduced equivocality in relation to support networks and reducing risks, especially in an international environment. Presents the case studies of five Danish and Australian born global companies. Considers different global models and their limitations. Presents the findings of recent surveys in this area. Concludes that internationalization has not been the primary objective in the founding process and gives direction for further research.

Are international journals of human geography really international

Abstract: The aim of this article is to research the extent to which ‘international journals’ of human geography are really international. The analysis is based on the affiliation data (work centre) of the authors of articles and of members of editorial boards of a group of international journals; the results so obtained are related to the impact factors of these journals. The indicators used show that human geography journals in general have still not attained a high degree of internationalization. This may be interpreted as a sign of fragmentation within the discipline: human geographers do not constitute a proper international scientific community or, rather, a global community that makes use of certain common media of expression (international journals) but are fragmented into national or regional (linguistic) communities.

Strategy and Opportunism in European Retail Internationalization

Abstract: Europe in recent years has witnessed an increase in the amount of cross-border operations by retailers. The retail sector has undergone substantial structural change characterized by the emergence of a group of rapidly-growing large retailers, a redefinition of the balance of internalized and externalized functions and a need to respond to the cultural variety present in Europe that becomes evident as retailers move out of their domestic markets. The over-arching requirement for these large retailers is to grow and gain scale economies. Internationalization of operations has become a requirement for these large firms. It is argued that the established academic conceptualizations of internationalization are unsatisfactory in not addressing this overriding requirement for growth. There is great variety in the international activity in retailing, with the absence of pattern being one of the few generalities. It is proposed that consideration of opportunism may be a better way to gain understanding of retailer activity than trying to fit activity into deterministic strategic models. The experiences of five West European retailers entering and building retail networks in Poland is provided as evidence for this view. Suggestions are made for future work exploring this issue of opportunism as a process in international retailing.

The Internationalization of Public Management: Reinventing the Third World State

Abstract: Since the 1980s there has been a process of almost continuous reform in public management in developed countries and a renegotiation of traditional relationships between state, economy and society. These changes have been expressed through privatization, civil service reductions and restructuring, the introduction of market-type mechanisms to improve the delivery of public services, the construction of new forms of partnership between state and non-state organizations, and new types of regulation and accountability. In turn, these public managements have, in a variety of ways, have been transferred to the state systems of developing and transitional economies. This volume constitutes an attempt to examine the conceptual and practical problems which attend such policy transfers, and to make preliminary judgements about the successes and failures of public management reforming developing countries. The contributors offer instructive insights into the complex reality of the development. The latest title in the "New Horizons in Public Policy" series, this text covers the internationalization of public management in developing countries.

Public policy and local governance : institutions in postmodern society

Abstract: Internationalization and demands for more democratic influence at the local level have undermined the traditional methods of policy analysis This book addresses this situation by offering an institutional analysis of new networks in public governance

Internationalizing the Family Firm: A Case Study of a Chinese Family Business

Abstract: Chinese family businesses (CFBs), which are run by ethnic Chinese and can be headquartered anywhere, are said to make up the world's fourth economic power after North America, Japan, and Europe (Kao 1993). Sharing a common culture and working within a network of entrepreneurial relationships, CFBs have gradually formed what Kao (1993) calls the Chinese commonwealth. Although CFBs are scattered around the world, researchers find that they share unique characteristics. Since a CFB is essentially a family possession, top management positions are filled by close family members with the head of family assuming overall command. Non-family members have to serve the company for a long time before they are trusted and promoted to senior or top management positions. Managerial ideology is shaped by such Chinese cultural values as clear hierarchy reciprocal vertical obligation, and benevolent autocracy Authority and control are highly centralized. Making key strategic decisions is normally a family affair conducted beh ind closed doors and beyond the reach of non-family members. The head of family has the final say in these decisions. The internal system of coordination and control is highly personal. Tight control is exerted on financial and production management. Extensive networking and relational contracting are used when dealing with the external environment (Redding 1990). With world markets rapidly merging, companies have become more and more globally oriented. While some CFBs may be content to operate on a small domestic scale, more are considering overseas expansion. Gallo and Sveen (1991) argue that family businesses are faced with many factors that either facilitate or restrain their internationalization. As a distinct type of family business, CFBs are no exceptions. Yet there is a paucity of empirical research on the foreign direct investment (FDI) approach to internationalization by CFBs. This article uses a knowledge-based and learning perspective to examine the internationalization process of a Singapore CFB with respect to its investment in China. Research Method The case study discussed here was part of a large-scale research project examining Singapore multinational corporations (MNCs). The objective of the project was to examine the experience in FDI acquired by Singapore companies in China. In this case study eight managers were interviewed. Three managers were interviewed in Singapore--the founder of the company his personal assistant, and the managing director. The interview with the founder was particularly crucial, as virtually all key decisions were made by him. The researcher also visited two wholly owned subsidiaries in China, located in two different cities. In one subsidiary two managers were interviewed and in the other subsidiary, three managers were interviewed. For each subsidiary the researcher interviewed the manager in charge. The semi-structured interviews were conducted in either English or Mandarin, and all the interviews were tape-recorded. The interview tapes were transcribed and written up for analysis. During the interviews, some respondents provided the researcher with documents such as reports, memos, and manuals to supplement their answers. The researcher was also given a tour of each facility and had brief conversations with some managers and supervisors. Information obtained from the interviews was supplemented by observations of the facilities and by archive data. The archive data included company reports, newspaper cuttings, and other published materials. Company Background Like other firms, CFBs evolve over time. Wong (1985) maintains that a CFB often starts as a partnership. Financial resources are pooled by business partners who are largely unrelated by ties of descent or marriage. When one of the partners and his family ultimately attain majority ownership in the company a CFB emerges from the partnership. The company in this case study appears to have followed this path. …

