Enhancing knowledge sharing from self-initiated expatriates in Vietnam: the role of internal marketing and work-role adjustment in an emerging economy

This study is an empirical exploration of whether internal marketing activities can positively influence self-initiated expatriate’s (SIE’s) work-role adjustment and knowledge sharing. Leader–member exchange is considered in developing a moderated-mediation model. Using data collected from 140 SIEs in Vietnam, the findings support the mediation model and specifically indicate that internal marketing activities can increase the degree of work-role adjustment which, in turn, influences SIEs’ knowledge-sharing. However, moderated-mediation analyses fail to support the role played by leaders in the implication of internal marketing activities. This model is intended to present an agenda for future research. Some theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

Talent management motives and practices in an emerging market: A comparison between MNEs and local firms

This paper compares the differences in talent management motivations and practices between MNEs and local firms in the emerging market of Turkey. It uses institutional theory and the resource based view of the firm to explain these differences. Examining data from 201 firms the findings show significant differences between the talent management motives of MNEs and local firms, with MNEs having more tactical motivations for their talent management systems. The study also shows significant differences in the talent management practices between MNEs and local firms, with MNEs implementing more robust systems of talent management overall. The findings indicate that the motives for TM and the practices that are pursued by organizations are society-bound. The study of TM motives and practices has to be framed within the context of the institution as this shapes the way in which actors perceive and respond to environmental and organizational stimuli and the extent to which they seek to protect the rules that shape and structure their environments.     

Learning-by-doing in emerging market multinationals: Integration,trial and error,repetition, and extension

We analyze learning-by-doing and how emerging market multinationals use it to upgrade their capabilities. Building on an in-depth case study, we present two novel arguments. First, we clarify the concept of learning-by-doing by identifying four distinct processes in which learning-by-doing occurs: Integration, whereby the firm incorporates external knowledge and coordinates multiple sources of knowledge to undertake an activity; trial and error, whereby the firm attempts a new activity until it succeeds; repetition, whereby the firm improves the activity by undertaking it multiple times; and extension, whereby the firm takes on a larger and more complex activity. Second, we extend our understanding of how the country of origin influences firm behavior by explaining how particular characteristics of emerging markets (few specialized providers, relative knowledge isolation, rapid market growth, and increasing consumer sophistication) strengthen the relationships between the four learning-by-doing processes and the upgrading of capabilities to international levels.     

The interplay between home and host country institutions in an emerging market context: Private equity in Latin America

This study examines how the interplay between home and host country regulatory institutions affects the investment strategy of private equity (PE) firms in an emerging market context. To answer this question, we consider three different mechanisms: (1) the institutional hazard avoidance effect, (2) the institutional escapism effect, and (3) the dysfunctional institutions effect. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we argue that regulatory institutional differences between home and host countries can sometimes have a positive rather than a negative effect on investment likelihood. Our findings show that when a host emerging market has a strong regulatory institutional system relative to other emerging markets, it is more likely that this country will attract PE investments from firms based in home countries with very strong and very weak institutional systems. The empirical analyses, based on a polynomial specification and a dataset covering more than 300 PE firms that made close to 1500 investment transactions in Latin America during 1996–2011, are consistent with our main theoretical arguments.     

Unraveling customer repurchase intention in OFDL context: An investigation using a hybrid technique of SEM and fsQCA

This research proposes a conceptual model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S–O-R) theoretical framework which links perceived website/app quality and image (stimuli) to satisfaction and trust (organism) which in turn influence customer repurchase intention (response). The data was collected from 680 consumers via Amazon MTurk. Following Covariance based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) analysis to validate the proposed model, fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) technique was also performed. According to the findings, perceived website/app quality has a direct impact on both satisfaction and trust in online food delivery services. Additionally, customer familiarity moderates the relationship between website/app quality and repurchase intention. Next, customer reviews moderate the association between repurchase intention and trust. Holistically, this study offers significant implications for academicians, managers and policymakers. Academically, this study contributes to online food delivery literature. Practically, the results provide guidelines to marketers, managers and policymakers interested in devising marketing strategies to promote customer's repurchase intention in online food delivery context.     

