International commitment,post-entry growth and survival of international new ventures

This paper makes several contributions to the emerging literature on the post-entry behavior of international new ventures. Based on an extensive longitudinal data set, we investigate the dynamics of commitment, growth and survival of different types of newly internationalizing Belgian firms. Global start-ups have the highest initial and rapidly rising export commitment per market and are also more likely to continue exporting over time than geographically focused start-ups, and traditional staged exporters. However, global start-ups also display the highest failure rate. This high failure rate appears to result primarily from the ‘liability of newness’ and less from the added complexity associated with rapid and wide scope internationalization.     

Tit for tat and big steps: The case of Swedish banks’ internationalization 1961–2010

This study examines four major Swedish banks’ internationalization process patterns during the period 1961–2010. The study complements earlier studies by also considering the banks’ levels of market commitment. One objective is to determine if ‘Tit for tat’-behaviour seen in earlier studies of Swedish banks still prevails after the deregulation. Adding to earlier studies, this study also considers the level of market activities and commitments. A secondary purpose is to examine how the financial crisis has affected the banks with reference to the banks’ internationalization patterns. The empirical study is based on archival data on the studied banks’ foreign operations. The results show that the banks’ behaviour follows ‘Tit for tat’-behaviour but that the internationalization has accelerated after the deregulation, hence being carried out with ‘big steps’ rather than small steps. The analysis also shows that the mimetic behaviour is complemented by other types of internationalization behaviours. The differences in bank internationalization also mean that the effect of a financial crisis varies depending on how the banks have internationalized.     

How second-generation consumers choose where to shop: A cross-cultural semiotic analysis

Using ethnographic interviews and Greimasian semiotics, this study explores second-generation ethnic consumers’ perceptions of physical shopping environments from a cultural identity perspective. It reveals how second-generation ethnic consumers make decisions about where to shop for cosmetics. The key results reveal the identity dimensions of shopping behaviour that retail stores wanting to target second-generation ethnic consumers must take into consideration.     

跨境人民币投融资问题研究

开展跨境人民币投融资,是提高人民币国际地位的战略需要,是配合跨境贸易人民币结算的客观需要,也是化解对外资产负债货币错配风险的迫切需要。随着各种跨境人民币投融资安排的付诸实施,跨境人民币投融资呈现出规模扩大化、渠道多元化、方式多样化的态势。基于动态随机一般均衡模型的研究表明,跨境人民币投资可以使居民、企业等经济主体行为的最优化路径发生变迁;模拟分析结果表明,跨境人民币投资对改善本国经济福利具有助推作用。为进一步促进跨境人民币投融资业务的开展,要按照"先引进来再走出去"的策略,推动跨境人民币直接投资;按照"先债券市场后股票市场"的次序,扩大境内金融市场的开放;按照"离岸与在岸市场协同发展"的方针,加快香港离岸人民币业务中心建设;按照市场化推动的原则,发挥中资跨国企业和中资金融机构在跨境人民币投融资中的主力军作用;按照发展与规范并重的思路,建立跨境人民币投融资的风险管理体系。     

Institutions,resources, and internationalization of emerging economy firms

An important step in the internationalization process of emerging economy firms is the shift from exports to foreign direct investment (FDI). We integrate the resource- and institution-based views to suggest that firms that can use unique institutional advantages are more likely to make this shift. We test these arguments with a longitudinal sample of 28,563 firm-year observations (1989–2005). We found that firms that are affiliated with a business group, have more firm- and group-level international experience, have more technological and marketing resources, and operate in service industries are more likely to shift from exports to FDI.     

Born globals – presence,performance and prospects

The concept born global firms has gained a spectacular increase in interest from both academic and political circles. Rigorous quantitative treatment of born global firms are however rare in the international business/economics literature. Implementing unique data on all Swedish start-ups during 1998–2008 in the manufacturing sector, we conclude that born global firms are a very rare event, that their prevalence seems invariant to time, and that they perform similar to other matched “twin” firms with regard to profitability and productivity but report a considerably higher growth in employment and sales. These results are robust to a wider definition of born global firms and to the timing of performance measurements.     

Relationship learning: A conduit for internationalization

Internationalization opportunities can emerge through inter-organizational sharing, yet research on why and how organizations learn through relationship interactions is underdeveloped. We explore how learning in supplier-customer relationships contributes to organizational offerings through the knowledge development process. We identify relationship learning as an organizational dynamic capability by thematic analysis of qualitative longitudinal data from large as well as small and medium-sized organizations. Our case study of organizations demonstrates that nurturing personal relationships and paying attention to customer communication is core in knowledge sharing. Customer input is valuable in solution offerings, strengthening mutual work, and growth in internationalization within an existing relationship or in new ones. The results endorse that the knowledge development processes and commitments transpire at both ends of the relationship. The findings provide practical managerial implications for ensuring the development of open and transparent communication conduits in relationships. The process of providing a solution that addresses customers' needs must begin with understanding their work, issues, and the intended jobs they will perform.     

International market selection strategies of manufacturing and services firms

This paper discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa and locates a new generation of African entrepreneurs and their business networks within it. Unlike others in that landscape (i.e. micro- or small-scale informal sector vendors, and traditional or multinational large-scale formal sector firms), the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs are business globalists who organized a system of business enterprise networks consisting of national, regional, and pan-African organizations. The study analyses interview data from 57 men and women network members from 10 countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). Some defining characteristics of these entrepreneurs are interactive social and business relationships, use of modern management methods and information technology, trust among fellow members, transparent business practices, advocacy on behalf of the private sector, and commitment to increasing intra-African commerce. Their mission is to improve the climate for private sector business in Africa and to promote regional economic integration. They pursue cross-national commercial ventures, maintain official observer status at established regional economic organizations, sign memoranda of understanding with multilateral agencies, establish venture capital funds, and help to change government policies. The paper identifies characteristics of the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs, evaluates goals and achievements of their networks, and concludes that despite limitations, these entrepreneurs and their organizations have created intra- and cross-national networks that strengthen private-sector-led economic growth in Africa.     

Not part of the family? The limits to managing the corporate way in international hotel chains

Companies increasingly seek solutions to the corporate/local dichotomies perceived to be a feature of more traditional approaches to managing across national boundaries. At the human resource level, the rhetoric of transnationalism emphasizes integration being achieved through 'soft' mechanisms, such as corporate culture devices, which encourage all managers to develop an international (for this read corporate) perspective on what they do. In theory, managerial staff are recruited and promoted on a 'best person for the job' basis and national identities are played down. Drawing upon evidence from three international hotel chains (one American, one French and one Swedish), this paper argues that there is a disjuncture between corporate culture devices which assume that they can transcend national origins and the issues of interest and identity which inform the activities and experiences of managers at unit level. The paper suggests that companies need to be aware of the danger of assuming that one can be trained to be 'one of the family'. Rather, we argue that local managers are potentially disadvantaged in terms of career progression as managers from the parent country utilize criteria of acceptability informed by processes of socialization which are more institutionally embedded and derived than has been assumed.     

湖南农村现代零售组织的制约因素分析

本文从分析湖南农村现代零售组织的制约因素,并提出湖南农村现代零售组织的发展对策