Exploring talent management in India: The neglected role of intrinsic rewards

The challenge of global talent management is critical to firm success. Even with the global economic slowdown of 2008 and 2009, there are continuing challenges in attracting, managing, and retaining talent, especially in the developing regions of the world where economic activity has outpaced the availability of skilled employees. To examine this situation, we develop and test a model of talent management across 28 Indian firms involving 4811 professional-level employees. The intrinsic rewards experienced are a critical element in employee retention, satisfaction with the organization, and career success. We explored four antecedents of intrinsic rewards: the social responsibility of the employer, pride in the organization, manager support, and performance management (PM). We found support for the importance of intrinsic rewards as a mediating variable, as well as for the moderating role of certain hygiene factors. Our research suggests multinational, international, and national employers may have non-pecuniary mechanisms to promote retention and employee satisfaction, even in challenging labor market environments. We conclude by proposing implications for research and global HRM practices.     

The effect of institutional quality on firm export performance in emerging economies: a contingency model of firm age and size

It is widely accepted that countries with sound formal and informal institutions create more robust environments for firm performance. However, due to the liabilities faced by firms without available slack and/or market power, we contend that institutions are especially important for new and small firms. Unfortunately, there is little research examining the potential moderating effect of firm size or age on the relationship between institutional quality and export performance. In response, we hypothesize that institutional quality will be more important to increasing the export performance of new and small firms compared with their large, established counterparts. We test our hypotheses using data from the World Bank’s World Business Environment Survey. The results of our analyses offer support for our model, although some institutional variables appear to be more important to export performance than others. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results.     

Non-Governmental Organizations, Shareholder Activism, and Socially Responsible Investments: Ethical, Strategic, and Governance Implications

In this article, we document the growing influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the realm of socially responsible investing (SRI). Drawing from ethical and economic perspectives on stakeholder management and agency theory, we develop a framework to understand how and when NGOs will be most influential in shaping the ethical and social responsibility orientations of business using the emergence of SRI as the primary influencing vehicle. We find that NGOs have opportunities to influence corporate conduct via direct, indirect, and interactive influences on the investment community, and that the overall influence of NGOs as major actors in socially responsible investment is growing, with attendant consequences for corporate strategy, governance, and social performance.     

Market convergence and advertising standardization in the European Union

In this study, we draw on industrial organization and institutional research to explore the relationship between market convergence and standardization of advertising programs. We argue that environmental isomorphism, which maintains that the external market environment is a principal driver of firms’ institutional structures, places pressure on firms to adapt their organizational structures and strategies to changing institutional conditions. We propose that the convergence associated with European market integration will lead firms to emphasize three advertising strategies: creating a uniform brand image, appealing to cross-market segments, and increasing cost performance in advertising. Further, we hypothesize that these strategies will be associated with an overall tendency to standardize advertising strategy and execution. Results of a survey of managers of subsidiaries of Japanese and U.S. firms operating in the EU suggest that firms that believe the EU is converging are more likely to engage in these standardized advertising strategies. Additionally, our findings suggest that firms that seek to create a uniform brand image and appeal to cross-market segments are more likely to standardize their overall advertising programs. Finally, we find that firms’ desire to create a uniform brand image is a function of their goal of building brand equity, regardless of the level to which markets converge. We draw implications for research and practice regarding firm responses to market convergence.     

MNEs and development: a review and reconceptualization

In this paper, we review and critique two prominent theories in the international business and international economics literatures regarding the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host country development: the “spillovers” perspective on the impact of MNE investment in host countries and the liabilities of foreignness (LOF) view that specifies the constraints MNEs must overcome to succeed in local, developing country markets. We then propose an alternative conceptualization of MNE-host country relations in which MNEs and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) pursue collaborative relationships that make a positive, collective contribution to host country development and to MNE and NGO strategic goals in ways that neither sector is positioned to do alone.     

Government Policy and Trajectories of Radical Innovation in Dirigiste States: A Comparative Analysis of National Innovation Systems in France and Korea

Contrary to the argument that radical innovation is only compatible with institutional arrangements characteristic of liberal market economies, this paper shows how state-led economies successfully organize their innovation systems to promote radical innovation with a comparative analysis of two dirigiste states, France and Korea. The authors further analyse how government policies under similar institutional arrangements drive different trajectories of radical innovation, as illustrated by their relative competitiveness in the ICT sector. The two dirigiste economies have undergone substantial institutional changes adapting to globalization but sustained state initiatives in coordinating their relationship-based innovation systems, reinforcing the cooperation among the state, academia and industry.     

Offshore Outsourcing: Implications for International Business and Strategic Management Theory and Practice

abstract    In this essay, I discuss the implications of the debate over offshoring for our collective understanding of international business and management theories. I review several core theories in international business expansion and management strategy to assess which elements of these theories may need to be re-specified in light of the offshoring phenomenon and which aspects remain relevant. I then present normative implications and recommendations for public policy and corporate strategy, drawing from emerging insights regarding the global responsibilities of corporations. I suggest that international labour and environmental standards and corporate codes of conduct could mitigate some of the most intense concerns raised about offshoring but conclude that offshoring is likely to present challenges to societies, corporations, and stakeholders for many decades.     

NGOs’ influence on MNEs’ social development strategies in varying institutional contexts: A transaction cost perspective

In this paper, we examine the effect of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on the transaction costs multinational enterprises (MNEs) assume in their nonmarket social development strategies. We develop propositions to predict the effect of three important aspects of the institutional context on how NGOs affect MNE transaction costs: institutional development, institutional distance and institutional dynamism. We also propose how these relationships are moderated by the level of civil society development in the countries in which these entities interact. We conclude with suggestions for further research.     

The performance dimension in symbolic management revisited: the functional role of traditional mechanisms in large Korean firms*

Symbolic management perspective argues that newly adopted shareholder-oriented mechanisms promote positive market responses, whereas traditional mechanisms assume sociopolitical power struggle for their sustainability. Beyond the dichotomous understanding, this study proposes that the continuation of traditional mechanisms is also attributable to their performance contribution. Using panel data on 100 large Korean firms (1998–2011), this study found that the positive influence of traditional mechanisms such as business group on performance, measured by ROA and R&D intensity, improves market responses, i.e. market capitalization and Tobin’s q. In the process, shareholder-oriented mechanisms, such as foreign ownership, positively moderates the influence of traditional mechanisms. For corporate governance reform, this study suggests that balanced attention should be paid to the performance contribution of traditional mechanisms in interaction with shareholder-oriented mechanisms.