Showing papers on "Internationalization published in 2010"
TL;DR: This article found that firms from home countries characterized by weaker institutional constraints on policy makers or greater redistributive pressures associated with political rent seeking will be less sensitive to host-country policy risk in their international expansion strategies.
Abstract: Whereas conventional wisdom holds that multinational enterprises (MNEs) invest less in host countries that pose greater policy risk—the risk that a government will opportunistically alter policies to expropriate an investing firm’s profits or assets—we argue that MNEs vary in their response to host-country policy risk as a result of differences in organizational capabilities for assessing such risk and managing the policy-making process. We hypothesize that firms from home countries characterized by weaker institutional constraints on policy makers or greater redistributive pressures associated with political rent seeking will be less sensitive to host-country policy risk in their international expansion strategies. Moreover, firms from home countries characterized by sufficiently weak institutional constraints or sufficiently strong redistributive pressures will seek out riskier host countries for their international investments to leverage their political capabilities, which permit them to attain and defend attractive positions or industry structures. We find support for our hypotheses in a statistical analysis of the foreign direct investment location choices of MNEs in the electric power generation industry during the period 1990–1999, the industry’s first decade of internationalization. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
555 citations
TL;DR: The 2010 Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) special issue on Culture in International Business Research as discussed by the authors is a collection of 10 articles on culture and IB, all of which were submitted to the editorial team led by JIBS Editorin-Chief Lorraine Eden.
Abstract: Journal of International Business Studies (2010) 41, 1259–1274. doi:10.1057/jibs.2010.41 OVERVIEW OF 41.8: HOFSTEDE AND GLOBE IN CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH While Hofstede’s work was not the first systematic study on crossnational cultures, his seminal book, Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (1980), succeeded in putting cross-cultural analysis at the forefront of international business (IB) research. In a later paper, he boldly asserted that the “business of international business is culture” (1994: 1). Despite the criticisms that have been voiced against his work (see McSweeney, 2002; Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002), Hofstede’s influence on the fields of IB and management is undeniable: according to Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” citation index, as of June 2010 there were over 54,000 citations to his work. This is a remarkable record that attests to, first, the growing popularity of cross-cultural research in light of continued internationalization of the world economy, and second, Hofstede’s personal impact on scholarly research. This JIBS issue brings together 10 articles on culture and IB, all of which were submitted to the editorial team led by JIBS Editorin-Chief Lorraine Eden. While the articles were independently submitted through the regular double-blind reviewing process, the decision to join them in one collection creates, in effect, a Special Issue on “Culture in International Business Research”, which the JIBS editors hope will be widely read and cited by IB scholars. In general terms, the papers in this collection fall into one of two categories: (1) articles and commentaries about conceptual and methodological issues associated with Hofstede’s oeuvre vs the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project’s cultural dimensions, and (2) articles and perspectives that use culture and/or cultural dimensions, as well as the operational measurement thereof, to explain differences in behavior and practices across countries. The common feature of all these scholarly pieces is that they challenge particular assumptions often made too easily in conventional cross-cultural research. The first paper in this collection is a perspective written by Franke and Richey that cautions against “questionable generalizations from small numbers of countries in international business research”. Using statistical analysis to support their assertion, Franke and Richey argue that in order to draw “credible” generalizations in IB, a minimum of 7–10 countries must be used. This is an important message: researchers should never formulate strong conclusions about the impact of cultural dimensions on Journal of International Business Studies (2010) 41, 1259–1274 & 2010 Academy of International Business All rights reserved 0047-2506
554 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the rapid internationalization of many multinationals from emerging economies through acquisition in advanced economies, and they conceptualize these acquisitions as an act and form of entrepreneurship, aimed to overcome the "liability of emergingness" incurred by these firms and to serve as a mechanism for competitive catch-up through opportunity seeking and capability transformation.
Abstract: We investigate the rapid internationalization of many multinationals from emerging economies through acquisition in advanced economies. We conceptualize these acquisitions as an act and form of entrepreneurship, aimed to overcome the ‘liability of emergingness’ incurred by these firms and to serve as a mechanism for competitive catch-up through opportunity seeking and capability transformation. Our explanation emphasizes unique asymmetries (and not necessarily advantages) of emerging multinationals due to their historical and institutional differences with advanced economy multinationals, as well as a search for advantage creation when firms possess mainly ordinary resources. The argument shifts the central focus from advantage to asymmetries as the starting point for internationalization.
