A profile of UK exporting companies—an empirical study

The export marketing literature in the UK has tended to focus on successful exporting companies, whilst much of the key literature is based on experience of exporters in the USA and Canada. This paper reports on a study of UK manufacturing exporters. It provides a profile of the UK exporter together with evidence on the methods used by manufacturers to find and select an overseas representative. The results also show that most manufacturers are satisfied with their relationships with overseas agents and distributors, although relationships with some agents and distributors were clearly difficult.     

Bifurcation bias and exporting: Can foreign work experience be an answer? Insight from European family SMEs

We develop hypotheses from a “bifurcation bias” approach involving the asymmetric treatment of family and nonfamily assets, and we test them on a sample of 6893 European family SMEs. Our findings reveal two asymmetries relating to actions designed to reduce bifurcation bias. First, exporting is indeed positively associated with the presence of outside owners and managers, and from the interaction between them. However, this interaction replaces any separate positive impact from outside ownership. Second, the international work experience of managers has a positive impact on exporting, but this experience seems relevant only in the case of firms with family-managers only.     

Can Export Restrictions be Disciplined Through the World Trade Organisation?

A number of major agricultural exporting countries responded to high food prices from 2007 to 2011 by imposing export restrictions on agricultural commodities in efforts to constrain domestic food price inflation. These restrictions reduced the volume of internationally traded food and exacerbated international price spikes. Net food‐importing countries were faced with growing import bills, and non‐governmental organisations that target food security scaled‐back programme commitments and appealed for increased funding. There have subsequently been a chorus of calls for the development of a formal international framework that could discipline the use of agricultural export restrictions; the agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have been targeted as possible fora for such disciplines. We present a framework in which the efficacy of such disciplines can be analysed and conclude that constraints on agricultural export restrictions are not likely to be effective within the WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding for two reasons. First, the timelines for dispute settlement in the WTO are too long to be useful in disputes about export restrictions during periods of high food prices. Second, the withdrawal of tariff concessions, or trade retaliation, that could be authorised in such cases would not be a credible response for many complainant countries.     

Does foreign investment benefit the exporting activities of Vietnamese firms?

Using firm-level data, this paper examines the effects of foreign investment on the exporting behaviour of domestic firms in the Vietnamese manufacturing and service sectors. Applying the Heckman selection model on panel data and following the Wooldridge approach, we find that investment by foreign firms has a significant positive effect on the decision of domestic firms in the same and upstream sectors to export. The proportion of exports of domestic firms declines through horizontal and forward linkages, but increases through backward linkages in the manufacturing sector. However, there is only weak evidence in support of export spillovers on domestic firms in the service sector. We also find that the presence of foreign firms has differing effects on the exporting activities of low- versus high-tech firms in the manufacturing sector.     

Export diversification: How much does the choice of the trading partner matter?

This paper studies how a country's export diversification varies across destination markets. It develops an extension of the Romalis (2004) model which yields two testable predictions. According to the first, exports between similarly endowed countries (“South–South” and “North–North”) are more diversified than exports between differently endowed countries (“South–North” and “North–South”). The second implication is that, for given countries' production patterns, low bilateral trade costs lead to greater export diversification. These predictions find empirical support in a panel of 102 trade partners and 4998 HS-6 industries over the period 1995–2007. Results show that similarities between trading partners in physical capital, land and human capital endowments per worker are associated with more diversified bilateral exports. Exports are also more diversified when bilateral trade costs are relatively low.     

Conclusion: Korean business and management – the end of the model?

Recent financial crisis has raised questions about the underpinnings and longevity of economic success in Asia, and has reminded us to be sceptical of pundits and the eponymous populist predictions relating to the region. Several perspectives can guide the analysis and evaluation of industrialization, from ‘state’ versus ‘market’, ‘internal’ versus ‘external’, and ‘macro’ versus ‘micro’. Companies in Korea as ‘latecomers’ have pursued ‘catch-up’ strategies. However, Korean corporate capabilities reside in a restricted number of industries, firms and functions (production), and are poor elsewhere, such as in marketing, technology (design and development) and organization, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, many factors regarded once as sources of Korea's success are now seen as weaknesses. The future challenges facing Korea include its dirigiste economy, organizational structures and governance, financial transparency and labour market flexibility. While there are undoubted problems, its urgent tasks are not insurmountable.     

