企业跨国经营中的文化影响

企业开展跨国经营,是一项极其错综复杂的工程,而文化因素在其中的地位与影响是很重要的。文化作为一个社会群体的价值体系,其共性与可预知性影响着人们的个人行为。企业在开展跨国经营时,只有了解和掌握了东道国的当地文化,方能合理地制定出企业发展的计划与措施,并合理地针对不同文化制定出合乎其具体情况的经营管理策略,以此扬长避短,提升企业的国际市场竞争力和经营管理水平。     

Strategically Surviving Bankruptcy during a Global Financial Crisis: The Importance of Understanding Chapter 15

Chapter 15 of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act allows foreign courts more power in cases that include foreign multinational firms. U.S. businesses unexpectedly have to file a claim in another country with bankruptcy rules that are sometimes drastically different from those in U.S. courts. This paper outlines the different bankruptcy laws in selected countries and exemplifies how some countries place U.S. creditors at a disadvantage relative to employees and stockholders. This knowledge should be incorporated into management's strategic contingency plans in the case of supplier or business customer default. During periods of global financial instability such as the 2008 financial crisis, an understanding of Chapter 15 is essential.     

The Social and Environmental Responsibilities of Multinationals: Evidence from the Brent Spar Case

This paper argues that multinational corporations face levels of environmental and social responsibility higher than their national counterparts. Drawing on the literatures of stakeholder salience, corporate reputation management, and evidence from the confrontation between Shell and Greenpeace over the Brent Spar, in 1995, two mechanisms – international reputation side effects, and foreign stakeholder salience – are identified and their contribution in creating an environment more restrictive, in terms of environmental and social responsibility, is elaborated on. The paper concludes with discussing the links of the work presented here with a number of ongoing debates within the filed of international business ethics, and the managerial implications of the two mechanisms identified.     

The role of family management and ownership on semi-globalization pattern of globalization: The case of family business groups

Employing a multi-level with longitudinal concern data analysis this research examines the impact from family management and ownership on semi-globalization pattern of globalization in family business groups from an integrated framework. The results reveal that the more likelihood that the controlling family utilize family management in the subsidiary, and the higher degree of pyramidal ownership in the subsidiary, the more likelihood that the family business group will choose to engage in the host regions. Additionally, family management and pyramidal ownership is positively related with the choice to engage in a higher difference region instead of a lower difference region in family business groups. The theoretical and future research implications of these findings for family enterprises and globalization research are discussed.     

Social responsibility of countries and their international trade: A gravitational approach

This article presents an econometric study based on a gravitational model estimation of the link between the prevailing social conditions in a country and its exports. It is based on an original indicator of social conditions: the Responsible Competitiveness Index (RCI) launched in 2007 by AccountAbility, the organisation that introduced the international AA1000 Standard. The regressions initially show a positive connection between the social responsibility of the countries and their exports. It is not a linear connection but shows a bell-shaped curve stronger in countries with lower levels of social responsibility (Southern countries): it can be negative in countries with high levels of social responsibility (Northern countries).     

U.S.-American and German Business Ethics:An Intercultural Comparison

The differences between the "habits of the heart" in German and U.S.-American corporations can be described by analyzing the way corporations deal with norms and values within their organizations. Whereas many U.S. corporations have introduced formal business ethics programs, German companies are very reluctant to address normative questions publicly. This can be explained by the different cultural backgrounds in both countries. By defining these different "habits of the heart" underlying German and American business ethics it is possible to show the problems and questions within the intercultural management of values, but also the possible solutions.     

The Taiwan hat industry: Pre-war roots of the post-war miracle

Taiwan's pre-war hat industry was a precursor of the export-oriented living-room factory industries which played a leading role in Taiwan's post-1960 economic miracle. After World War I, success in the global hat trade required quick reaction to ever-changing fashion. Taiwan's hat industry was based on a flexible subcontracting system which could respond quickly to fashion change and ramp up production at short notice. Taiwan's early hat industry has been overshadowed by its larger agricultural exporting industries, but the hat industry itself was, by many standards, large and influential. Evidence suggests that Taiwan's early experience in the hat trade was a key factor behind Taiwan's later post-war success.     