451 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the relationship between capabilities, resources, and international performance among entrepreneurial firms in an emerging economy, and demonstrate support for the mediating role of capabilities in the relation between resources and international performances.
Abstract: This study investigates an under-researched topic: the relationships between capabilities, resources, and international performance among entrepreneurial firms in an emerging economy. We combine the resource-based view of the firm and the capability-building perspective of rent creation to shed light on the crucial role of firm-specific capabilities that transform key resources into performance outcomes. Employing a large sample of Chinese entrepreneurial firms, our investigation demonstrates that while the resources of institutional capital and managerial ties are important in the internationalization effort, their effects on international performance are channeled through each firm's adaptive capability. This adaptive capability is the firm's ability to coordinate, recombine, and allocate resources to meet the different requirements of foreign markets. Specifically, our research is able to demonstrate support for the mediating role of capabilities in the relationship between resources and international performance. The implications of these findings for theoretical development and future research are discussed.
447 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the structural, cognitive and relational aspects of the international network of SME CEOs were linked to two internationalization outcomes, namely speed and performance, in a sample of 155 Czech SMEs covering a broad range of manufacturing industries.
424 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that all stakeholders identify clear connections between international experience and employability given outcomes associated with the forging of networks, opportunities for experiential learning, language acquisition and the development of soft skills related to cultural understandings, personal characteristics and ways of thinking.
Abstract: This paper reports the findings of an Australian qualitative study (N = 45) concerned with the way that employers, academics and students perceived connections between international experience and graduate employability. Drawing on the literature, the authors argue that increasing globalisation and internationalisation has heightened the need for graduates with the ability to operate in culturally diverse contexts. Universities have focussed upon exchange as part of internationalisation to prepare students for work but there is still limited literature on the nature of the relationship between international experience, more broadly and graduate employability. The findings suggest that all stakeholders identify clear connections between international experience and employability given outcomes associated with the forging of networks, opportunities for experiential learning, language acquisition and the development of soft skills related to cultural understandings, personal characteristics and ways of thinking.
369 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the complexities of international students' transitional experiences both in terms of their maturation and human development and their intercultural adaptation within a different educational environment and a different culture and society.
Abstract: This paper discusses the background and key findings of a two‐year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded mixed‐method research project (2006–2008) which was designed, within the context of university internationalisation, to provide an investigation of the experiences of first‐year international students during their undergraduate study at four UK higher education institutions. The research explored the complexities of international students' transitional experiences both in terms of their maturation and human development and their intercultural adaptation within a different educational environment and a different culture and society. These two types of transition interactively influenced the nature and process of students' change and development over time. Findings of the research challenge the psychological model of international students' linear intercultural adaptation and point to the presence of a complex set of shifting associations between language mastery, social interaction, persona...
365 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest adjustments to Johanson and Vahlne's business network internationalization process model, an update of the Uppsala internationalisation process model to emphasize the entrepreneurial aspects of the process.
Abstract: When firms cross-borders it is, by definition, internationalization. We believe that often internationalization should be seen as either a by-product of a firm’s efforts to improve its position within its network or networks, or as the result of an entrepreneurial action. We consider three theoretical approaches as a starting point and breathe life into them with a rich case study. We suggest adjustments to Johanson and Vahlne’s business network internationalization process model, an update of the Uppsala internationalization process model, to emphasize the entrepreneurial aspects of the process.
313 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted an analysis conducted on 25 refereed journal articles on family business internationalization and found that most of the articles focused on what-questions rather than why/how questions, and the articles did not make much use of internationalization or FB-specific theories.
305 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the features of the institutional environment that influence venture capital firms' foreign market entry decisions, and how their effect changes as firms acquire experience, finding that firms gain more international experience, they are more likely to overcome constraints related to these institutions.
