The drivers of firm longevity: Age,size, profitability and survivorship of Australian corporations, 1901–1930

Why do some firms last longer than others? This question has attracted considerable interest among scholars from business history, management and economics. Our article combines the business historian’s macro view of the relationship between size, longevity, and economic development with quantitative modelling. We apply survival analysis to data relating to size, age and profitability, three first-order explanations of longevity, for Australian stock exchange (ASX) listed corporations from 1901 to 1930. The novelty of the article is twofold: we find that firm size is a poor predictor of longevity for the full sample but its age and profitability are highly significant; our data covers a longer time frame and relates to a rich mid-sized and non-industrialised country.     

The Great Recession of 2008: Impact on the Bangladeshi economy and international business implications

This article examines the current global financial crisis (GFC) and its impact on Bangladesh's economy and discusses international business implications for the country within an institution‐based analytical framework. The article finds that the macroeconomy of Bangladesh has shown remarkable resilience in the face of this massive global crisis, and the impact has been minimal and limited to a moderate slowdown of the economy The country thus could be poised for taking advantage of international business opportunities as the global economy begins to recover. Further, JPMorgan's Frontier Five and Goldman Sachs's Next Eleven classification of Bangladesh indicates enormous potential for growth and development. The article suggests that the Bangladeshi diaspora could serve as a connecting hub so that “brain gain” could be achieved through labor migration and remittances. Strategic alliances among home and foreign firms are also important to the future capacity building of the country. However, strategic management in the form of further institutional, structural, and policy reforms are critical in enabling the country to develop an international‐business‐friendly environment conducive to taking advantage of evolving global opportunities and realizing its full potential. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of social networks and institutions in the internationalization of Russian entrepreneurial firms: Do they matter?

Drawing upon network theory and institutional theory, this paper examines the influence of networks on the internationalization of Russian entrepreneurial firms. Our case analysis suggests that within the context of the Russian environment, networks play a much less important role in the internationalization process than it is usually assumed in the literature. For the Russian entrepreneurial firms examined in our study, the most important factor in their internationalization was their engagement in honest business practices that established trust and commitment in their relationships with international business partners. This study underscores the importance of the institutional context of an entrepreneurial firm’s country.     

Business under adverse home country institutions: The case of international sanctions against Myanmar

We expand the institutional perspective of international business by exploring the range of institutions outside the host country that influence international business. We use a critical case, Myanmar, to explore the dynamics of institutional constraints and the reaction of business to such constraints. Our in-depth case analysis focuses on four industries for the period 1996–2011. On this basis, we develop the concept of ‘low profile strategy’ and propose a conceptual framework of home country pressures influencing multinational enterprises’ international operation, and the variation of their impact across industries and firms. This framework provides a foundation for future work on the extra-territorial effects of institutions in international business.     

Business groups and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China

This study investigates the impact of firms' business group affiliations on their performance in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China. We find that firms with a dual-status of being a business group member and a state-owned enterprise (SOE) at the same time have weaker CSR performance. Our finding is consistent with the view that CSR engagement is a strategy for firms to pursue political legitimacy from the government and seek legitimacy in general from the public. The business group affiliation and the SOE identity together afford legitimacy to the firm and reduce its need to conduct CSR activities.Data availabilityAll data used in the study are publicly available from the sources noted in the text.     

The endogenous role of location choice in product innovations

The location choice of product innovations is a prevalent phenomenon one that has received little attention in the literature. This study examines the ways in which comparative industry environment, technology and product characteristics, and entry timing affect the firm's location choice of new product development activities between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries and the implications of location choice for performance. Our findings indicate that: (1) firms are more likely to locate their new product development activities at foreign subsidiaries in mainland China than at headquarters in Taiwan when the industry environment at foreign subsidiaries is more favorable, when technologies and products are more mature, and when the entry to mainland China's market is earlier than that of its competitors; (2) in general, firms locating their new product development activities at headquarters in Taiwan perform better than firms locating their new product development activities at foreign subsidiaries in mainland China after controlling for endogeneity bias; (3) firms locating their new product development activities at headquarters (at foreign subsidiaries) perform better than if they had located their new product development activities at foreign subsidiaries (at headquarters). Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Institutional duality and political strategies of foreign-invested firms in an emerging economy

This study investigates how the complex institutional environment surrounding foreign-invested firms (FIEs) affects their corporate political strategies (CPS) in China. Analyses of data on 442 FIEs operating in China show that the relative potency of dual institutional pressure from FIEs’ home and host countries shapes their strategic choices. Institutional factors at the country, region, and firm levels not only affect firms’ adoption of multiple firm-based tactics but also shape their collective-oriented associational activities. Moreover, participation in both foreign and domestic business associations enhances an FIE's adoption of firm-based political tactics, but joining domestic business associations has a stronger effect.     

