How novel actors achieve a positive reputation: A case of prep schools with elite‐level hockey programs

How are novel organizations able to build a positive reputation while attempting to enter into a system with established organizations? To address this, we examined the field of elite‐level amateur hockey. Private Secondary Schools (PSS) are novel in that they offer a nontraditional pathway for players with respect to fielding elite‐level hockey teams. Findings from interviews with PSS with elite‐level hockey programs revealed that PSS highlight their Selection Processes, Player Development Practices, and the enhanced Player Experience in an effort to build a positive reputation. This study contributes to the literature on reputation by showing that novel organizations can build a reputation through highlighting the unique value they add. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Editorial

This article explores how playing games can be used to teach intangible social interaction across boundaries, in particular within open collaborative innovation. We present an exploratory case study of how students learned from playing a board game in a graduate course of the international and interdisciplinary Innovation and Business master's program in Denmark. We identify several important themes related to the process of learning through playing and the social dynamics of open collaborative innovation, while we also highlight possible caveats of “playing” and practicing open innovation. Our findings imply several opportunities and challenges within education and beyond.     

Looking Back to Move Forward: A Review of the Evolution of Research in International Marketing Channels

Over the past fifty years, the scope of research on international marketing channels has significantly evolved. From an early focus on factors influencing the expansion of marketing channels internationally, the literature now investigates a myriad of topics related to the challenges of selecting channel structures and managing channel relationships. This article investigates the evolution of international marketing channels research by reviewing 353 international channels-related articles published from 1965 to 2014 under a periodization approach. The assessment of the state and evolution of the literature is used as a foundation for the identification of emerging themes that will move the field of international marketing channels forward.     

Profiling mass affluent luxury goods consumers in China: A psychographic approach

This article focuses on the main group of luxury goods consumers in China, the Chinese elite, who are of critical importance for marketing luxury goods. First, after defining the Chinese elite, we identify the relevant dimensions to segment this mass affluent group: conspicuous/functional, individualist/collectivist, impulsive/rational, and propensity to innovate. Second, we show the emergence of four clusters along these psychographic dimensions but also sociodemographic and geographic characteristics: luxury lovers, luxury followers, luxury intellectuals, and luxury laggards. Third, we present examples of consumers' profiles in each cluster and illustrate these examples with excerpts from in‐depth interviews. Finally, we show how this approach can help managers to identify Chinese elite luxury segments and efficiently target them. We propose segmented or crossover marketing strategies and conclude with recommendations for a better understanding of innovativeness, enhancing brand loyalty, and reducing postpurchase guilt, with respect to these segments. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Managing distance in international purchasing and supply: a systematic review of literature from the resource-based view perspective

The aim of this research is to find out how the extant literature on international purchasing and supply management (PSM) covers the elements of capability from the perspective of distance. A priori, we form a framework of capability driving elements and conclude that distance—in its multiple dimensions—is the fundamental management aspect in international PSM. Equipped with analytical frameworks and a bottom–up process for identifying emergent themes, a systematic literature review was conducted on a representative sample of scholarly literature on international PSM, using the NVivo analysis software and a data display as tools. We identify several capability relevant themes from the literature, and provide a distance-based a posteriori conceptualisation of international PSM, founded in the information processing theory, with the source-user, user-user and source-source distance types driving the information processing requirements, and loading avoidance, policy-based and enhancement mechanisms determining the information processing capacity.     

Equines and their human companions

Previous research related to marketing describes deep emotional bonds that develop between humans and their pets (primarily cats and dogs). Another multi-billion-dollar international market that needs exploration flows from the highly-involving bonds between humans and their horses. Horses are not pets, but the study of equine relationships with humans generates insights into animal-companion interactions. This article reports results of an interpretive phenomenological investigation of the relationship between humans and their horses, using participant observations, in-depth interviews, and written open-ended questions including the critical-incident technique. Analysis of the data first addresses a priori themes from the animal-companionship literature and identifies themes found, themes with a twist, and themes not found. The article then discusses seven emergent themes unique to human-horse relationships — including physicality, partnership, bonding through adversity, flow experience, communitas, spirituality, and life lessons.     

Franchising in African markets: Motivations and challenges from a Sub‐Saharan African country perspective

The purpose of this article is to explore and understand the motivations and challenges of franchising in an African economy. While interest in franchising is increasing in African markets, there is a paucity of research on franchising from the perspective of local African firms participating in these international relationships. The motivations and challenges of franchising from the perspective of African businesses have not been largely investigated so far. Using in‐depth interviews, we allow motivations and challenges at play to emerge. Convenient and snowball sampling techniques were used for choosing the unit of analysis, which resulted in four respondent firms. A thematic approach was adopted for analyzing the data from the field. Support services, brand name, and franchisor's experience are identified to be the motivations for franchising. Financial assistance from the franchisor, demand, and competition also play a key role in an African firm's decision to franchise. Legal constraints and infrastructure constraints were the key challenges faced by franchisees in Ghana. The findings of this study may hold for franchisees in other African markets. However, contextual differences may be considered in the application of these findings.     