Which companies should implement management innovation? A commentary essay

This commentary essay explores the joint effects of internal context and external search for knowledge on new management practices. Mol and Birkinshaw's (Mol, M.J., Birkinshaw, J., The sources of management: when firms introduce new management practices. Journal of Business Research; forthcoming.) research provides an interesting discussion regarding management innovation studies and will likely create promising future research opportunities.     

The effects of innovative capabilities on exporting: Do institutional forces matter?

We challenge the assumption that innovative capabilities are always beneficial for exporting by developing and testing the premise that export performance is contingent on firm- and location-specific institutional idiosyncrasies. Testing our framework against a large dataset for China, we demonstrate that foreign ownership, business group affiliation, and the degree of marketization of the region where the firm operates positively moderate the effects of innovative capabilities on export performance. Government relationships have a stronger positive moderating effect on the innovation–export relationship in regions with a high level of marketization only. Our findings suggest that the relationship between innovative capabilities and export performance is not uniform but rather contingent upon the institutional setting in which the firm is embedded. These results have important implications for how policymakers promote exporting and open up new theoretical avenues for conceptualizing the internationalization implications of innovation.     

Making the next move: When does the newness of experience matter in overseas sequential entries of multinational companies?

Traditional internationalization models suggest multinational companies (MNCs) can exploit their accumulative experience to facilitate their sequential entries. However, experience may depreciate over time. Thus, obtaining benefits from prior experience for MNCs is based on two critical premises, i.e., interpreting and applying experience correctly. We argue that there is a need to study the newness dimension of experiential learning. In doing so, we aim to explore to what extent the newness of experience matters in overseas sequential entries for MNCs. Moreover, we expect that the benefits from recent experience in guiding sequential entries are contingent on the extent of context similarity between the most recent entry location and sequential entry location and the outcome expectancy of focal entry. With a sample of 112 Chinese listed firms and 410 observations during the period of 2000–2012, we find that else being equal, the newness of experience of MNCs is positively associated with sequential entry and such a relationship is positively moderated both by context similarity in institutional environment and the outcome expectancy of the focal entry. We also compare the effects of the newness of different types of experience and find that the newness of the most recent experience has a larger influence on sequential entry than location-specific experience and general experience.     

Promote the Transition of Export Growth Forms of Textiles

According to the news from General Administration of Customs, from January 1 ,2005 to December 31,2007, China will adopt transitional and interim measures for increasing export tariff numbers for 148 garments, which belong to 33 sensitive categories under 7 kinds, including coat, skirt, shirt, trousers, pajamas, and underwear, etc. This is the measure actively taken by Chinese government under the background that from January 1,2005 the global textiles trade will be integrated.     

Can design improve the performance of marketing management?

Marketing management and design is assumed to be well performing when well integrated. Seen from a marketing management perspective, design is complementary and provides useful tools like visualisation and prototyping as well as empathy with the consumers. Jointly this can increase the performance of the company. Due to different cultures, languages and procedures marketing management often fails to deliver these advantages. The introductory essay provides an overview of methods to afford a better integration between the two and introduces a number of articles providing an overview and up-to-date analysis of the current situation.     

Situational Moral Disengagement: Can the Effects of Self-Interest be Mitigated?