Modeling firm specific internationalization risk: An application to banks’ risk assessment in lending to firms that do international business

Drawing on internationalization process theory, we develop a new model for firm-specific internationalization risk assessment. The model shows that firm-specific internationalization risks can be determined from a firm's experiences and from current business activities in a firm's network. Experiential risks are categorized as international, country market, network, or relationship experience risks. Risk assessment in current network activities can be determined from a firm's dependency on a network and from the network's performance and evolution. We apply our model to credit risk assessment by banks and other credit institutions. This article adds to research on financial institutions’ credit risk assessment by focusing on firm-specific internationalization risk assessment, an area that has previously received little attention in the literature. In addition, this article provides a better understanding of risk assessment in the internationalization process, shedding light not only on the risks involved in firms’ commitment to internationalization but also on the risks that banks and other institutions take when they commit by lending to internationalizing firms.     

IMC in an emerging economy: the Chinese perspective

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) planning and implementation vary greatly by market and country. This study, based on the survey data compiled from 135 Chinese marketing executives, focuses on IMC in China's emerging economy, with the goal of providing an outlook of IMC's current development in China while uncovering factors in the country's socioeconomic and business infrastructures that may cause IMC to deviate from the traditional Western model. The study also explores Chinese responses to the rising proliferation of digital media and its implications for IMC development.

The study concludes that despite uneven business development and a current lack of training in IMC-related skills, IMC appears to be the inevitable course or the future of Chinese marketing communications. Due to factors unique to the Chinese business landscape, such as government-owned business structures, political nuances in marketing channel relationships, and uneven development of consumer culture, IMC in China will likely evolve differently than in the US. Survey respondents reveal that IMC is progressing much faster in local, privately owned firms than in their state-owned counterparts. The rise of digital media will also disrupt traditional media outlets, providing challenges to the Chinese marketer.     

Corporate governance or governance by corporates? Testing governmentality in the context of China's national oil and petrochemical business groups

Like other industrial sectors with significant – ‘pillar’ – importance in China's overall economy and development, oil and petrochemicals are governed by state-owned business groups. In this context, ‘corporate governance’ of these groups is of fundamental interest. This study probes corporate governance of 31 national oil and petrochemical business groups by examining their structure, development and business activities in the period from 2007 to 2011. The post-1998 restructuring of China's qiyejituan business groups, their related party transactions and related party corporate finance all yield insight into how property rights are decisive in how corporate governance based on governmentality – or the interrelation of corporate, state and social relations – is structured. This study sheds light on how China's big business policy and governance of the state-business interface progresses in a socialist market economy. It has clear implications international trade and investment as well as multinational corporations doing business with China.     

我国商业银行中间业务发展分析——以12家上市商业银行为例

基于12家上市商业银行2011年半年报数据,运用统计性描述法深入比较分析我国主要商业银行中间业务当前发展状况并给出未来发展建议。研究表明,我国上市商业银行的中间业务收入及其在营业收入中的比重均有较大幅度的提高,并呈现中间业务收入与其规模正相关,具体构成共性业务与个性业务并存,传统中间业务的主导地位下降等特点。商业银行进一步发展中间业务,应在确定战略目标的前提下,加强产品研发力度,大力发展新兴中间业务,积极培育和引用相关人才,同时四大国有控股的商业银行与中型股份制商业银行应实行差异化发展策略。     

New Competence Creation in Multinational Company Subunits: The Role of International Knowledge

It has been demonstrated that more creative innovative activities of subunits of multinational companies (MNCs) rely upon the munificence of local knowledge in the host country. Here, we argue that the strength of international business network connections of a host location influences the potential accessibility of international knowledge and hence tends to widen the domain of new knowledge search that can be successfully undertaken by an MNC subunit. This in turn increases the likelihood of an MNC subunit building new areas of competencies, that is, in fields of competencies which are relatively new to the MNC. Specifically, we suggest that the relevant international business network connections are those involving local actors in the MNC subunit's relevant industry. Moreover, geographical proximity between MNC subunits and their parent company has an inverse U‐shaped relationship with new competence creation by subunits. Using a balanced panel data set on innovative activities conducted abroad by 194 of the world's largest industrial firms from 1975 to 1995, we find support for our expectations.     

Does internationalization make a difference? Stock market reaction to announcements of international top executive appointments

In recent years, there has been an increasing scholarly and practical interest in the internationalization of top management teams. It is argued that international firms need international top managers to meet the challenges arising from operating across borders. However, the few existing studies that focus on the link between top managers’ internationalization and firm performance yield inconclusive results. Thus, it is an open question if and to what extent international firms can benefit from international top managers. Drawing on upper-echelons theory, resource-dependence theory, and signaling theory, this paper examines how the stock market reacts to the appointment of an international top manager. Our empirical study of German firms employs an event study to analyze the direct impact of internationalization on a firm's stock price. Piecewise regression analysis reveals that a top manager's internationalization needs to exceed a certain threshold before investors incorporate this individual characteristic into their investment decisions. Furthermore, our analysis shows an inverted U-shaped relationship between internationalization and abnormal returns, suggesting that internationalization may have both positive and negative effects on a firm's stock price. We present several explanations for our empirical findings and discuss future research directions.     