Abstract: In recent years, venture capital firms have increasingly turned to foreign countries in search of investment opportunities. The cross-border expansion of venture capital firms presents an interesting case of internationalization, because they are at variance with both conventional portfolio and direct investment models. Given the specific nature of venture capital investing, a new theoretical perspective is needed to understand foreign venture capital investments. This paper contributes to international business research by examining the features of the institutional environment that influence venture capital firms’ foreign market entry decisions, and how their effect changes as firms acquire experience. We report results on 216 American venture capital firms potentially investing in 95 countries during the 1990–2002 period. We find that venture capital firms invest in host countries characterized by technological, legal, financial, and political institutions that create innovative opportunities, protect investors’ rights, facilitate exit, and guarantee regulatory stability, respectively. We also find that as firms gain more international experience, they are more likely to overcome constraints related to these institutions.
287 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, personal and inter-firm networks are used for the survival and growth of entrepreneurial ventures in transition economies, and their role in new-venture internationalization has been understudied.
TL;DR: In this article, two related but conceptually distinct capability upgrading constructs, knowledge capability upgrading and network capability upgrading, are identified to serve as mediating mechanisms that link entrepreneurial proclivity and LAN-related performance.
Abstract: In spite of a notable interest surrounding the learning advantages of newness (LAN), centered on the emergent international entrepreneurship literature, we have only limited understanding of how young international new ventures (INVs) acquire learning advantages and avoid the liabilities of newness and foreignness in order to achieve LAN-related performance from early internationalization. In this article, two related but conceptually distinct capability upgrading constructs – knowledge capability upgrading and network capability upgrading – are identified to serve as mediating mechanisms that link entrepreneurial proclivity and LAN-related performance. Our findings from a sample of 436 young INVs from China provide supporting evidence for the mediating effect of capability upgrading, particularly among relatively larger new ventures and those operating with cost/price advantages in the international marketplace. This study fills a gap in the under-researched area of literature surrounding INVs from emerging economies, and demonstrates how young international venturing firms can leverage the entrepreneurial dynamics of learning to achieve growth opportunities from early internationalization.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed an integrative framework that looks at the joint and interactive effects of experiential learning by the firm, the management team's pre-start-up international experience (i.e., congenital learning), and interorganizational learning from key exchange partners (customers, suppliers, investors, etc.).
Abstract: This article addresses a critical issue for entrepreneurs and managers pursuing internationalization strategies: how firms can accumulate the knowledge and skills required for successful international expansion. Specifically, we examine how young firms may compensate for their lack of firm-level international experience by utilizing other sources of knowledge. Drawing on organizational learning theory, we develop an integrative framework that looks at the joint and interactive effects of experiential learning by the firm, the management team's pre-start-up international experience (i.e., congenital learning), and interorganizational learning from key exchange partners (customers, suppliers, investors, etc.). Utilizing empirical data on 114 young, technology-based firms in Flanders, Belgium, we find that a firm's level of international experience negatively moderates the effects of congenital and interorganizational learning on the extent of internationalization. That is, the lower a firm's experiential learning, the more significant the effects of the start-up team's prior international knowledge base and the knowledge and skills acquired through key partners. These results make important theoretical and empirical contributions to the international entrepreneurship and organizational learning literatures by highlighting some of the factors underlying learning advantages of newness that facilitate the internationalization of young firms and by explicating substitutive interrelationships among different learning mechanisms. Copyright © 2010 Strategic Management Society.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the development of trust and inter-firm partnerships in established and newly formed networks and how these lead to tacit knowledge, absorptive capacity and new knowledge generation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the origin, evolution, and appropriation of social capital by new ventures seeking international growth using longitudinal case studies in the software industry, and model the dynamic influence of Social capital on new venture internationalization.
Abstract: This paper explores the origin, evolution, and appropriation of social capital by new ventures seeking international growth. Using longitudinal case studies in the software industry, we model the dynamic influence of social capital on new venture internationalization. We theorize that new ventures of founders from a globally-connected environment, such as with return migration or MNC experience, have higher stocks of initial social capital than others. We provide a nuanced analysis of the dynamic processes involved in the evolution of social capital, and highlight the mechanisms of decay and replenishment over time. Network learning plays a critical role in new ventures' ability to realize the potential contribution of social capital to international growth.
TL;DR: The internationalization of higher education has expanded over the last decades as discussed by the authors and institutional activities and strategies for internationalization have become more elaborate, including networking for mutual understanding and intercultural learning, for achieving academic excellence, and for providing assistance to build capacity in other countries.