Expatriate return on investment in the Asia Pacific: An empirical study of individual ROI versus corporate ROI

The return on investment (ROI) from international assignments is a crucial aspect of expatriate management. The literature has taken a mostly organizational perspective of this important phenomenon, with little attention to the ‘individual ROI’ expatriates gain when undertaking an assignment. Especially lacking is research on expatriate ROI in the Asia Pacific region. Based on interviews with 31 long-term expatriates in 10 Asian countries, we use psychological contract theory to examine (1) how ‘individual ROI’ acts as a key driver of ‘corporate ROI’ and (2) the challenges and opportunities that expatriation in the Asia Pacific presents to individuals and organizations.     

From international new ventures to MNCs: Crossing the chasm effect on internationalization paths

This paper explores the market expansion path of knowledge-based international new ventures (KINVs) toward multinational corporations (MNCs) over time and identifies relevant enabling factors. Integrating crossing the chasm and international new venture (INV) theories, we analyzed international expansion paths of four KINVs headquartered in three countries (the U.S., Japan, and Israel). Based on trademark data, triangulated by both sales data and primary interviews of corporate executives, we proposed an integrative framework to examine the effect of crossing the chasm on market expansion paths towards MNCs. Our findings suggest that KINVs that cross the chasm in lead market are more likely to become MNCs. Our studies also identify several important factors that enable KINVs toward MNCs; these enabling factors include firm-specific assets and capabilities (e.g., proven products, R&D expertise, intellectual property assets, brands and reputation), partnership with leading customers, and collaborators built during the dynamic process of crossing the chasm.     

Advancing societal grand challenge research at the interface of entrepreneurship and international business: A review and research agenda

Societal grand challenges are increasingly attracting the attention of both entrepreneurship and international business scholars. While entrepreneurship focuses on the opportunities that emerge and need for bold and innovative solutions, international business research emphasizes the global reach of the challenges and role of multinational enterprises. Although both conversations are insightful, we argue that examining one without the other gives an incomplete picture on how to address grand challenges. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review of the conversation on grand challenges in the international business and entrepreneurship literature. Upon synthesizing the results, we create an integrated framework and research agenda for viewing grand challenges through an international entrepreneurial lens.     

What's Gender Got to Do with It? The Experiences of U.S. Women Entrepreneurship Students

The purpose of this case study was to understand the gendered experiences women students report while participating in a university entrepreneurship program. This qualitative study sought to shed light on some of the unanswered questions about women’s experiences by interviewing women entrepreneurship students and their faculty members at a university site. The data were analyzed through the lens of Acker’s theory of gendered organizations. From these data, themes were identified that can in turn help enrich entrepreneurship programs in the future.     

Mapping the evolution,current state of affairs and future research direction of managing cross-border knowledge for innovation

This paper systematically reviews the relationship between cross-border knowledge flows and innovation across several literature strands in international business, management, strategy and innovation. We contribute to the international business literature by documenting, for the first time, the evolving nature of the relationship between cross-border knowledge flows and innovation, across several themes. In particular, our unique reviewing technique allows us to uncover and map in detail how the cross-disciplinary literature strands have explored the topic in the past, how it has developed to our current level of understanding as well as giving insights into where the literature is likely to head and develop in the future. Our numerous findings cover both empirical and conceptual developments, which in turn have their origins partly in other disciplines. Knowing the interrelationships between disciplines on this topic offers us a rare insight into the complex nature of previous and ongoing research from which we draw a number of important implications for theory, practice as well as future avenues for research, through five pivotal areas, to which we contribute.     

Exploring unheard voices: Best practices in interviewing women prosumers in Indian subsistence contexts

A growing body of literature is focused on subsistence markets and how marketing interventions can increase well-being for those whose daily existence is a struggle to ensure access to necessities of life. To understand the lifeworld of those living at the subsistence level, interviews are favored as a data collection tool. This methodological paper examines interviewing in the subsistence context with a focus on women whose lived experiences are affected by the intersection of gender, power imbalance, and culture. The study context is India. Specifically, we draw upon data from three previous author-conducted academic studies and conduct a reflective analysis that leads to a series of reflections and recommendations for the interview process. This paper calls for more work to be done in the area and raises the need for a new research paradigm rather than reliance on western-oriented approaches that may not fit the context.     

