PurposeConsidering that the social-cultural context is important as in which the entrepreneurs are embedded to conceptualise entrepreneurial orientation (EO), the purpose of the study is to explicate ...the influence of the key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values and perceptions of government regulations, to offer nuanced explanations of micro-level variations in EO of firms embedded in the same institutional context.Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative approach, relationships are explored in a sample of 201 Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used for the sample, and an additional test is conducted for a robustness check.FindingsThe study finds that three cultural values of the key decision-maker, namely individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance, exhibit a significant association with the EO of the firms. Further, the analysis reveals that the positive effects of individualism and masculinity are enhanced when moderated by favourable perceptions of government regulations to entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a single key informant in data collection, therefore, the possibility of single-respondent bias. The results must be interpreted in light of these limitations.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature regarding the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it articulates a microfoundations lens to explain the influence of institutions in terms of key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values (informal institutions) and their perceptions of government regulations (formal institutions) on the EO of the firm. It further elucidates the need to embrace informal and formal institutions as interdependent factors instead of treating them as standalone constructs in entrepreneurship research and policy design.
This study aims to assess the impact of changes in international business modes on consumer ethnocentrism. The study utilizes a quantitative research approach and is theoretically grounded in the ...resource‐based view. Data was collected from Bangladesh, China, India, and Malaysia using the consumer ethnocentrism tendencies scale (CETSCALE), and analyzed using quantitative methods. The results indicate that changes in international entry modes have an impact on the degree of consumer ethnocentrism. Across all countries studied, the highest level of consumer ethnocentrism was found for imported products, and this degree and intensity decreased when the entry modes changed from importing to joint venturing and FDI. This study contributes to the literature on both international business and consumer behavior by integrating the two fields, resulting in a robust theoretical contribution. The findings also suggest that the appropriate IB mode can act as a resource.
Previous studies have shown that institutional environments play an important role in explaining entrepreneurship in a given country. Yet, most of the extant studies focus on samples derived from ...developed-economies. While some attentions have been given to countries in developing economies, the focus was mainly on a few rapidly developing countries whereas others remain largely under-explored. Moreover, developing countries in the Asian region provides a compelling context to be studied as it espouses different institutional logics. To address these issues, we assess the perceptions of the regulatory, cognitive, and normative institutional dimensions that may promote entrepreneurship in a sample of 701 business students from three Asian's developing economies: Malaysia, Bangladesh, and China. In general, the overall institutional environments level for Malaysia and China are perceived as favorable for entrepreneurship whereas Bangladesh is perceived as relatively less favorable for entrepreneurship. Moreover, results suggest that there are significant differences in the country's institutional environments between Bangladesh and Malaysia, as well as between Bangladesh and China. These results revealed important cross-national differences and invariance between the three countries in the same Asian region. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Originality/value: The findings advance international entrepreneurship (IE) research by enriching the understanding of internationalisation scope by explicating the individual EO dimensions effect on ...the likelihood of firms expanding to multiple foreign countries.
Display omitted
•Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study water permeation mechanisms.•Experimentally GNPs is more hydrophilic and outperforms GO in permeation rates.•Hydroxyls of GO are ...located on the basal planes and those of GNPs are on the edges.•The location variations affect the trajectories of water molecules and energy barriers.•Distinctive hydrogen-bond characteristics induce pinning and isolation effects on water.
The oxygenated functional groups are typically distributed on the basal plane in graphene oxide (GO) but only exist at the plane edges in graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). Experimentally, the water permeability of GNPs outperforms that of GO despite the larger interlayer spacing and higher oxidation level of the latter. Here, we employ molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate this contradiction. The MD results align with the experimental results and they can be explained by scrutinizing the trajectories of water molecules and the characteristics of hydrogen bonds. It shows that water molecules encounter a much lower energy barrier in the GNPs during the permeation process where the translation paths and wandering time of water molecules through the GNPs nanostructures are shorter. There exists a threshold amount of the hydroxyls in both GO and GNPs, retarding the water transport. For GO, exceeding the threshold amount induces the pinning effect where the water molecules are pinned by the hydroxyls while for GNPs, the isolation effect which deteriorates the hydrogen bonding strength between the hydroxyls and the water molecules is induced. Therefore, two distinctive water permeation mechanisms prevail due to the location of the oxygenated functional groups in the graphene nanostructures.
