Evolution of an international joint venture: The case of a French‐Brazilian joint venture

Considering the situation of low performance of joint ventures, a certain number of studies have concluded that there is a close relationship between the initial conditions of creation of joint ventures and their success or failure. Nevertheless, other explanatory factors can be identified through dynamic analysis of the joint venture. For this purpose, on the basis of the case of the Franco‐Brazilian Algar‐Bull joint venture in the information technology sector, from its creation in 1983 to its dissolution in 1998, the aim of our research is to study the influence of external evolution processes ( partners' adaptive strategies and changes in environmental constraints) on the success or failure of a joint venture. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Customer co-creation projects and social media: The case of Barilla of Italy

This article investigates a social media-enabled, customer co-creation project that employs front-end innovation (FEI) at a well-known, large-scale food manufacturer. It sheds light on the role of social media technology in transforming the characteristics of FEI in terms of boundaries and knowledge distance. What type of exploratory or exploitative innovation ideas does a project of this sort enable? How did the project evolve? What lessons can be learned from this project? A longitudinal case study of Barilla was carried out through two rounds of interviews with marketing, business development and innovation, and digital communication managers. The evidence gathered highlights the emergent evolution of this customer co-creation project from an initial stage of idea exploitation to a more complex and fruitful stage in which both exploitation and exploration were simultaneously accomplished.     

An econometric test of the self-employment model: The case of Italy

In this paper the authors put forward their attempt to test a self-employment model using an Italian data set which collects information about 78 Italian provinces (out of 95) over the period of 1985–1988. The self-employment model is introduced as a useful way to explain the formation of new small firms and subsequently previous econometric studies based on this model are discussed and compared.Once the empirical definitions of the variables are clarified, the econometric specification is introduced in Section 4 and results are discussed in Section 5 and 6.The general outcome of the estimates backs to a certain extent the self-employment approach which has already been tested with good results both in the U.K. and in the U.S. As far as the income choice is concerned, it turns out to be important in explaining the birth of new small firms. With regard to the role of job-losses, they also turn out to be significantly correlated with the high rates of firm formation.On the other hand, the discussion reported in Section 5 underlines the importance of other environmental factors which were not included in the original specification of Section 4. In particular, if the numerosity of the existing small firms is taken into account, self-employment relationships lose some of their significance. p]The laborer asks what he thinks the entrepreneur will be able to pay, and in any case will not accept less than he can get from some other entrepreneur, or by turning entrepreneur himself. In the same way the entrepreneur offers to any laborer what he thinks he must in order to secure his services, and in any case not more than he thinks the laborer will actually be worth to him, keeping in mind what he can get by turning laborer himself.Knight, 1921, p. 273     

Expectations,network effects and timing of technology adoption: some empirical evidence from a sample of SMEs in Italy

We provide evidence on the influence of expectations and network effects on the timing of technological adoption. By considering a sample of SMEs operating in Italy, we focus on the determinants of their decision to adopt Fast Ethernet, a communication standard for Local Area Networks (LANs). We find that both expectations and network effects significantly affect the timing of adoption. In particular, price expectations generally tend to delay adoption and (indirect) network effects in the form of backward compatibility as well as informational spillovers tend to foster adoption. Firm size also matters.

On exports and economic growth: the case of Italy

The export-led growth hypothesis for the Italian economy (1960-98) is tested through a VAR model with four macroeconomic variables: an index of the GDP of the rest of the world; the Italian real exchange rate; Italian real exports; and the Italian real GDP. Our results provide clear empirical support for the hypothesis. They also suggest that the Kaldorian approach is very useful in analysing short-run as well as long-run growth and fluctuations of an open economy such as Italy.     

Paths of evolution for the Chinese migrant entrepreneurship: a multiple case analysis in Italy

Chinese diaspora is one of the most important areas in the field of immigrant entrepreneurship and the Chinese case is, for absolute numbers, entrepreneurship rates and scientific attention, one of the most significant phenomena in the world and in Italy. While much of the literature on the topic focuses on ethnic networks and social ties, there is a lack of studies that acknowledge the role of business networks in the later growth of migrant entrepreneurship, when the importance of social ties within the ethnic community diminishes. This paper tries to answer the following research question: Which is the role of ethnic networks and business networks in the path of evolution of Chinese migrant entrepreneurship? Thus, the paper analyses the structure and characteristics of ethnic networks and business networks and the role of each in the growth and evolution of Chinese migrant entrepreneurship. Our research considers business networks as the main focus of analysis that may replace social ties in consolidating insidership in new business settings and in finding new opportunities. A qualitative methodology is adopted, namely a multiple case study. Five cases of individual Chinese companies settled in a specific area are presented, for which the networks in which they are involved are traced and analysed. The case analysis shows that in the evolution of Chinese migrant entrepreneurship, ethnic networks are very important in the early phases of the business, but the role of cross-cultural business networks becomes relevant for further development. Implications—managerial and for policy makers—are highlighted and discussed.     

Likeability as a measure of advertising effectiveness: the case of financial services

Television advertising for financial services accounts for over one-third of total financial services advertising expenditure, yet there is evidence to suggest it is not very well done. Given the difficulties advertisers have to overcome in terms of promoting an intangible product in accordance with tight restrictions on advertising content and format to a largely uninvolved audience, it becomes all the more imperative to study how viewers judge financial services commercials. This paper presents the findings of a study which seeks to establish which elements, if any, of a financial services commercial first make it likeable to its target audience, second motivate the viewer to seek more information about the service being advertised and, third, have an effect on the image the viewer has of the advertiser. Some interesting findings from the research point to the similarities between the emerging factors for viewers' affective reactions to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and financial services commercials and the extent to which likeability mediates the influence which advertisement execution features have on subsequent behavioural intentions.     

