Multinational enterprises’ risk mitigation strategies in emerging markets: A political coalition perspective

This paper contributes to the IB literature by investigating MNEs’ risk mitigation strategies in emerging markets. Drawing on institutional perspectives and March’s theoretical concept of forming a ‘political coalition’, we propose that risk mitigation cannot be limited to passive compliance and/or demonstrating good corporate behavior, but should extend to collective efforts by building a political coalition and working with key stakeholders to manage potential risk and obtain favorable outcomes in complex institutional environments. In considering MNEs in contemporary China and India, we offer different types of risk mitigation strategies under various institutional contexts and a framework for future research.     

International entrepreneurship research in emerging economies: A critical review and research agenda

This article systematically reviews and critically examines international entrepreneurship research in emerging economies (IEEE research), and articulates its importance, timeliness and relevance in consideration of the growing influence of emerging markets in the global economy. A systematic analysis of eighty-eight journal articles published over the last two decades reveals that IEEE research is a vibrant and rapidly growing stream of the broader international entrepreneurship (IE) domain, and that it is methodologically and topically diverse. Our review also shows that IEEE research has a limited presence in premier journals, is highly skewed in its geographic coverage, and is somewhat fragmented. We therefore inventory and critically evaluate the extant IEEE research with the aim of increasing its quality, coherence, scope, and impact. On the basis of our critique, we develop an ambitious research agenda that addresses a number of emergent global phenomena and raises exciting new questions for scholars in entrepreneurship, international business, and other related disciplines.     

Corporate governance and MNE strategies in emerging economies

We explore factors of convergence and divergence in corporate governance of emerging and developed market economies, focussing on the role of firm internationalisation. In particular, foreign investments by emerging economy firms led to upgrade of their governance capabilities. These firms also became advocates for home-country policy reforms that mandated the development of similar capabilities for local firms. We present a broad overview of the literature and propose an approach that considers the evolution of corporate governance, both at the national level and the firm level, with MNEs from both emerging market economies and developed economies as active actors in this process.     

MNE translation of corporate talent management strategies to subsidiaries in emerging economies

The rise of emerging economies in recent years has motivated calls for research into how multinational enterprises translate their corporate strategies to subsidiaries in these countries. This study addresses this issue and presents a heuristic framework derived from the resource-based view and neo-institutional theory. We propose that the translation of corporate talent management strategies to emerging economies is affected by metropolitan and provincial institutional and cultural differences. We develop propositions pertaining to corporate-local level decision-making, community relations, skills shortages, and diversity, to inform future research and practice.     

Graft and business in emerging economies: An ecological perspective

In this study we examine how a firm's engagement in graft in emerging economies is shaped by its organizational attributes. Building on the logic of organizational ecology, we envisage that a firm's engagement in graft is influenced by its (1) institutional structure (e.g., public ownership, foreign ownership, and government ownership), (2) market orientation (foreign vs. local market), and (3) firm capabilities (e.g., capacity utilization, product quality, and leadership quality). Using the World Bank's data, we analyzed 1782 firms in China, Brazil, Russia, Poland and South Africa, and found general support for our argument. The results suggest that a firm's engagement in graft is, at least in part, an organizational phenomenon influenced by the firm's founding conditions, required legitimization in the market, and capability conditions.     

Corporate governance in emerging economies: Understanding the game

Corporations now face the oftentimes daunting task of integrating the interests of multiple stakeholders. The general intent behind this multiple stakeholder focus has been to ensure that corporations operate for the benefit of society as a whole, with corporate governance in the oversight role for all activities. Our research suggests doing business in an emerging economy is confounded by the fact that rules, regulations, and marketplace expectations of the home market do not apply. Due to their evolving nature, the environments in emerging economies are uncertain and complex. Governance is not just an oversight issue related to making the most appropriate decisions. Instead, responsible governance in emerging markets entails governing bodies understanding the characteristics of the unsettled environment in which the company is, or will be, operating. Four major characteristics (demographic trends, technological development, natural resources, and political/legal unease) of emerging economies have led to significant challenges and stormy passage with respect to governance. The continual evolution and understanding of these factors must, of necessity, shape a company's governance process in the developing marketplace.     

Exploring and investigating sustainable international business practices by MNEs in emerging markets

While there are a number of dimensions to sustainability, ranging from the environmental to the social, a common assumption in the literature is that firms from the mature markets are more likely to have the capacity and indeed, rationale to take sustainability more seriously. Emerging market counterparts, MNEs included, are seen to lag behind in sustainable practices. However, recent developments challenge this conventional wisdom. This article introduces the special issue on ‘Sustainable International Business Practices by MNEs in Emerging Markets, and highlights emerging themes which are promising future directions for theoretical and empirical enquiry.     

