Developments in International Franchising

In this article some of the recent developments in international franchising are analysed and their implications considered. The emphasis is on business format franchising which, although still less important overall than product and tradename franchising, has been growing at a faster rate, and there are prospects of conversions to the business format version in the oil industry retailing sector. The spread of international franchising has continued to extend, stimulated by the demand for franchising concepts at the consumer level, and by the active interest of a wide range of buyers of franchise systems in different countries who see franchising as providing new business opportunities. The international franchising scene has become more competitive however, as new local systems have continued to extend, stimulated by the demand for franchise concepts at the consumer level, and by the active interest of a wide range of buyers of franchise systems in different countries who see franchising as providing new business opportunities. The international franchising scene has become more competitive however, as new local systems have continued to arise in different countries, and some have begun international operations.     

From OLI to OLMA: Incorporating Higher Levels of Environmental and Structural Complexity into the Eclectic Paradigm

Theorists using the eclectic paradigm have drastically restricted their analytic scope to the firm and its subsidiaries, rarely exploring more finely grained firm structures, such as business processes. By contrast, organisational theorists examining multinational firm behaviour have employed a richly differentiated array of firm structural forms though without developing a precise delineation of the international business environment. Eclectic researchers are adept at handling environmental, but not structural, complexity, while the reverse seems true for organisational theorists. This study extends the eclectic paradigm by incorporating higher levels of environmental and structural complexity through two methods: (1) a deconstruction of the multinational firm into business processes; and (2) a more complete definition of the international business environment, called geovalent elements. The paper argues that an enhanced eclectic paradigm called OLMA (for Ownership, Location, Mode of entry, and Adjustment) provides the complete set of concepts needed for studying the modern multinational firm.     

A retrospective of international business education in the United States over the past fifty years

International business relationships are almost as old as mankind, but the idea that people needed to be educated to manage global business enterprises is less than 50 years old. The American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), established in 1946 was the first school to provide languages, international studies, and business management as a basic education in international management. Business schools in America have been slow to realize and to promulgate courses and curriculums in the field. It has only been in the last ten years that the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, composed of over 700 colleges and universities in the country, has become an advocate through a revision in its standards. After the words “and worldwide” were inserted in the AACSB standards of accreditation, international business education began to permeate the offerings of American business schools.     

Internationalizing the Business Curriculum

There is little disagreement as to the importance of the global dimension in business education, but many business schools have found it difficult to integrate it into their curricula. Current attempts involve either requiring a separate international business course or modifying existing core courses to include international modules. In this paper the authors argue that it is both more practical and educationally sound to integrate international examples into courses to reinforce concepts presented in a domestic context. The paper concludes with several such examples successfully used by the authors in Finance courses over the past few years.     

A Global MBA for Tomorrow's Global Business Leaders

Abstract

Traditional IB programs have received mixed reviews from the corporate world. With this in mind, the Suffolk GMBA was benchmarked against the leading international business programs. The Suffolk GMBA was designed to be different and to ascertain the global environment in which business operates. A unique feature of the GMBA curriculum detailed in this article is the combination of Boston's international business locational advantage with functional integration of the many disciplines that make international business unique. Borrowing components from the fields of economics, government and politics, finance, marketing, ethics, and law, a curriculum matrix was developed identifying and sequencing the key topics to be taught. The authors also explain potential pitfalls and outline a model which can be successfully implemented in other graduate international business programs. This program is shaping the thoughts and actions of tomorrow's global business leaders through its integrative decision-making framework of global perspectives and competencies.     

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.     

The Role and Value of Global Business Research: Perspective of a Business School Dean

The scope of this article is two-fold. First, it looks at business research in general, in various countries, as a task that the dean wants to have faculty members pursue, to attain goals such as accreditation and ranking with organizations such as the AACSB, Equis, the Financial Times, and US News & World Report. And second, it looks at international business research as part of what business schools produce and what a dean can encourage. As more academics realize the importance of international competition, and also of dealing with people from other cultures and countries, IB research is becoming more acceptable in mainstream publications as well as in specialized international business ones. Key questions discussed here include encouraging, measuring, promoting, and financing international business research.     