Self-interest has long been recognized as a powerful human motive. Yet, much remains to be understood about the thinking behind self-interested pursuits. Drawing from multiple literatures, we propose that situations high in opportunity for self-interested gain trigger a type of moral cognition called moral disengagement that allows the individual to more easily disengage internalized moral standards. We also theorize two countervailing forces—situational harm to others and dispositional conscientiousness—that may weaken the effects of personal gain on morally disengaged reasoning. We test our hypotheses in two studies using qualitative and quantitative data and complementary research methods and design. We demonstrate that when personal gain incentives are relatively moderate, reminders of harm to others can reduce the likelihood that employees will morally disengage. Furthermore, when strong personal gain incentives are present in a situation, highly conscientious individuals are less apt than their counterparts to engage in morally disengaged reasoning.     

Why do successful companies fail? A case study of the decline of Dunlop

This article examines the internal and external factors that contributed to the decline of Dunlop. For much of its history Dunlop operated in a protected home market or instigated strategies to restrict competition. This enabled Dunlop to dominate the British tyre industry. The complacency and inertia of management was exposed by a number of external jolts that produced radical environmental changes. Management failed to develop appropriate strategies which led to large losses in an industry suffering from overcapacity. Plant closures and the divestment of the European tyre operations were implemented to reduce company debt. This turnaround strategy proved to be a temporary respite as Dunlop was acquired by BTR.     

Adapted or standardized copy: Is non-cultural English the answer?

International advertisers often wonder whether to adapt their copy to each country they operate in or to globally standardize their message, especially in non-Anglophone markets. While the current business lingua franca is English, how easily can it be introduced into advertising without alienating consumers, and would a simpler English message work better? Does the culture of a brand also influence the impact of English use in non-Anglophone markets? This research examines the interaction between language choice and brand culture in a non-Anglophone market. Specifically, the studies review the value of Globish, a non-cultural form of English. The results suggest that using standardized English copy has relevance in non-Anglophone countries for global brands, but that Globish can also be useful for local brands seeking to upgrade their value in a local market. Globish is shown to be an interesting alternative option in adapting or standardizing advertising strategies. Managerial implications close the paper.     

Microcredit: an answer to the gender problem in funding?

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) target people excluded from the traditional banking system. By providing start-up capital to these under-financed individuals, they enable a greater number of women to start their own business, particularly in sectors where initial capital requirements are high. Our study follows a portfolio of 3,640 microcredit applicants in France over the 2000–2006 time period, identifying MFI client profiles and bringing to light gender differences in borrowers compared to a wider sample of entrepreneurs. This study shows that the male–female gap found amongst company creators is also maintained amongst the clienteles of MFIs. Empirical results also suggest that gender is a decisive factor regarding the amount of credit provided to borrowers when comparing with other factors in the borrower and firm profile. Thus to a certain extent, MFIs are found to reinforce gender inequalities in France.     

Further Optimization of the Import and Export Structure

According to customs statistics, Chinese trade imports and exports totaled US$ 1,759.32 billion from January to October this year,representing an increase of 23.5 percent over the same period last year, and nearly equal to the total amount of imports and exports from all of last year.Exports were US$ 985.84 billion     

Can China Export More of Its Culture?

Profile of China's cultural trade China's modern cultural trade began with small scale in the mid-term of the 1980s.The real export of cultural products started in the mid-term of 1990s.     

How have Japanese multinational companies changed? Competitiveness,management and subsidiaries

Evidence on the strategies and capabilities of Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) and their subsidiaries points to aspects of established management practices (typically home-grown) that complicate or inhibit adaptation to the demands of global competition since the 1990s. Japanese MNCs have had to respond, amongst other trends, to the switch from production to buyer-driven global value chains, cross-border vertical specialization, global factory strategies and strategic alliances and cooperative relationships. Amongst the factors that might affect the ability of Japanese MNCs to make competitive and organizational transitions are: parental MNC intent and capability in the cross-border transfer of management practices; the impact of host country risk on investment, ownership and entry strategies; measures of institutional difference and the gap in economic development between home and host nations; parent firm–subsidiary and subsidiary–subsidiary power relations and knowledge boundaries; and the evolution of insider networks that might overcome institutional and cultural distances within an MNC.