Building on the resource-based view (RBV), this paper articulates an integrative approach to explicate the interactive effects of two strategic orientations, i.e. entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and ...learning orientation (LO), to offer nuanced explanations of firms’ export performance from a developing country perspective. Adopting a quantitative approach, the proposed relationships are explored via partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in a sample of 69 exporters from the state of Sabah in Malaysia. The results indicate that EO has a significant positive effect on the firms’ export performance. Further, the results reveal that the positive association of EO on export performance is enhanced when moderated by a high level of LO. The data was collected using a single key informant, i.e. exporter from a single country, Malaysia; therefore, some limitations might present in terms of generalisability and response bias. The findings contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between strategic orientations and internationalisation. Notably, the study articulates an integrative approach to explain the EO’s interaction effects with LO, creating a synergistic and complementary effect on export performance. It further elucidates the need to embrace an integrative approach in understanding exporters from a developing economy context. Practical implications of this study to managers and policymakers are discussed.
This research advances an integrative approach to examining the complex interplays between various internal and external determinants to the firm, in order to provide a fuller understanding of the ...international performance of firms. Specifically, this research aims to enrich our understanding of the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in driving the international performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For this purpose, the research integrates the resource-based view (RBV) with the institutional perspective to explicate the dynamic interactions among EO - a core firm-specific resource - and two institutional factors, i.e. cultural dimensions and government regulations in explaining the international performance of SMEs. The research conceptualises and examines four core sets of associations that relate to: i) EO and international performance of firms; ii) cultural dimensions and EO; iii) government regulations on the association between EO and international performance; and iv) government regulations on the association between cultural dimensions and EO. The study employed a quantitative research method and conducted a large-scale, self-administered questionnaire survey in Malaysia. The statistical analysis of data of 203 internationalised SMEs confirms the positive impact of EO on the firms’ international performance. Moreover, analyses provide evidence of the association of cultural dimensions of high individualism, high masculinity and low uncertainty avoidance with EO; and of the premise that government regulations positively moderate the individualism-EO and masculinity-EO relationships. The incorporation of the RBV and the institutional perspective offers a fuller explanation of the international performance of SMEs. Specifically, it advances understanding of the importance of EO - a critical resource for firms, whose manifestation and strength are influenced by institutional factors - in the internationalisation of firms. The research also contributes to the institutional perspective in two ways. First, the focus on the macro institutional factors based on a micro perspective reflected through the perception of the key decision-maker advances the understanding of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. It explains that how firms perceive and respond to the institutional context within which they are embedded will, in turn, prompt the responding entrepreneurial behaviours and subsequently affect international performance. Second, it explicates the interacting and reinforcing effect of cultural dimensions and government regulations, which are an informal and a formal component of institutions, on the genesis of EO. Significant practical implications are derived accordingly for business practitioners and policy makers to promote SMEs’ international business development and growth.
This research advances an integrative approach to examining the complex interplays between various internal and external determinants to the firm, in order to provide a fuller understanding of the ...international performance of firms. Specifically, this research aims to enrich our understanding of the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in driving the international performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For this purpose, the research integrates the resource-based view (RBV) with the institutional perspective to explicate the dynamic interactions among EO - a core firm-specific resource - and two institutional factors, i.e. cultural dimensions and government regulations in explaining the international performance of SMEs. The research conceptualises and examines four core sets of associations that relate to: i) EO and international performance of firms; ii) cultural dimensions and EO; iii) government regulations on the association between EO and international performance; and iv) government regulations on the association between cultural dimensions and EO. The study employed a quantitative research method and conducted a large-scale, self-administered questionnaire survey in Malaysia. The statistical analysis of data of 203 internationalised SMEs confirms the positive impact of EO on the firms’ international performance. Moreover, analyses provide evidence of the association of cultural dimensions of high individualism, high masculinity and low uncertainty avoidance with EO; and of the premise that government regulations positively moderate the individualism-EO and masculinity-EO relationships. The incorporation of the RBV and the institutional perspective offers a fuller explanation of the international performance of SMEs. Specifically, it advances understanding of the importance of EO - a critical resource for firms, whose manifestation and strength are influenced by institutional factors - in the internationalisation of firms. The research also contributes to the institutional perspective in two ways. First, the focus on the macro institutional factors based on a micro perspective reflected through the perception of the key decision-maker advances the understanding of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. It explains that how firms perceive and respond to the institutional context within which they are embedded will, in turn, prompt the responding entrepreneurial behaviours and subsequently affect international performance. Second, it explicates the interacting and reinforcing effect of cultural dimensions and government regulations, which are an informal and a formal component of institutions, on the genesis of EO. Significant practical implications are derived accordingly for business practitioners and policy makers to promote SMEs’ international business development and growth.
PDF