Role of economic and political freedom in the emergence of global middle class

The study examines the role of the economic freedoms such as regulatory efficiency, open markets and limited markets, political freedom and rule of law in the growth of the global middle class through international business activity in 34 emerging markets during the period of 1994–2011. The analysis suggests that some dimensions of freedom are more critical than others in making these markets attractive locations for international business and this in turn leads to domestic growth and thus growth of the middle class in these countries. The results also reveal the existence of a feedback loop, whereby the growing middle class becomes a driving force for further expansion of international business activity and economic growth.     

Teaching International Business in the Information Age

Teaching international business has changed during the last decade because of the emphasis vlaced on elobal business bv the U.S. government and innova6ons incomputer iechnology. ~cademicians and practitioners have been working together in developing new teachine tools to imorove the wav we teach international business. ~ecentYdevelo~ments' in the areas-of computer databases, simulation eames and exDert svstems have added a different dimension to the busiiess curriculuh. The AACSB guidelines in incorporating international business practices into the business curriculum have also influenced the new teaching methods employed by colleges and universities in both undergraduate and graduate business education in the U.S.A.     

Clio in the business school: Historical approaches in strategy,international business and entrepreneurship

On the back of recent and significant new debates on the use of history within business and management studies, we consider the perception of historians as being anti-theory and of having methodological shortcomings; and business and management scholars displaying insufficient attention to historical context and privileging of certain social science methods over others. These are explored through an examination of three subjects: strategy, international business and entrepreneurship. We propose a framework for advancing the use of history within business and management studies more generally through greater understanding of historical perspectives and methodologies.     

国际贸易冲击与中国经济的周期波动

国际经济波动对我国经济周期的影响主要是通过国际贸易这个渠道实现的,本文在对我国对外贸易波动的特征及与经济周期相关性进行分析的基础之上,通过国际贸易乘数效应具体分析了国际贸易冲击对经济周期波动的影响,其结论表明国际贸易冲击对我国的经济周期波动产生了重要的作用和影响,出口每波动1%,会引发GDP波动0.25个百分点左右,随着我国对外贸易的快速增长,贸易波动对宏观经济的影响会进一步增加。     

基于移动互联网的跨境电子商务商业模式研究

基于移动互联网的跨境电子商务是移动互联网与国际贸易的全新组合,是突破当前国际贸易形势低迷现状的新途径。基于移动互联网的跨境电子商务的商业模式,将现有的商业模式归纳为跨境大额B2B、跨境垂直B2C以及跨境C2C等3种模式,比较分析了不同模式的运行机制,发现物流仓储与质量控制是制约移动跨境电商发展的主要因素。由于跨境大额B2B和跨境垂直B2C有较为完善的物流和售后解决方案,因此二者将成为未来移动跨境电商发展的主要模式,而跨境C2C将通过提供差异化商品与服务以填补二者之间存在的商业空隙。移动跨境电商既是传统国际贸易在互联网时代的变革,又是电子商务进一步发展的必然趋势。     

Multiple interpretations of “national culture” and the implications for International business: The case of Taiwan

This paper considers the implications for international business of cases whereby a country may have two, or more, conflicting interpretations of its “national culture”. A case study of the different ways in which Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates of the benshengren and waishengren social categories use their status as “Taiwanese” to do business in London suggests that the varying interpretations which people of the same national origin and ethnic group have of their “national culture”, as a symbol of identity, affects the social resources they can use. The paper concludes by considering new directions for studying national culture in international business, and for re-evaluating earlier research.     

How Should International Accounting Be Taught?

In the current competitive environment of the global marketplace, business students must understand the international aspects of business. Both the AACSB and AAA have emphasized adding such a dimension to the business curriculum. Several business schools have already started or have plans to start introducing an international orientation to their programs. In this article, the authors present a balanced and comprehensive curriculum for an internalional accounting course. It is our contention that international accounting be viewed from both an internal and external perspective. An internal orientation provides the specifics for the course and may be seen as the technical component The external perspective, inspired by the international business discipline, provides a more general focus and is useful for acquiring a sensitivity to why accounting processes have to differ across national boundaries. Such a view is consistent with the recommendations of the AAA Committee on Future Structure, Content, and Scope of Accounting Education.     