Co-evolution of emerging economy MNEs and institutions: A literature review

This paper provides a review of the existing literature about the co-evolution of emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) and institutions and proposes directions for future study. We find that many existing studies involving the institution-EMNE relationship focus on the impact of institutions on EMNEs, and the research on their co-evolution is very limited in terms of emerging economies involved and theories and research methods applied. Given varieties of the institution-EMNE relationship we call for more studies by applying more contextualized theoretical perspectives and innovative and multiple research methods to advance our knowledge about the topic.     

How strategic orientations influence the building of dynamic capability in emerging economies

Under the fierce pressures of the fast changing environments that characterize emerging economies, firms must develop dynamic capabilities to survive the competition. This study examines how strategic orientation helps build dynamic capability and its contingencies in China's emerging economy. A survey of 380 firms indicates strategic orientations are important drivers of adaptive capability, a key element of dynamic capabilities. The effectiveness of strategic orientations is contingent on market dynamics. In particular, when market demand becomes increasingly uncertain, customer orientation has a weaker impact, whereas technology orientation has a stronger effect on adaptive capability. As competition intensifies, both competitor and technology orientations build adaptive capability more effectively.     

Outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies: escaping home country regulative voids

The internationalisation of multinationals from emerging economies raises the question of whether mainstream theory can explain this phenomenon. We combine the explanations of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) provided by the institution-based view and the investment development path (IDP) and suggest that the combined use of these explanations contributes to the reconciliation of the mainstream and emerging views of internationalisation. We argue that although OFDI is undertaken by firms to overcome the competitive disadvantages resulting from home country regulative voids, escapist investment is facilitated if these firms possess certain competitive advantages that help them overcome the liability of foreignness when expanding abroad. We thus expect the impact of regulative voids on OFDI to vary with the level of local firms’ ownership advantages. Our analysis of OFDI flows from 29 emerging economies over 17 years (1995–2011) provides support for the direct effects of two types of regulative voids and for the three suggested moderating effects of firms’ competitive advantages.     

Context,market economies and MNEs: The example of financial incentivization

This is a study of the relative utilization of reward systems within and between capitalist archetypes: the study includes not only a closer focus on diversity within and between coordinated market economies, but pays specific attention to the Japanese case, and a systematic comparison of the reward practices adopted by multinational enterprises vis-à-vis their local peers. The study uses the most recent (at the time of writing) wave of the Cranet international survey of HRM. We found clear, firm-level evidence that share schemes and performance related pay exhibit significant differences both within and between varieties of capitalism, highlighting the extent to which key features of reward system continue to vary according to institutional setting, and whether an organization is multinational or not.     

De-industrialisation,comparative economic performance and FDI inflows in emerging economies

We address calls to incorporate comparative political economy considerations into IB scholarship. In particular, we conceptualise and test empirically the hitherto unexplored relationship between de-industrialisation and relative performance of groups of countries, and FDI inflows in emerging economies. Using a panel dataset over the period 1996–2004 and employing conceptual and methodological innovations (not least the use of comparative independent variables), we find support for the ideas that relative de-industrialisation of developed economies will increase FDI inflows into emerging economies, while the relative under-performance of developed countries will reduce it. We also find that divergence in business cycles-de-coupling between the two groups of countries fosters FDI inflows in emerging economies. These help explain and predict recent changes in the global business landscape and inform public policy and managerial practice.     

Impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments: Evidence from some emerging economies

This study investigates the impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments in the context of emerging economies. Using a dataset of listed firms from India, China and Russia over the period 2007–2014, we find strong and robust evidence indicating that board gender diversity is negatively related to cash dividend payments in all emerging economies. Moreover, we find that state-ownership positively moderates the relationship between gender diversity and dividend payments. However, this effect is observed only for China and Russia. In additional analyses, we find that the negative link between board gender diversity and dividend payments is more pronounced during the financial crisis. However, the moderating role of state-ownership does not remain significant during the financial crisis.     

Risk management,legitimacy, and the overseas subsidiary performance of emerging market MNEs

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are exposed to substantial risks when operating abroad and effective risk management plays a key role in determining firms’ competitiveness and success in overseas markets. Integrating the notion of home-country government-created advantages with the legitimacy perspective, we look at a concrete manifestation of government-created advantages, the impact of home-country risk-safeguarding mechanisms on Chinese MNEs’ overseas subsidiary performance. Moreover, we examine their effect under the contingency of firms’ legitimacy in host countries. Using survey data, we find that Chinese MNEs’ overseas subsidiary performance is positively associated with the use of home-country risk-safeguarding mechanisms. The strength of this association depends on Chinese firms’ legitimacy in host countries. The low level of legitimacy of these firms with host-country government and business communities can generate a negative spill-over effect that compromises the role of home-country risk-safeguarding mechanisms.     

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.     

