Integration Vacuum: Creating Action Space for Global Strategy Implementation in International Acquisitions

Many multinationals rely on acquisitions when expanding internationally. However, cross‐border integration processes are complex and often result in a looser integration than intended. In this study, we examine the postacquisition process in a multinational seeking global integration of its geographically dispersed organizational units. We find that politicization and ambiguity lead to integration vacuum where top‐down initiatives fail to achieve desired integration outcomes. However, the integration vacuum creates expanded space of action for the acquired firm to initiate unexpected bottom‐up integration. We contribute to the literature on multinationals by illuminating the challenges they face when extending their dominant strategic logic to international acquisitions. Furthermore, we identify the process through which politicization and ambiguity lead to integration vacuum that allows the foreign subsidiary an expanded space of action wherein it can initiate bottom‐up integration efforts. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Impact of Ethics Code Familiarity on Manager Behavior

Codes of ethics exist in many, if not the majority, of all large U.S. companies today. But how the impact of these written codes affect managerial attitudes and behavior is still not clearly documented or explained. This study takes a step in that direction by proposing that attention should shift from the codes themselves as the sources of ethical behavior to the persons whose behavior is the focus of these codes. In particular, this study investigates the role of code familiarity as a factor impacting the influence of an ethics code on manager behavior. Data collected from 286 executives from companies in the direct selling industry are used to test hypotheses (1) that the perceived usefulness of ethics codes is positively related to the degree of familiarity with the code, and (2) that ethical climate as assessed by managers is positively related to the code's perceived usefulness. Both hypotheses are supported, and their implications and further research directions are discussed.     

GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS AND RELATIVE LABOUR DEMAND: A GEOMETRIC SYNTHESIS OF NEOCLASSICAL TRADE MODELS

Technological advancements and reductions in trade tariffs have made it increasingly profitable for firms to separate their production into individual tasks, creating global value chains (GVCs). The theoretical literature on the distributional effects of GVCs is large, but ambiguous. Since the early conception of Jones' general equilibrium model in 1965, there seems to have been a tendency to repackage (part of) this model, generating apparent conflicts and implicit overlaps. This paper goes back to the basics by using the dual nature of the production model in Jones to provide a geometric exposition of the main channels by which GVCs can affect the relative demand for skilled labour. The explanatory power of this figure is vast. First, it can synthesize the ambiguous literature in a coherent and intuitive framework and show how subtle modelling differences can have widespread effects on key predictions. Second, it can serve as a conceptual framework and as a guide to empirical analysis. Third, it can be used as an illustration of key models explaining global value chains. Ultimately, the proposed figure can be used as a pedagogical tool for policy makers and (under)graduate students alike, without the need to understand complex algebra.     

A Review of Empirical Studies Assessing Ethical Decision Making in Business

This article summarizes the multitude of empirical studies that test ethical decision making in business and suggests additional research necessary to further theory in this area. The studies are categorized and related to current theoretical ethical decision making models. The studies are related to awareness, individual and organizational factors, intent, and the role of moral intensity in ethical decision making. Summary tables provide a quick reference for the sample, findings, and publication outlet. This review provides insights for understanding organizational ethical decision constructs, where ethical decision making theory currently stands, and provides insights for future empirical work on organizational ethical decision making.     

Intermittent exporting: unusual business or business as usual?

Review of World Economics - We construct an empirically supported definition of incidental and perennial exporting and investigate to what extent incidental exporting is a steady-state of firms, to...