Abstract: The internationalization of higher education has expanded over the last decades. Numbers of students, teaching staff, and researchers that cross borders are increasing and institutional activities and strategies for internationalization have become more elaborate. Their aims and rationales include networking for mutual understanding and intercultural learning, for achieving academic excellence, and for providing assistance to build capacity in other countries. As the context is increasingly characterized by global competition in which knowledge is a prime factor for economic growth, internationalization has also become more market oriented, aiming to attract talented students and highly skilled workers as key resources for the knowledge economy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that organizational entrainment between international new ventures and their most important international customers positively moderates the relationship between the degree, scope, and speed of internationalization and performance of INVs.
TL;DR: In this paper, the extent and the determinants of the internationalization of European inventive activity, between 1990 and 2004, using an innovative method to treat the information contained in the European Patent Office's Patstat database.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study how network relationships are used in the internationalization and innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the software industry, and develop a matrix consisting of incremental internationalisation and innovation and radical internationalization.
Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study how network relationships are used in the internationalization and innovation of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the software industry. The paper seeks to use the extant literature to develop a matrix consisting of incremental internationalization and innovation and radical internationalization and innovation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an in‐depth qualitative study of ten software firms in New Zealand. The unit of analysis is the firm. Multiple sources of data collection are used, but the main method of data collection is semi‐structured interviews.Findings – The ten firms in the study fall into four distinct groups, depending on the type of internationalization and the type of innovation, and each group has particular types of network relationships. Firms with limited network relationships have incremental internationalization and innovation, but those with diverse network relationships have radical internationalization and...
TL;DR: This article explored what resources drive international growth in Taiwanese business groups and found that international work experience favors internationalization while international education does not, and that domestic institutional resources distract from internationalization, presumably because they are not transferable into other institutional contexts, and thus favor other types of growth.
TL;DR: The need for radical reform to curricula to foster engaged global citizenship is highlighted in this article, but little is written depicting how individual courses an individual course can be reformulated to foster global citizenship.
Abstract: Social transformation models of internationalization suggest the need for radical reform to curricula to foster engaged global citizenship, yet little is written depicting how individual courses an...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed whether strategies for environmental protection can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they internationalize their activities through exports and found that the relationship between advanced environmental strategies and exports is stronger with an increase in the size of the SMEs.
TL;DR: In this paper, a literature review was conducted in order to develop an integrative model of the phenomenon under study, and three sets of internal variables were identified in the literature which seemed to explain why a firm would follow a born global, rather than a traditional, internationalization process: firm, network, and entrepreneur variables.
Abstract: This paper examines the born-global phenomenon in the context of an emerging country, Brazil. A literature review was conducted in order to develop an integrative model of the phenomenon under study. Three sets of internal variables were identified in the literature which seemed to explain why a firm would follow a born global, rather than a traditional, internationalization process: firm, network, and entrepreneur variables. The final conceptual model was tested in a Brazilian sample of 79 software firms, of which 35 followed the born-global process of internationalization and 44 followed the traditional process. Logistic regression was used to test the research hypotheses. Results showed that certain firm and entrepreneur variables seemed to be associated to the type of internationalization process chosen by these firms. Network variables did not significantly differentiate the two groups.
TL;DR: In this paper, a more comprehensive knowledge-based model of SME internationalization is presented, which includes the market knowledge and the experiential knowledge composed of network knowledge, cultural knowledge, and entrepreneurial knowledge.
Abstract: Firm internationalization research has grown throughout the last 50 years resulting in a number of theories and models. Although each theory and model enables us to see some parts of the picture, a holistic approach is needed to provide us a full picture. The so-called knowledge-based models proposed so far drew upon the transaction cost theory, the social capital theory, and the knowledge management models. This paper reviews previous research and builds a more comprehensive knowledge-based model of small- and medium-sized enterprises internationalization. The model includes “knowledge factors”, which we identified from internationalization literature. These include the market knowledge and the experiential knowledge composed of network knowledge, cultural knowledge, and entrepreneurial knowledge. Acquisition as well as utilization of each kind of knowledge during the different phases of internationalization is presented. The model is a step towards deeper understanding of the role of knowledge in SME internationalization.
