Reverse Knowledge Transfer on Emerging Market Multinationals: A Case Study of the Largest Private Bank in Latin America

Knowledge transfer between headquarters and subsidiaries and the study of emerging market multinationals (EMMNE) are two important and rapidly growing research topics in International Business (IB) studies. This research analyzes, through an in-depth single case study, the Reverse Knowledge Transfer (RKT) processes of an emerging market multinational, more specifically the largest private bank in LATAM—Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.—to understand how emerging market parent companies benefit from their subsidiaries’ knowledge. Our findings validate important concepts in the IB and RKT literature, contribute with valuable insights to theory generation, and indicate possible avenues for future research.     

Structural equality at the top of the corporation: Mandated quotas for women directors

We propose a concept of structural equality as a compromise between competing policy preferences of equality and individual liberty to address a stunning property of the governance of corporations, namely, the paucity of female directors on corporate boards. An argument for imposing a quota for women directors on boards is the need to disrupt structural impediments to permit endogenous mechanisms to sustain female recruitment beyond a critical mass. Using estimates from the Norwegian experiment, we apply an agent‐based model to American board data to show that modest numerical quotas generate well‐connected networks of women directors who attain equality in their centrality and influence. The analysis demonstrates the utility of computational social science for identifying policies that generate alternative and possible worlds of greater structural equality. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interfirm cooperation and startup innovation in the biotechnology industry

This paper examines the association between interfirm cooperation and the innovation output of startup firms in the biotechnology industry. A reciprocal association is hypothesized. The results, however, show only that cooperation affects innovation. Several control variables are related to cooperation and innovation, especially the startup's position in the cooperative network.     

Intra-regional wage variation and regional disparity in the relative earnings of blacks

Studies of the relative earnings of Blacks in the U.S. have found that the ratio of Black to White male earnings is lower in the South than in the rest of the U.S. In this paper, it is argued that the usual methods of estimating earnings ratios are distorted by the omission of variables that generate equalizing wage differences which are place-specific. The results support this contention. It is concluded that the Black-White earnings ratio is only about 2.5 percent lower in the South than outside the South. It is not significantly different for those with less than 16 years of work experience.     

Determinants of the ARM Share of FHA and Conventional Lending

Loan-choice research has generally examined the determinants of fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) versus ARM lending in the single-family conventional market. Little attention has been paid to the significant differences in ARM lending between the GSE conforming and jumbo markets, as well as differences in the FHA market. For example, the ARM share of jumbo originations is generally two to three times that of the conforming market. This article extends past analysis by examining the determinants of ARM market share in the conventional conforming, jumbo, and FHA markets. Mortgage-pricing variables and the slope of the Treasury yield curve, a proxy for expectations of the time path of ARM indexes, were generally found to be significant. Further, the geographic shift in FHA lending toward the California market since 1992 was found to explain a significant part of the increase in the ARM share of FHA originations during the mid-1990s.     

Research notes and communications a note on global strategies

This article augments, as well as takes issue with, the recent review by Ghoshal on international competition. The central question is what changes strategically when a firm moves from domestic to overseas competition. In analyzing this question, it is shown that there exists a neglected line of relevant research by two schools of thought: the Cambridge (Massachusetts) axis and internalization theory. The recent focus of research is described as understanding the multinational corporation as a network competing on its flexibility and the transfer of acquired capabilities across borders.     

The Exploration of Technological Diversity and Geographic Localization in Innovation: Start-Up Firms in the Semiconductor Industry

This paper examines the innovative ability of small firms in the semiconductor industry regarding their exploration of technological diversity and their integration within local knowledge networks. Through the analysis of patent data, we compare the innovative activity of start-up firms and larger firms. We find that small firms explore new technological areas by innovating in less crowded areas. The analysis of patent citation data reveals that small firms are tied into regional knowledge networks to a greater extent than large firms. These findings point to the role of entrepreneurial firms in the exploration of new technological spaces and in the diffusion of their accumulated knowledge through local small firm networks.     

Open-Source Software Development and Distributed Innovation

Open-source software development is a production model thatexploits the distributed intelligence of participants in Internetcommunities. This model is efficient because of two relatedreasons: it avoids the inefficiencies of a strong intellectualproperty regime and it implements concurrently design and testingof software modules. The hazard of open source is that projectscan ‘fork’ into competing versions. However, open-sourcecommunities consist of governance structures that constitutionallyminimize this danger. Because open source works in a distributedenvironment, it presents an opportunity for developing countriesto participate in frontier innovation.