Business model innovation: How the international retailers rebuild their core business logic in a new host country

Although research into the business model has received increasing attention, few studies have so far been conducted on business model innovation in an international context. The purpose of the study is to identify different patterns of business model innovation which enables international retailers to rebuild their core business logic in new host countries. On the basis of comparing and contrasting the business model changes of 15 international retailers from various home countries to one single host country (China), our study provides an in-depth understanding of business model innovation in the context of international business. By looking at the firms’ capabilities in rebuilding their core logic in the setting of a host country, we reveal six routes of retail business model innovation. Utilizing the lens of organizational learning theory and internationalization, we identify three patterns of resource deployment by international companies in the process of developing business model innovations. Our study, therefore, provides insights and guidance for multinational companies in general, international retailers in particular, as for how to successfully adapt their business model from home country to host country.     

Corporate engagement with non-governmental organizations in different institutional contexts—A case study of a forest products company

This embedded single case study analyses a global forest products company's, Stora Enso's, engagement with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) globally and in five countries: home country, Finland, and in host countries Brazil, China, Poland and Russia. A model of international corporate responsibility is adapted to the NGO context and the concept of civil society distance is introduced. The study argues that the institutional context and especially the local NGO base have important implications on the strategies (sponsorship, dialogue or partnership), and engagement forms (nine different forms are identified) of business–NGO engagement. Propositions are developed on the link between company motives and engagement strategies as well as the effect of civil society distance on engagement strategies.     

Board of director attributes and CSR engagement in emerging economy firms: Evidence from across Asia

This study investigates the relationship between the board of director attributes and corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement across a sample of Asian emerging economy firms. We find a statistically positive relationship between CSR engagement and several directors' attributes including their political influence, international experience, business expertise, other directorships held and independence from management. These empirical results indicate that while corporate governance recommendations designed for developed economy firms are relevant for emerging economy firms, additional director attributes are also important in encouraging CSR engagement in emerging economy firms given the divergent institutional and resource dependency issues they face.     

Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs’ involvement in internationalization and innovation: Three Canadian cases

In international entrepreneurship literature, entrepreneurs moving across borders have received less attention than other entrepreneurs. Also, only scant attention has been paid to immigrant entrepreneurs’ contributions to their organizations. This paper aims to contribute to the emerging international immigrant entrepreneurship literature by studying Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs’ roles in their firms’ international and innovative activities in Canada, China, and other countries. It is based on three cases of Chinese entrepreneurs who established businesses in Canada. We conclude that these immigrants’ experience of doing business in China and Canada, their network relationships and knowledge of these markets quickened their firms’ internationalization considerably. Moreover, these firms became active in product or service innovation as the case immigrants also involved other immigrants and locals. Consequently, immigrant entrepreneurs should actively use their connections both in their new country of residence and also in their previous home country, but to become even more successful, they should also reach beyond their ethnic ties.     

进入模式对组织能力与国际业务绩效关系的调节作用研究

现有文献大量检验了企业能力与国际业务绩效的关系,但很少有文献从组织能力的视角研究进入模式对两者关系的调节作用并提供经验性证据.文章以广东、江苏和浙江三省制造型出口企业为例,对能力和国际业务绩效两者之间的关系如何受到进入模式的调节作用进行了实证研究,结果证实了国际化企业应该选择与其能力相匹配的进入模式,以获得更好的绩效.文章认为单纯从能力要素或进入模式来理解绩效都是片面的,应该将两者结合起来解释国际业务绩效.同时,结果还发现三省样本企业的能力要素对国际业务绩效存在不同的影响,文章对此进行了分析并提出了管理建议.     

The dyadic structure of exchange partners' governing-agency social capital and opportunism in buyer–supplier relationships

Extant literature on opportunism examines its antecedents in dyadic relationships in business networks. With firms also developing relationships with government agencies, these connections can influence firms' propensity for opportunism in business exchanges. This study investigates how the governing-agency social capital on both sides of the buyer–supplier relationship affects firms' opportunism tendency toward their counterparts. In particular, we divide the governing-agency social capital of both parties into two dimensions: the asymmetry of governing-agency social capital and joint governing-agency social capital. We postulate that both the asymmetry of governing-agency social capital and joint governing-agency social capital promote the focal firm's propensity for opportunism through dyadic power and network power, respectively. Moreover, we propose that both dimensions interact to magnify each other's impact on the focal firm's propensity for opportunism. We test the hypotheses using 322 matched data of buyer–supplier dyads in China. Empirical results provide support for the research hypotheses.     

International ambidexterity and firm performance in small emerging economies

Conventional IB theories stress the importance and implications of a firm's exploitative strategy. However, the unprecedented competitive nature of contemporary business necessitates firm “ambidexterity” — the simultaneous execution of exploitation and exploration activities. Using balanced panel data of 207 Taiwanese firms spanning six years, this research examines the effects of international ambidexterity on firm performance. Findings reveal that ambidexterity promotes a firm's performance. For firms from small emerging economies, international ambidexterity is highly vulnerable to environmental complexity and sensitive to previous international experience and the firm's capability to conduct international business. These factors significantly moderate firm performance.