The Domains of Undergraduate International Business and International Management Courses in Accredited Schools of Business

ABSTRACT

This study compared undergraduate international business and international management course syllabi from 190 management departments at accredited U.S. business schools. Comparisons revealed considerable overlap in topic areas in the two courses. The findings indicate the need for greater domain clarity and differentiation in objectives, topic areas covered, and textbooks used. Domain clarification could lead to more truthful representation of the two courses, better training and disciplinary grounding of course instructors, more appropriate hosting of the courses in business school departments, and enhanced skill-sets among students in these courses. Finally, clear domain definitions are necessary for reliability and validity in international business research.     

The Cultural Convergence of MBA Education Across Australia,Singapore and Malaysia

A commonly held view among international researchers is that markets and cultures are growing closer together. This cultural convergence is believed to result from the homogenising effect of technology transfer. One force which emerges from technology transfer is the convergence of education, in particular management education This study examined the MBA experience as a factor potentially causing cultural convergence. Students in five MBA programs in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore were surveyed on cultural dimensions using Hofstede's (1980) Values Survey Module to determine whether there was cultural convergence between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the three countries. The results indicated that there was convergence between Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance and Power Distance distributions for the three countries.     

Twenty-five years of business systems research and lessons for international business studies

Since 1992, the national business systems (NBS) approach has been increasingly used to analyse not only firm characteristics, structures and strategies within NBS, but also the nature of international business and its interactions with both national and transnational institutions. In reviewing 25 years of NBS literature, we heed calls in IB journals urging researchers to use NBS notions and findings in IB research. Our systematic review of 96 articles analyses the patterns and contributions of NBS literature, revealing four thematic junctures: (1) comparative business systems, (2) firm internationalisation and the management/organisation inside MNCs, (3) the role of internationalisation in the development of organisational capabilities and innovation and (4) the emergence of transnational communities in and across firms and societies. Themes are described in terms of (a) the research questions (RQ) they focus on, (b) how NBS approach investigates the RQ and what are the major findings, (c) how IB frames and approaches the same RQ, (d) how does the NBS approach extend the perspectives of IB and (e) what are the problems faced by NBS in terms of developing further insights into the RQ. Our review contributes to the recent endeavour of IB research to institutionalism, encouraging a productive dialogue between IB and NBS research.     

对短期负债与国际金融危机关系的重新审视--基于双重代理的分析

按照金融危机理论，短期负债是造成国际金融危机的重要原因，为了防止金融危机的爆发，应该通过对短期资本流入征税等措施来限制甚至禁止短期外债。但基于双重代理的分析，短期负债会使政府采取对投资者更为有利的政策，这在确保贷款方回收贷款的同时，也提高了借款企业以及借款国的福利水平。因此，危机的原因应归结为借款方对借款能力的耗竭，而不是短期负债。     

Beyond Paternalism: Cross-cultural Perspectives on the Functioning of a Mexican Production Plant

Expatriate managers of international businesses in emerging countries often struggle to mobilize their workforces. They sometimes perceive profound cultural differences as a barrier to the progress of their organizations. Some international businesses may adopt a paternalistic attitude toward their employees; but this questionable strategy brings mixed results. Are there ways out of paternalism for international businesses in emerging areas? This paper examines the diverging views held by foreign managers and local personnel of a foreign-owned production plant in Mexico, which managed to mobilize its workforce by building a strong sense of community, allowing a certain form of collective control to replace the paternalistic model, with its bonds of personal allegiance. Contrasting perspectives between Mexican and foreign employees show that intercultural misunderstandings, rather than the peculiarities of the local culture, are the greatest challenge to cooperation.     

MNE performance during a crisis: An evolutionary perspective on the role of dynamic managerial capabilities and industry context

As the likelihood of worldwide crises increases due to globalization and the resulting economic contagion, understanding why some multinational enterprises (MNEs) prevail in such environments becomes ever more critical. Drawing from the concept of dynamic managerial capabilities, we posit that MNE in-crisis performance is associated with the pre-crisis development of asset management capabilities, or the capacity of managers to orchestrate assets so as to extract more value from the firm’s resource pool. Specifically, we argue that because dynamic managerial capabilities evolve as a response to a firm’s task environment, MNEs that operate in dynamic industries develop stronger asset management capabilities. However, we also posit that whether these capabilities contribute to in-crisis performance is contingent upon the munificence of the industry environment in which the capability evolves. Asset management capabilities that evolve in munificent environments would encompass a wider spectrum of routine-altering activities, and thus increase the ability of the MNE to react to more revolutionary events, such as global economic crises. Conversely, asset management capabilities that evolve in resource-scarce environments will result in more strategic lock-in due to firms' constrained ability to experiment with novel resource configurations, resulting in poorer in-crisis performance. We test our hypotheses using a sample of 854 MNEs in the context of the global financial crisis of 2008, and find support for our hypotheses. We discuss implications for the dynamic capabilities view and MNE resilience.     