Using food pictorial metaphor in the advertising of non-food brands: An exploratory investigation of consumer interpretation and affective response

Using visual metaphors in ads is one of the communication techniques that brands have adopted to grab consumers' attention. The phenomenon of using food pictorial metaphors in non-food brand ads has spread in recent years, and given food's sensory nature, using this cue for a non-food brand can affect the way in which consumers interpret such ads. This research seeks to understand whether and how consumers perceive and process such a rhetorical figure. An exploratory qualitative approach is taken in two studies by using semi-structured interviews to explore consumers' reactions to different types of ads with food visual metaphors. The results reveal the predominance of congruency as a key processing mechanism of the ad at three levels: (a) between the food pictorial metaphor and the brand product category, (b) between the food visual metaphor and the brand itself, and (c) between the visual metaphor and the headline. Moreover, the food appetizing dimension, ad creativity, aesthetic appreciation of the ad, and consumers' aesthetic sensitivity are all revealed to play major roles in attitudes toward the ad.     

Economic geography and emerging market clusters: A co-evolutionary study of local and non-local networks in Bangalore

The presence of network ties within location plays a significant role in organization and evolution of clusters. This has proven to be particularly true for clusters specializing in knowledge intensive industries, where the organization of resources – people and technology – has been a primary driver for firm and regional performance. With the help of a longitudinal case study of the Bangalore IT cluster in India, we investigate the effect of local and non-local network ties on its evolution. We argue that networks – both local and non-local – play an important role in the development of cluster. We propose a non-linear relationship between cluster evolution phases and the type of network ties most prominent. Our study also outlines the role that embedding, expansion, and extension of ties plays in transitioning cluster from one phase to the other. The consideration of non-local ties is rather nascent in the cluster literature and promises to enhance the understanding of how clusters develop at both levels – policy as well as firm.     

An investigation of the cross-border supplier development process: Problems and implications in an emerging economy

This paper is concerned with supplier development in an emerging-market. The context of the study is the interaction between Pakistani suppliers and Japanese automotive manufacturers in equity joint ventures operating in Pakistan. Using a novel approach, drawing data from buyers ‘and’ suppliers, the paper presents a three-stage (evaluation, exploration and interactive) teleological process theory that highlights the key relational, knowledge transfer, and operational factors that signify each stage. Key conclusions are drawn as to the importance of relational ties, and the early importance of absorptive capacity. Notions of stasis implied by predominantly cross-sectional research into supplier development are challenged and the findings reveal many factors that demonstrate temporal dynamics. The paper also highlights CSR dilemmas for developed-country investors who are establishing supplier development programmes in developing economies.     

Restructuring in Telecommunications and its Market Impacts: An Event-Study Analysis

This study presents an assessment of the changes in the telecommunications industry and their impact on market returns. Events were identified from a sample of global telecom companies and assessed in terms of their favorable or unfavorable impacts. Based on event-study analysis with generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroskedastic specification, the impact was tested after incorporating dummy variables of different lengths. The results show interesting patterns in how the market views restructuring in the business model of telecom companies, organizational structure, alliances and mergers, and technological platform changes. Countries differ in how they view telecoms restructuring and what changes are considered beneficial by investors.     

The institutional context as a source of heterogeneity in family firm internationalization strategies: A comparison between U.S. and emerging market family firms

Existing research has underexplored the role of context as a source of heterogeneity in family firms’ (FFs) internationalization strategies. Drawing upon institutional theory, we develop and test a mid-range theory positing that differences in the quality of the institutional context can moderate the strength of the relationship between individual- and board-level attributes and FF internationalization. Our comparison of U.S. FFs with FFs from Brazil and Mexico reveals that in emerging market FFs, individual-level attributes such as CEO international experience, CEO educational attainment, and CEO international education exhibit a stronger relationship with internationalization. Similarly, we find that board-level attributes such as board size and board independence are also more strongly related to internationalization in emerging market contexts. We contribute to the literature by identifying a source of variation in FF internationalization strategies based on context and by examining the relationship between a wide range of FF attributes and internationalization.     

A comparative analysis of location and non-location-bounded strategic asset seeking in emerging and developed market MNEs: An application of new internalization theory

Do emerging market (E)MNEs have a stronger strategic asset seeking FDI orientation than developed market (D)MNEs? If so, what are the properties of the strategic assets they actually seek and are they similar or dissimilar to those of DMNEs? Drawing from new internalization theory, we show that lying concealed within some mainstream EMNE models are important predictions regarding differences in the location-boundedness properties of the strategic assets sought by EMNEs compared with DMNEs. Using multinomial logit modelling on 2414 international M&A deals, we explore how acquirer characteristics shape location-bounded (trademark) and non-location bounded (patent) strategic asset seeking choices. In general, we find evidence that EMNEs have a comparatively stronger patent but weaker trademark seeking orientation than DMNEs. We discuss implications for EMNE related theory, focusing on the qualitative differences in asset seeking orientation between EMNEs and DMNEs.