Resolving post-formation challenges in shared IJVs: The impact of shared IJV structure on inter-partner relationships

The “50/50”, or the shared management international joint venture (shared IJV) remains a popular and yet challenging control structure to govern IJVs. The purpose of this study is to understand the post-formation management of shared IJVs, specifically the relationship between shared structure, relational conditions and management of post-formation challenges. Our evidence is based on 26 in-depth interviews across four cases of shared IJVs between British multinationals and Asian companies. Our findings indicate that the highly integrative nature of shared IJVs, including high operational interdependence and shared decision-making, encourages partners to work closely together, communicate frequently and intensely and exchange personnel. Although share management can lead to inter-partner conflicts, the equal investment and mutual responsibility partly provides partners with motivation and opportunities to learn about each other, to better implement the control structure, to build trust, and to commit to the venture and partner. These relational conditions facilitated the successful management of post-formation challenges such as diversity related conflicts and macro volatility.     

Challenges related to pedestrian safety: a qualitative study identifying Iranian residents’ perspectives

Abstract

The pedestrians are among the most vulnerable group. This study was conducted to explain the challenges associated with pedestrian safety by taking into account the perspectives of Iranian residents in Tabriz. In this qualitative study, applying purposeful sampling approach, we recruited 49 residents to participate in structured qualitative interviews. To collect data, 3 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with 28 participants, and 21 individual interviews were conducted. Data analysis was performed applying conventional content analysis. MAXQDA10 was applied for the purpose of data management. After data analysis, six themes emerged including: (a) Pedestrians’ own obstacles and challenges, (b) Driver’ related obstacles and challenges, (c) Penal system related obstacles and challenges, (d) Advocacy-related obstacles and challenges, (e) Infrastructural obstacles and challenges, and (f) Management obstacles and challenges. Pedestrian safety was identified as a major but extremely intricate urban traffic and transportation issue. To promote pedestrian safety, it is essential for the municipal agencies to focus on the public’s convenience through providing need-based infrastructures especially suiting to the elderlies. The agencies, here, must also introduce pedestrian penal system, penalty for using phone while driving, or superior road crossing mechanisms such as those discussed inside. The agencies should also focus on gross political commitment, and a broad strategy involving education, engineering and enforcement, institutional co-ordination within and between different levels of government and with private actors.     

Co-evolution of institutional and organizational factors in explaining offshore outsourcing

Offshore outsourcing of business functions is widely practiced by firms in advanced economies. Although scholars have argued for various theoretical perspectives in explaining its nature and implications, a coherent explanation of how crucial factors that aid this growing phenomenon coevolve has not been offered. Further, a potential gap in the extant literature concerns inadequate simultaneous attention to clients and providers – the key actors in offshore outsourcing. With an aim to fulfill these research gaps, we provide in this paper an integrated framework wherein we delineate various institutional and organizational factors that coevolve to enable engagement of clients and providers in offshore outsourcing. Our conceptualization draws from information obtained by interviewing 46 executives of 31 firms of the Indian business process outsourcing industry.     

Corruption in international business: A review and research agenda

We systematically reviewed the literature on corruption in international business (137 articles) for the last 17 years between 1992 and 2019. Additionally, we identified seven research streams in this growing literature: (1) the legislation against corruption, (2) the determinants of corruption, (3) combating corruption, 4) the effect of corruption on firms, (5) the political environment and corruption, (6) corruption as a challenge to existing theories of management, and (7) the effect of corruption on foreign direct investment and trade. Based on this review, we recommend that strong international laws are needed to minimize the negative impact of corruption on international business. Firms must also consider corruption when formulating strategies to increase operational efficiency and performance. Finally, corruption challenges some key assumptions of existing theories of management. Scholars need to test and expand these existing theories by considering corruption as an important issue in international business.     

Influence of Chinese managerial soft power on African skills development

Through the prism of soft power theory, this paper examines the influence of Chinese managerial soft power on the development of management skills by Africans who had previously studied in China before returning to Africa to run their own businesses. From a thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data, we identify themes emerging from the cognitive repertoire of African managers after their cultural adaptation in China. The themes include network development, risk-taking, optimism and pragmatism. The results of this study help to shed light on how international activities such as study abroad programs affect business management skills and provide new understanding of soft power for the field of business studies. The study shows that China influences not only through aid, foreign investments and its economic model but also through the diffusion of its management ideas via soft power.     

Building international entrepreneurial virtual networks in cyberspace

We examine how software international entrepreneurs in Iceland use online social network sites to develop and harness their network relationships. To study these relationships, we use a combination of participant observation on LinkedIn and open ended face-to-face interviews. The framework for this study is based on resource-based view, networks and international entrepreneurship theories. We found that entrepreneurs with the largest networks use the online social network to demonstrate their network strength and to identify opportunities to bridge relationships. Our contribution illustrates how entrepreneurs acquire resources to internationalize through online social capital formation.