International supply chain management in an Internet environment: A network‐oriented approach to internationalization

Abstract: This conceptual paper argues that the emergence of Internet commerce is presenting a significant challenge to traditional internationalization explanations. Given rapid accessibility to customers and suppliers around the world, businesses appear to be turning towards networks of cooperation rather than external control structures. International supply chain management is proposed as a process of internationalization representing the implementation of a global uncertainty‐driven new network orientation. A network orientation is proposed to encourage more integrated levels of I‐commerce adoption which, in turn, further strengthens the relationship between a network orientation and its implementation. A number of propositions are presented along with a discussion of future research issues.

The International Dimension in National Higher Education Policies: what has changed in Europe in the last five years?

Abstract: A study conducted in 1996 on the relationship between internationalisation and national higher education policies in Europe showed that there were few structured relationships developed at the national level. Furthermore, it was found that, increasingly, economic rationales define internationalisation policies and efforts, both at the institutional and national level. Finally, it was suggested that internationalisation is expected to become a more important factor in the definition and development of national higher education policy. This article will review two questions. First, whether the international dimension has indeed become more important in national higher education policy in the last five years, and if so, why? And second, whether the identified trend of growing economic interests related to internationalisation goals has, in fact, persisted, and why? How does this affects higher education policy at the national level? These questions will be answered on the basis of evidence gathered in the final evaluation of the SOCRATES I (1995-2000) programme and a survey undertaken on the follow-up of the 1999 Bologna Declaration. The article will show that, whereas the SOCRATES programme has only had a very limited impact on system-level change, the Bologna Declaration has been a major push for the recognition and integration of the international dimension in national higher education policy. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that the economic rationale for internationalisation has indeed gained in importance over the last five years. But also that countries vary to a large extent with respect to their economic aims and interests and the instruments they use. Finally, questions are raised concerning the possible effectiveness of the Bologna process in the wider context of the globalisation of the higher education market.

Firm Internationalization and the Cost of Debt Financing: Evidence from Non-Provisional Publicly Traded Debt

Abstract: Recent research suggests that firm internationalization is associated with greater exchange rate risk and a higher cost of equity capital. However, there is no research on the relation between the level of firm international activity and the cost of debt financing. This study of? fers the first such empirical evidence using non-provisional public debt. Based on a sample of 2,194 U.S. firm year observations, we find that firms with greater levels of international activity have better credit ratings. We also find that the cost of debt financing is inversely related to the degree of firm internationalization beyond that incorporated in credit ratings. These results suggest that rating agencies do not fully incorporate firm international activ? ity in their analysis resulting in a downward bias in credit ratings for international firms. In aggregate, the results imply that failing to incorporate firm international activity in debt pricing leads to potential omitted variable problems.

Should flawed models of public management be exported? Issues and practices

Abstract: The Internationalization of Public Management constitutes one of the first attempts to examine the conceptual and practical problems which attend such policy transfers, and to make preliminary judgements about the successes and failures of public management reform in developing countries. The distinguished group of contributors offers instructive insights into the complex reality of the development state.

International market selection strategies of manufacturing and services firms

Abstract: The following broad research question is explored in this study: do manufacturing firms cite the same exporting methods and modes as those cited by firms engaged in construction or service activities? This study, therefore, addresses a major weakness associated with stage models of internationalization (i.e. a focus solely upon manufacturing firms). In 1990/91, survey responses were gathered from 621 independent businesses located in Great Britain. In 1997, a follow-on telephone survey was conducted with 150 surviving firms. This survey gathered information on the propensity to export goods or services abroad and the mode of export behaviour. Implications for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers are highlighted.

Globalization and Internationalization: The Impact on Education Abroad Programs

Abstract: This article asserts a need for educators to consider the mission and value of study abroad programs and their relation to the processes of globalization and internationalization. As educational systems increase their emphasis on the need for international education, it will be necessary to consider what types of study abroad opportunities are relevant to current world trends. This article attempts to provide a framework for understanding the distinction between the terms globalization and internationalization and their relevance to the future of international education and study abroad programs.

Monitoring the Quality and Progress of Internationalization

Abstract: This article emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluating internationalization initiatives and introduces some preliminary measures to track the progress and quality of different elements...