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TL;DR: In this article, an institution-based framework highlighting intra-country (sub-national) regional differences within a large emerging economy was developed to investigate how home country institutions influence firms from emerging economies to engage in outward internationalization.
Abstract: While voluminous research has focused on the impact of host country institutions on foreign entrants, the rise of outward internationalization of firms from emerging economies is challenging this research stream. Limited work has been done to investigate a crucial question: How do home country institutions influence firms from emerging economies to engage in outward internationalization? Inspired by North’s insights on institutional open access, we develop an institution-based framework highlighting intra-country (sub-national) regional differences within a large emerging economy. Specifically, we argue that greater institutional open access in a particular region of a home country — in the areas of legal environment openness and financial market openness — leads to greater outward internationalization of local firms headquartered in that region. Further, tenure of that region’s governor moderates such relationships in different ways. Our multilevel analysis with 5,239 observations (company-years) finds that institutional open access is indeed behind some Chinese firms’ outward internationalization.
TL;DR: This article developed a multi-dimensional construct of top management team (TMT) internationalization reflecting TMT ability to deal with challenges of managing firm foreign operations in the process of ongoing globalization and found that TMT internationalization leads to subsequent foreign market entries, which in turn are positively related to firm performance.
Abstract: This paper develops a multi-dimensional construct of top management team (TMT) internationalization reflecting TMT ability to deal with challenges of managing firm foreign operations in the process of ongoing globalization.
Drawing upon upper echelons and firm internationalization theories, the relationships between TMT internationalization, foreign market entry and performance are empirically investigated in a sample of 165 Swiss listed companies.
The results confirm the validity of the multi-dimensional construct and suggest that TMT internationalization leads to subsequent foreign market entries, which in turn are positively related to firm performance.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between internationalization and export performance in a comprehensive model and provided empirical support for the interplay among the three internationalization constructs as well as for the influence of level of internationalization on export performance.
TL;DR: This paper provided researchers in the fields of international business and strategic management with information on the relative importance of home-country, industry, and firm influences on corporate profitability for firms with varying degrees of multinationality.
Abstract: This paper provides researchers in the fields of international business and strategic management with information on the relative importance of home-country, industry, and firm influences on corporate profitability for firms with varying degrees of multinationality. The analysis relies principally on the Compustat Global reports for 1993–2003. The findings demonstrate that home-country and industry effects are more important to domestic firms than to multinationals. However, home-country influences are important even for firms with high degrees of multinationality. The evidence suggests that multinationals profit from industry-grounded opportunities to distribute activities across the countries in which they operate, but there are tradeoffs associated with internationalization. Multinationals may suffer from less protection afforded by the home-country environment and greater industry-level competition, but gain a broader scope for deploying idiosyncratic, firm-specific advantages through mechanisms enhanced by home-country experience. We conclude that industry effects in single-country studies should be interpreted carefully as influenced by the home countries of the multinational firms that are under study.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the moderating effects of firm age on post-internationalization survival and growth and found that younger firms experienced significantly higher rates of short-term growth than older firms.
Abstract: Research on firm internationalization has focused primarily on the antecedents, rather than outcomes, of the strategic decision to enter foreign markets. In addition, factors moderating the outcomes of internationalization have not received systematic analysis. Aiming to fill these gaps in the literature, the current study examines the moderating effects of firm age on postinternationalization survival and growth. Consistent with the liabilities of newness perspective, we suggest that firm age will have a positive moderating effect on postinternationalization survival. Building from the liabilities of aging perspective, we propose that firm age will have a negative moderating effect on postinternationalization short-term growth. We test these arguments using a longitudinal sample of 787 firms. Results showed that, postinternationalization, younger firms experienced significantly higher rates of short-term growth than older firms. Findings regarding firm age and survival, postinternationalization, were, however, not conclusive. Overall, our findings indicate that the timing of internationalization has important implications with regard to the short-term growth of firms. Copyright © 2010 Strategic Management Society.
TL;DR: In this article, a learning-based view of internationalization for multinational enterprise (MNE), especially for MNE latecomers as the new species of MNE from the emerging economies, is proposed.