Knowledge complementarity,knowledge absorption effectiveness,and new product performance: The exploration of international joint ventures in China

Firms use international joint ventures (IJVs) to access and learn from partners’ knowledge and thus enhance their new product performance, especially when the partners have complementary knowledge bases. Most of the existing literature assumes that knowledge complementarity can directly lead to enhanced new product performance, while ignoring the mediating role of knowledge absorption effectiveness and moderating effects of organizational structure and organizational culture to integrate and manage knowledge complementarity. Using dyadic data from 119 IJVs in China, this article suggests that knowledge complementarity influences IJV new product performance through the full mediation of knowledge absorption effectiveness. Also, the results suggest that an IJV's departmentalization of organizational structure significantly hurts the effect of knowledge complementarity on knowledge absorption effectiveness, while a strong learning culture of the IJV can significantly enhance such effects.     

International joint ventures in the United States: An examination of factors related to their effectiveness

The increasing popularity of international joint ventures (IJVs) and their high failure rate prompted this examination of pre- and postincorporation factors related to IJV effectiveness. Interviews with IJV CEOs, and the findings from a questionnaire administered to CEOs of 81 IJVs in the United States, suggest which pre- and postincorporation factors can be important to IJVs' effectiveness. Why these factors are important, and how they interact with other factors in the general context of IJV experiences are also explored in this article. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Small firms and technological development in the food processing machinery industry: The case of pasta and other cereal derivative machines in Italy

This study about Italian producers of machines and plants for pasta, basic cereals, snacks and bread factories attempts to shed some light on the role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Italian industry. Even if the high diffusion of SMEs has positively affected the performance of Italian economy during the seventies and the eighties, the new trends of technological change and global competition are expected to be unfavourable to this category of enterprises in the nineties. The analyses of a significant sample of firms makes clear that the industry is in the middle of a positive restructuring process. The structure of this sector shows a division of labour based on deverticalization of production, and a process of internationalization focused on exports and not on direct investments or joint ventures abroad. Leading firms are following growth strategies by new investments and acquisitions. Finally, as far as technological change is concerned, there is a significant increase of process innovations, thanks to the use of electronic components.An earlier release of this paper was presented at 7th EARIE (European Association for Research in Industrial Economics) Annual Conference in Lisbon, September 2–4 1990. We thank all the participants for their comments and suggestions, in particular P. Dunne.     

The joint effects of social identity and institutional pressures on audit quality: The case of the Chinese Audit Industry

This article examines how social identity links institutional pressures and audit quality. Combining institutional theory and social identity theory, we theoretically argue that the interaction between social and institutional forces shapes audit quality. Through an analysis of Chinese audit firms from 2000 to 2007, we show that isomorphic imitation has a more significant effect on firms belonging to the same-identity group than firms across cross-identity groups; foreign-affiliated audit firms are more willing to conform to normative pressure from professional networks than local firms; and foreign-affiliated firms are coerced to adapt to the local government’s expectation, particularly when they have a geographically concentrated customer base. We further reveal that a larger customer base attenuates within-identity group imitation but strengthens cross-identity group imitation. The results shed light on the role of social identity in shaping conformity in the audit industry, thus contributing to international convergence–divergence literature and institutional theory.     

Market reaction to international joint venture announcement: The case of developed versus less developed countries

Joint ventures across national borders are more advantageous than other forms of international diversification because they afford a better control of technology usage, require a minimal level of cash investment, and present a more effective means of avoiding intervention from the host government. All of these characteristics make international joint ventures uniquely suitable for investments in less developed countries. This paper ascertains whether investors agree with the above sentiment by examining the stock market response to 41 announcements of international joint ventures during 1985-1987, using the event study method. It was found that the stock of the multinational corporations announcing international joint ventures generally outperforms the market In addition, the market reaction to the announcement of international joint ventures in less developed countries is, on average, more favorable than its reaction to the announcement of international joint ventures in developed countries.     

Business ethics in Italy: The state of the art

Up until now, the work which has been done in Italy might be considered of a preparatory nature. In 1985 and in 1986, the association of Catholic businessmen produced two documents on the ethical implications of economic activity. But in those years, the world of big business, had not yet realised how central the argument was becoming.The first significant signs of interest for business ethics appeared in 1987. In June, 1988, the first Italian National Conference on Business Ethics took place in Milan. The main outcome of that conference has been the constitution of the Italian Chapter of the European Network. In 1988, I founded the first issue of the journal entitled Etica degli-Affari. Promotional efforts have developped along two lines. The first regards programs of executive training and, eventually, consulting. In the second place, efforts are being made to elaborate and introduce codes of ethics in Italian corporations. There are, however, some very fundamental difficulties involved in the promotion of Business Ethics in Italy. The first problem is the fact that Italy is a country with a low ethical temperature. We don't have a strong sense of national identity, nor do we have a strong sense of the state. The second difficulty has to do with the business environment — the Italian business community itself. As a self-conscious, self-aware nucleus of a sector of society, the Italian business community is a very recent, and rather minoritarian social phenomenon.I personally feel that a certain protagonism on the part of prominent business leaders who are quite sensitive to the theme of ethics would prove to be very influential and greatly accelerate the process.Mario Unnia is managing director of Prospecta, a research firm, Milan, Italy. He has lectured and published extensively in the fields of Business and Public Policy, Corporate Culture and Labour Relations. He has founded and is chairman of the Italian Business Ethics Network. He is editor of Etica degli Affari.