The great trade collapse and the Spanish export miracle: Firm‐level evidence from the crisis

We provide novel evidence on the microstructure of international trade during the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent global recession by exploring a rich firm‐level data set from Spain. The focus of our analysis is on changes at the extensive and intensive firm‐level margins of trade, as well as on performance differences (jobs, productivity and firm survival) across firms that differ in their export status. We find no adverse effects of the financial crisis on foreign market entry or exit, but a considerable increase in the export intensity of firms after the financial crisis. Moreover, we find that exporters were more resilient to the crisis than non‐exporters. Finally, while exporters showed a significantly more favourable development of total factor productivity after 2009 than non‐exporters, aggregate productivity declined substantially in a large number of industries in Spanish manufacturing. We also briefly explore two factors that might help explain the surprisingly strong export performance of Spain in the aftermath of the great trade collapse: improved aggregate competitiveness due to internal and external devaluation and a substitutive relationship between domestic and foreign sales at the firm level.     

会计准则国际趋同：国家利益分析及其调整——基于国际制度合作理论的研究

会计准则国际趋同是我国会计准则建设工程的战略选择,如何看待这种战略选择与国家经济利益维护之间的关系,在会计准则国际趋同过程中,如何公平、公正与合理地实现利益共享、权益双赢,从而促进全球经济和谐有序发展,成为人们十分关注的问题。本文借鉴国际经济关系制度合作理论,在分析会计准则国际趋同战略价值的基础上,论述了会计准则国际趋同与制度合作、与国家经济利益之间的关系,并提出了在会计准则国际趋同过程中进一步调整国家利益、完善制度环境的基本对策。     

金融危机前后加拿大MNEs对华FDI变化轨迹——基于国际化风险感知与企业资源基础观视角

经济全球化不断深化促进了各国之间的经济联系,也使得国际金融危机引发的国际化风险在各国之间加剧传导扩散。面临宏观环境风险、行业环境风险和企业内部风险的困扰,跨国公司的对外直接投资会发生什么样的变化并未在已有的研究文献中受到关注。文章通过以管理者国际化风险感知、企业资源优势和跨国公司的对外直接投资决策构建的齿轮互动模型详细分析了国际金融危机引发的跨国公司国际化风险及其传导扩散。最后以国际金融危机前后加拿大跨国公司对华直接投资的数据,探究了加拿大跨国公司对华直接投资的变动轨迹,并通过实证分析揭示了其变动机理。     

企业管理审计主要内容与方法初探

管理审计作为一种新的审计类别,有其特定内容和方法。作者从企业的战略、组织结构、计划及内部控制等方面审计着手,发现企业经营管理的薄弱环节和问题,并提出行之有效的管理审计程序和方法,有利于企业改进管理审计的思路,从系统整体的高度充分挖掘企业生产力诸要素的潜在能力,优化整体结构,改进企业管理。     

The Five Stages of Executive Coaching: Better Process Makes Better Practice

There remains a paucity of research investigating the efficacy of executive coaching. Ambiguity surrounds its definition, its methodology and outcomes. Despite this, the executive coaching remains a viable business proposition. Practitioners bring services to the business community offering services that transcend traditional performance management consultations establishing independent “performance-driven” relationships with executives. This paper examines the process of coaching suggesting that a better understanding of process will enhance practice efficacy and accelerates empirical investigations. In addition, ethical, confidential and legal issues require attention when planning to utilize an executive coach. All this implicates the need to better understand coaching – and how it typically operates. Case studies are provided in the examination of coaching consultations in Fortune 100 settings.     

塔里木大学食堂经营管理中的问题及对策

为加强学校食堂管理,确保学校食堂正常运营并在运营过程中获得良好的效益,本文对塔里木大学食堂管理模式和存在问题进行深入的分析,探索出适合学校餐厅发展的管理、运营模式及对策,在减轻学校经济负担的同时提高服务质量,确保师生饮食,营造社会化就餐环境和就餐环境的人文氛围。