The emergence of multi-sided platform MNEs: Internalization theory and networks

The rise of the digital economy provides firms across the globe with unique business opportunities. Companies such as Facebook, Alibaba, and Uber are competing in a new multi-sided platform world; the primary focus of these firms, from their inception, is to provide digital infrastructure, information and technology—intangible assets that enable direct interaction or value creation across platforms by linking different user group and complementors, often at the international level. Building on data drawn from multinational multisided Platform corporations (MMPCs) operating in China, we combine insights from internalization theory and network effects in understanding the value creation of such firms. We explore the boundaries of these new “breed” of MNEs in exploiting firm-specific advantages (FSAs) and in creating new knowledge between headquarters and subsidiaries. The findings suggest that internalization theory needs to shift its focus from the ‘boundaries of the firm’ to the ‘boundaries of the local network’. By integrating their internal and external networks of knowledge in adapting their business models in host markets, this new breed of MNEs is more likely than the traditional one to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in the new information age.     

Bring institutions into FDI spillover research: Exploring the impact of ownership restructuring and institutional development in emerging economies

Extant studies exploring the influences of foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers on the productivity of local firms have provided conflicting evidence. In particular, they have largely overlooked the important role of institutional mechanisms in the host market in understanding the sources of the variation in FDI spillover effects on the productivity of local firms, especially in the context of emerging markets. Using a comprehensive panel data set of manufacturing firms in China during 1998–2007, our paper presents an integrative framework of how FDI spillovers affect the productivity of local firms in emerging markets. We identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between FDI spillovers and the productivity of local firms in China. This result suggests the coexistence of and the interplay between the opposing mechanisms of FDI spillover learning opportunity and adverse competition. Drawing on the institution-based view, this study also develops contingency frameworks and arguments to explore the question of if FDI spillover effects are contingent on, or independent of, a local institutional context especially in emerging markets. We find that institutional mechanisms, such as the institutionally determined ownership restructuring and the different levels of subnational institutional development within the host emerging market, significantly shape the variation of FDI spillover effects on the productivity of local firms. This research highlights the importance of incorporating institutional effects in understanding the FDI spillover effects in emerging markets.     

Validating the innovation prowess framework for firms in emerging economies facing tight regulatory regimes: the case of Indian pharmaceutical firms

ABSTRACT

The purpose is to investigate the generalizability of an innovation prowess framework, developed for firms in developed countries, for firms in emerging economies facing tight regulatory regimes. Using a qualitative approach we investigate key informants in six firms, supported by secondary documents and the business press, as well as in-depth organizational observation within one organization. Academic evidence suggests there are four factors – one external (industry structure) and three internal (economic structure of the firm, organizational structure of the firm, and historical development of the firm) – that drive the innovation prowess of firms. While firms in developed economies take such factors as the norm, firms in developing countries face evolving norms and internal challenges to comply with tighter regulatory regimes; however, the research suggests that impact of these four factors appear to be similar to those faced by firms in developed countries. Our research contributes by seeking to broaden our understanding of innovation prowess in emerging country contexts. Innovation in these markets is generally less well understood, especially as they adapt to the tighter regulatory regimes required to compete in global markets (e.g. WTO).     

A comparative ownership advantage framework for cross-border M&As: The rise of Chinese and Indian MNEs

MNEs from emerging economies (EE MNEs) have recently undertaken aggressive cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). This phenomenon challenges the current understanding in the international business literature. Integrating the comparative advantage theory with Dunning's OLI paradigm, this article develops a comparative ownership advantage framework characterized by five attributes: (1) national-industrial factor endowments, (2) dynamic learning, (3) value creation, (4) reconfiguration of value chain, and (5) institutional facilitation and constraints. We test five propositions with a dataset of 1526 cross-border M&As by Chinese and Indian MNEs from 2000 to 2008. Preliminary results support the new comparative ownership advantage framework.     

How do business and political Networking shape overseas dispute resolution for state-owned enterprise from emerging economies

We examine how networking in host countries by state-owned multinational enterprises from emerging economies (EMNEs) influences the approaches used to resolve interfirm disputes in overseas markets. To test our hypotheses, we surveyed 127 senior Chinese executives working for overseas subsidiaries in 56 countries. The results indicate that EMNEs’ business networking experience facilitates the adoption of the cooperative approach in subsequent interfirm disputes but has an insignificant effect on the competitive approach. In contrast, EMNEs’ political networking experience enables them to avoid a competitive approach but has a negligible effect on the cooperative approach. Although the business networking experience of state-owned EMNEs headquartered in the capital is conducive to facilitating the cooperative approach, their political networking experience is ineffective in avoiding the competitive approach and even hinders their adoption of the cooperative approach. Overall, we highlight how networking with the key institutional actors in host countries affects EMNEs’ post-entry operations.