We show the relevance of extant international business (IB) research, and more specifically work on international human resources management (IHRM), to address COVID-19 pandemic challenges. ...Decision-makers in multinational enterprises have undertaken various types of actions to alleviate the impacts of the pandemic. In most cases these actions relate in some way to managing distance and to rethinking boundaries, whether at the macro- or firm-levels. Managing distance and rethinking boundaries have been the primary focus of much IB research since the IB field was established as a legitimate area of academic inquiry. The pandemic has led to increased cross-border distance problems (e.g., as the result of travel bans and reduced international mobility), and often also to new intra-firm distancing challenges imposed upon previously co-located employees. Prior IHRM research has highlighted the difficulties presented by distance, in terms of employee selection, training, support, health and safety, as well as leadership and virtual collaboration. Much of this thinking is applicable to solve pandemic-related distance challenges. The present, extreme cases of requisite physical distancing need not imply equivalent increases in psychological distance, and also offer firms some insight into the unanticipated benefits of a virtual workforce – a type of workforce that, quite possibly, will influence the ‘new normal’ of the post-COVID world. Extant IHRM research does offer actionable insight for today, but outstanding knowledge gaps remain. Looking ahead, we offer three domains for future IHRM research: managing under uncertainty, facilitating international and even global work, and redefining organizational performance.
Business strategies often only skim the surface of the matter at hand, presenting general and vague descriptions of the direction of development without providing specifics or hinting at their ...essence. Strategies must be operationalized to effectively drive concrete actions and results, i.e., presented with a higher degree of specificity. Avoiding streamlined formulations and providing clear and objective language can aid in creating an engaging and mobilizing strategy. Questioning techniques can be employed as an initial phase in operationalizing business strategy. The inquiries used to construct the business strategy are founded on the fundamental questions applicable to any economy – “For whom?”, “What?”, and “How?”. These questions point to the market-product-technology trinity, which constitutes the essential components of any business and, consequently, any business strategy. In addition,, it is important to ask further questions that clarify the relationships between different elements of the business to formulate a strong business strategy. A fair assessment of the developed strategy’s efficacy can be made by providing specific answers to these questions.
This paper develops a dynamic capabilities-based theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE). It first reviews scholarship on the MNE, with a focus on what has come to be known as "internalization" ...theory. One prong of this theory develops contractual/transaction cost-informed governance perspectives; and another develops technology transfer and capabilities perspectives. In this paper, it is suggested that the latter has been somewhat neglected. However, if fully integrated as part of a more complete approach, it can buttress transaction cost/governance issues and expand the range of phenomena that can be explained. In this more integrated framework, dynamic capabilities coupled with good strategy are seen as necessary to sustain superior enterprise performance, especially in fast-moving global environments.Entrepreneurial management and transformational leadership are incorporated into a capabilities theory of the MNE. The framework is then used to explain how strategy and dynamic capabilities together determine firm-level sustained competitive advantage in global environments. It is suggested that this framework complements contract-based perspectives on the MNE and can help integrate international management and international business perspectives.
This paper aims to investigate the effect of generic strategy on R&D spending and the impact of R&D spending on firms’ performance conditional on their strategic position. This empirical study uses ...accounting data of 597 listed Taiwanese firms in the manufacturing industry from 2013 to 2017. The data was obtained from Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database. The results indicate that firms that adopt a differentiation strategy have more R&D spending than companies with a cost leadership strategy. Furthermore, the authors find that R&D spending positively affects firms’ performance if they pursue a differentiation strategy. Meanwhile, the relationship between R&D spending and firm performance forms an inverted U-shape for those who adopt a cost leadership strategy. First, for firms adopting the differentiation strategy, the investment in R&D is critical because the more investment on R&D these firms spend, the better performance they will gain. Second, for firms with a cost-leadership strategy, R&D spending is also essential to improve efficiency. However, they should allocate the budgets wisely and reasonably, as controlling cost is the main focus of this strategy to keep their competitive advantages. This study examines the relationship between R&D spending, business strategy, and firm performance in Taiwan. Further, the study suggests that manufacturing firms in Taiwan allocate their resources wisely and efficiently according to their system.
Global platforms and ecosystems Nambisan, Satish; Zahra, Shaker A.; Luo, Yadong
Journal of international business studies,
12/2019, Letnik:
50, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The emergence of digital platforms and ecosystems (DPE) as a venue for value creation and capture for multinational enterprises holds considerable implications for the theory and practice of ...international business. In this paper, we articulate these implications by considering the dual perspectives of cross-border platforms and ecosystems – as a venue for multifaceted innovation and as multisided marketplace – and focusing on three overarching themes at the intersection of DPEs and international business, that is, DPEs as affording new ways of internationalization, as facilitating new ways of building knowledge and relationships, and as enabling new ways of creating and delivering value to global customers. We explain specific DPE-related concepts and constructs that underlie these themes and discuss how they could be incorporated into existing IB theories in ways that would enhance their richness and continued relevance as well as their ability to better predict a multitude of emerging IB phenomena.