International business complexity and the internationalization of languages

While the impacts of culture on international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) have been much discussed, the influence of languages has been underappreciated in international business. We address this paucity by integrating literature from international economics, international business, Chinese business history, and linguistics to examine the transaction costs of languages. While we recognize that languages represent both a tool in international economic transactions and a vehicle to transmit cultural values, our results point out that this tool is employed differently in international trade and in FDI. Communication costs for both FDI and international trade show a hierarchy, with English the most inexpensive among major trade languages; however, we find that communication costs are much more important in FDI than in international trade. Herein, we offer practical suggestions corporations may implement regarding the matter.     

Reappraising liabilities of foreignness within an integrated perspective of the costs and benefits of doing business abroad

Several international business scholars have elaborated upon Hymer's [Hymer, S. H. (1960). The international operations of national firms: A study of direct investment. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA] costs of doing business abroad through the liability of foreignness notion. While this research has made important contributions, there is need for more conceptual refinement and synthesis due to the vastly increased scale and scope of MNE operations in recent years. Consequently, this study attempts to more precisely delineate the liabilities of foreignness component of costs of doing business abroad from other costs/liabilities that arise from the increasing complexity of global business. Further, we synthesize both the costs and benefits of cross-border operations that accrue to the foreign subsidiary into an integrated conceptual framework, and advance 11 theoretical propositions on how those impact its competitive dynamics. We illustrate these notions through a longitudinal case study on the operations of Ford Motor Company in India over the past 80 years.     

Internationalization through business model innovation: In search of relevant design dimensions and elements

Internationalization through business model innovation involves the creation, or reinvention, of the business itself. This paper aims to integrate basic insight from the literature on business model innovation, internationalization of the firm, international entrepreneurship, and global marketing into a conceptual model. Our model illustrates that internationalization through business model innovation includes design dimensions, which are domestic or globalized in upstream production as well as in downstream markets. The outcome of this paper is four international business model types each with a specific resource allocation for dealing with differences across geographical locations and entry mode elements. We address the interrelation of these dimensions and elements in firms’ international activities.     

Experience as a catalyst of export destinations: The ambidextrous connection between international experience and past entrepreneurial experience

This paper examines how different forms of accumulated exploitable knowledge—i.e., export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience—stimulate export destinations, defined as the number of foreign markets where businesses sell their products/services. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of Costa Rican entrepreneurial businesses for 2017. Results from the sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) reveal that the ambidextrous connection between export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience is an essential prerequisite for explaining export destination figures. Also, the positive effect of export experience with the current business on export destinations is more prevalent among firms created by serial entrepreneurs. These findings corroborate our argument line on the importance of generative-based learning processes. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative analysis suggest that task-specific international experience and experience gained through past business venturing are relevant micro-foundations of international business expansion in the context of the export destinations of entrepreneurial firms.     

The Determinants of Pricing Strategies for Industrial Products in International Markets

ABSTRACT

The global marketplace is becoming increasingly complex in which to conduct business. Firms marketing consumer goods have a somewhat easier time than those selling industrial products, since more has been written about them and the international consumer goods have been analyzed for a longer period of time. In addition, the international marketing literature, has looked more at the elements of product, promotion and place than price. This literature gap has created a void in the understanding of marketers as to how to effectively price industrial products in international markets.

The paper identifies the important industrial pricing strategies in international marketing and examines the underlying determinants that affect their outcome. In addition, the specific causal relationships between the determinants and pricing strategies are examined through a logistic regression analysis.     

International acquisitions and emerging market firms' performance—a structural contingency perspective

Entry modes have impact on firms' performance in international markets. Using an organizational structural contingency perspective, we assert that firms with mechanistic structure can enhance their performance in international markets if they choose acquisitions as an entry mode. Mechanistic structure limits organizations' learning capability, which can be managed through acquisitions but not through other entry modes such as joint ventures. For managing limitations associated with the poor knowledge absorption capability of mechanistically structured organizations, firms should not follow the standard integration procedures associated with acquisitions aiming to achieve economies of scale or scope. Rather, they should provide corporate parenting advantage to the newly acquired unit by (a) granting complete autonomy and (b) contributing required resources for future growth, thus treating the acquired business as a strategic business unit. Since mechanistic structures are more common in emerging markets, we explain our perspective using illustrative caselets from these markets.