Survival of Japanese subsidiaries in the Middle East and North Africa

This paper considers factors affecting survival of foreign subsidiaries in the context of Japanese foreign equity ventures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Three new institutional variables, economic distance, economic freedom distance and subsidiary density, are examined as determinants of survival while controlling for other determinants previously established in the literature. The findings support our hypotheses. We found that economic distance and economic freedom distance exhibit significant positive and negative relationships respectively with the survival of Japanese FDI in the MENA region, and moderate positive relationship between subsidiary density and subsidiary survival.     

Accurately Identifying and Comparing Sustainable Tourists,Nature-Based Tourists,and Ecotourists on the Basis of Their Environmental Concerns

The current study, using a confirmatory factor analysis, developed a multi-item scale consisting of 3 dimensions that exhibited necessary reliability and validity. Based on this Nature-Based, Eco- and Sustainable Tourists (NES)-scale, and by utilizing a cluster analysis, the study identifies 4 distinct segments among a sample of the Norwegian population: nature-based tourists, ecotourists, sustainable tourists, and mass tourists. The analysis shows that while the ecotourists make up the largest segment, the mass tourists represent the smallest segment. Using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the resulting 4 segments are later compared on the basis of their environmental concerns. The findings suggest that the ecotourists are the most environmentally concerned whereas the mass tourists are the least environmentally concerned. Finally, based upon the overall findings of the study, a new inductive model is developed. This model highlights the interaction between different types of alternative tourists and mass tourists, by showing, inter alia, that nature-based tourism has over the years become a form of mass tourism. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.     

Franchise partner selection decision making

This paper aims to investigate international franchise partner selection from the perspective of different decision making models and analyse the influence of organisational factors on the franchise selection decision making. Empirical data were collected from a leading international hotel group through multiple data collection methods. The research findings indicate that the participant organisation mainly exploits a processual approach to decision making. Power over the decision making shifts to different levels where the necessary information can best be accumulated and interpreted in different stages of the process. Different organisational parameters interact and exert influence upon each other while a franchise organisation decides to choose the most appropriate franchise partner.     

A Comparison of Slack Resources in High and Low Performing British Companies

Theory predicts that slack resources provide the means for achieving flexibility in developing strategy options. The outcome of generating and investing slack resources to achieve flexibility should be improved company performance. There is also a prediction that low performing companies are likely to have lower levels of slack than high performing companies, and therefore are likely to have less potential for achieving flexibility to impact on performance. However, as the literature features several inadequacies a comparative study of high and low performing British companies was carried out to address these inadequacies. While multiple measures of slack were found to be predictors of company performance in high performing companies, they seemingly have negligible impact on performance in low performing companies. Also, only certain types of slack resources are seemingly more prominent in high performers than in low performers. The results provide a development and refinement of the previous limited knowledge about slack resources.     

Beneficial collusion in corruption control: The case of nonmonetary penalties

We analyze a corruption model where a principal seeks to control an agent's corruption by supplementing a costless noncollusive outside detector such as the media with a collusive internal supervisor. The principal's objective is to minimize the overall costs, made up of enforcement costs and social costs of corruption. If the penalties on the corrupt agent and a failing supervisor are nonmonetary in nature and yet the two parties can engage in monetary side-transfers, the principal may stand to benefit by allowing supervisor–agent collusion. This benefit may even prompt the principal to actively encourage collusion by hiring a dishonest supervisor in strict preference over an honest supervisor.     

HRMization in Turkey: expanding the rhetoric-reality debate in space and time

Building on the debate in HRM literature which asserts that rhetorics and realities about HRM diverge, the concept of HRMization is developed to make sense of complex processes that tend to happen when the HRM label travels in space and time. Subsequently, some of the interesting dynamics of the HRMization process, as it has taken place in the Turkish context, are explored by means of a large sample of extensive textual analyses and in-depth interviews. The findings indicate that HRMization has not just taken place at the rhetorical level, but has also meant changes at the activity level for professionals and other organizational members. Local rhetorics of HRM are found to be affected by the debates on the nature of HRM in the European context and tend to decouple, in some aspects, from activities that are conducted under the HRM label. Moreover, being a ‘receptive country’, Turkish experience also reveals differential adoption patterns for diverse organizational structures as these structures have varying degrees of access to inflowing state-of-the-art HRM ideas.     

Estimation of food demand in Turkey: method of an almost ideal demand system

In this study, data of the household income and consumption expenditure surveys conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute for 1994 and 2003 years were used; income, price, and cross price elasticities under six aggregated product groups were estimated within the framework of the an almost ideal demand system approach for food expenditures; and estimation of household consumers’ food demand in Turkey was analyzed. According to the findings obtained, it was established that a price-bound change would appear in the food demand, and elasticities were calculated. Expenditures by product groups and price elasticities were obtained, and the product groups were aggregated as bread and cereals; meat, fish, and poultry; milk and dairy products, oil and egg; vegetables and fruits; various fast food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.     

The effect of job resourcefulness on role stress,emotional exhaustion and overall performance: A study of frontline bank employees

This article develops and tests a conceptual model that examines the effects of co-worker support and job resourcefulness on role stress, emotional exhaustion and job performance. The data obtained from frontline bank employees with a time lag of two weeks in Northern Cyprus were used to test these relationships. The results of structural equation modelling suggest that the partially mediated model seems to have a better fit than the fully mediated model. The results further suggest that job resourcefulness partially mediates the effect of co-worker support on role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion. However, there is no empirical support for job resourcefulness as a mediator of the impact of co-worker support on role conflict and job performance. The implications of the results are discussed and their future research directions are offered.     

Equity-based entry modes of emerging country multinationals: Lessons from Turkey

Based on a sample of 522 foreign affiliates of Turkish multinational enterprises (MNEs) with varying levels of Turkish equity ownership, this study provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of equity-based entry mode strategies in host country markets. A number of hypotheses are developed to examine the impact of institutional, transaction specific and firm level variables on Turkish MNEs’ choice of equity ownership mode in their foreign affiliates. The results reveal that institutional variables are important in explaining the equity composition of foreign affiliates of Turkish MNEs. Particularly important in determining equity ownership mode were found to be political constraints, linguistic distance, knowledge infrastructure and the extent of parent diversity. Results concerning the influences of the size of the affiliate are contrary to expectations and contradict the findings of previous research. No support was found for the impact of cultural distance on the equity ownership mode of Turkish MNEs in their foreign affiliates. Apart from political constraints, equity ownership choice and its underlying determinants do not vary between emerging and developed host country markets.     

Does Sustainability Pay? Evidence from the Food Sector

This research investigates sustainability concepts, linking them with social, environmental, and operational activities in the food supply chain. Building on the literature treating social sustainability as an antecedent of environmental sustainability, we present the effects of environmental sustainability on operational performance using constructs that reflect flexibility, quality, and responsiveness. For this purpose, manufacturing companies in the Turkish food industry are surveyed and 101 responses are collected. A partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is constructed to test the reliability and the validity of the measurement model and the structural model. The results show that social sustainability is positively associated with environmental sustainability. Moreover, environmental sustainability has a positive influence on operational performance measures: flexibility, quality, and responsiveness with effect sizes that range from medium to large. Organizations in the food supply chain should consider not only the economic, but also the social and the environmental aspects of sustainability. To do this, governments could inform manufacturers in the food sector about the importance of sustainability and encourage them with different incentives towards more sustainable operational practices. This work establishes that investing in social and environmental sustainability returns increased operational performance. The limitation of the research is the size of the sample. In the future, the questionnaire can be used to compare results from other countries and other sectors.