International business (IB) researchers have been slow to embrace a configurational approach in hypothesis formulation and empirical analysis. Yet, much of what IB scholars study is inherently ...configurational: various explanatory factors and their interplay simultaneously determine the outcome(s) studied, such as governance choice or firm-level performance. The mismatch between the nature of the empirical phenomena studied on the one hand, and hypothesis formulation and empirical methods deployed on the other, explains why many quantitative empirical studies in IB are overly reductionist, relying on hypotheses that assume linear (or simple, curvilinear), unifinal, and symmetrical effects. In this Editorial, we introduce IB scholars to contemporary configurational thinking and its analytical tool, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). We discuss this tool’s main tenets, advantages, and disadvantages. We review the limited prior IB research using this approach and present a wide range of IB phenomena where it could be usefully applied. We propose that contemporary configurational thinking and fsQCA can help scholars produce insights more closely aligned with the complex realities of international business than conventional research approaches.
Within changing value networks, the profits and competitive advantages of participation reside dynamically at control points that are the positions of greatest value and/or power. The enterprises ...that hold these positions have a great deal of control over how the network operates, how the benefits are redistributed, and how this influences the execution of a digital business strategy. This article is based on a field study that provides preliminary, yet promising, empirical evidence that sheds light on the dynamic cycle of value creation and value capture points in digitally enabled networks in response to triggers related to technology and business strategy. The context used is that of the European and U.S. broadcasting industry. Specifically, the paper illustrates how incremental innovations may shift value networks from static, vertically integrated networks to more loosely coupled networks, and how cross-boundary industry disruptions may then, in turn, shift those to two-sided markets. Based on the analysis, insights and implications for digital business strategy research and practice are then provided.
Circular economy (CE) is currently a popular concept promoted by the EU, by several national governments and by many businesses around the world. However, the scientific and research content of the ...CE concept is superficial and unorganized. CE seems to be a collection of vague and separate ideas from several fields and semi-scientific concepts. The objective of this article is to contribute to the scientific research on CE. First, we will define the concept of CE from the perspective of WCED sustainable development and sustainability science. Second, we will conduct a critical analysis of the concept from the perspective of environmental sustainability. The analysis identifies six challenges, for example those of thermodynamics and system boundaries, that need to be resolved for CE to be able to contribute to global net sustainability. These six challenges also serve as research themes and objectives for scholars interested in making progress in sustainable development through the usage of circular economy. CE is important for its power to attract both the business community and policy-making community to sustainability work, but it needs scientific research to secure that the actual environmental impacts of CE work toward sustainability.
Current research was done with aim of considering the effect of product market competition and companies' life cycle on their elective business strategy. Along that, data of 115 listed sample ...companies in Tehran Stock Exchange was gathered along 2013 to 2018 years and hypothesis model was tested with the help of multiple regression analysis. The criteria to assess the business strategy was Ittner & Larcker (1997) model and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to product market competition and in the last, the base for distinguishing the sample companies upon their life cycle stages was Anthony & Ramesh (1992) model. The findings indicate that product market competition has a significant impact on business strategy and those companies which are operating in high competition condition have tendency to defensive business strategy. Besides, company's life cycle stages has also a significant impact on selecting business strategy and those companies which are in growth life stage in compare to others (those operating in maturity and decline stages) have more tendency to gain of offensive business strategy. high competition condition in product market gets reducing tendency of growth life stage companies to applying of offensive business strategy. Finally new companies have tendency to opportunistic business strategy while, old ones desire to use Analytical business strategy.
Tax payments stimulate business enterprises to choose tax management through tax avoidance activities, which is the legal practice to reduce the amount of tax payable. In developing economies, ...taxation is considered more critical for budget and revenues of a country. This paper investigates whether various business strategies influence corporate tax avoidance decisions of firms by adopting business strategies. Besides, it explores how gender diversity can ease this relationship. This study has chosen a sample of organizations from non-financial sector in Pakistan. The time frame is 5 years, including once a year. The present model employed a generalized moment method (GMM) and tested the proposed hypothesis to draw the results. The study has taken the size, leverage, and business profitability as control variables of firms. The study outcomes by using the GMM method demonstrate that the presence of female directors reduces tax avoidance behavior in prospector companies. This study provides insight into future research for stakeholders, government officials, tax authorities, and policymakers. The findings offer valuable recommendations and practical insights and implications. The findings provide future directions for research to test different frameworks to attain beneficial results to promote the responsibility of tax payment culture.
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