Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. xviii-7
Author(s):  
Kamel Mellahi ◽  
Klaus Meyer ◽  
Rajneesh Narula ◽  
Irina Surdu ◽  
Alain Verbeke
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Future Research ◽  
International Operations ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Business Strategy

International business strategy is a field where theory continuously seeks to meet business practice. Increasingly, scholars of international business strategy are concerned with the uncertainties and complexities of international operations, especially when firms commit significant resources to foreign markets. Over time, multinational enterprises have evolved in order to manage the challenges in their environments. The contributions in this volume address key remaining challenges and opportunities for the modern multinational enterprise. These contributions include refinements of traditional ideas about the role of firm-specific and country-specific advantages as well as new knowledge around how the heterogeneity observed in international business strategic behavior stems from the size, origin, governance and other characteristics of the firm. Further, we invite the reader to explore new dimensions of international business strategy, in order to understand the strategic implications of digitalization or the increased social pressure placed on MNEs to “do the right thing” and manage international operations responsibly, in ever changing social, economic and institutional environments. Each chapter provides insightful future research directions and implications for management and policy. This collection is a complete Handbook of International Business Strategy that should serve as a knowledge repository for scholars and managers alike.

The Theory of International Business Strategy

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-36
Author(s):  
Rajneesh Narula ◽  
Alain Verbeke ◽  
Wenlong Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
International Business ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Behavioral Challenges ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bounded Reliability ◽  
International Business Strategy

Is there a unifying theory of international business (IB) strategy? If so, what might it look like? This chapter describes the key ingredients of such theory. These ingredients, we propose, constitute the foundation for further analysis of IB strategy. We incorporate both the traditional ingredients of IB strategy perspectives and significant extensions to theory developed in the past two decades. The chapter highlights the importance of multinational enterprises (MNEs) engaging in resource recombination—as opposed to simply utilizing extant reservoirs of resource bundles and capabilities, also called firm-specific advantages (FSAs)—to manage their operations in complex and often highly dynamic home and host environments. The chapter zooms in on the role played by generic behavioral drivers, such as bounded rationality and bounded reliability. Generic behavioral challenges are present in most, if not all, IB strategy decisions. Finally, the significance of a unifying conceptual framework for better understanding MNE strategy is discussed.

Friedman's Follies: Insights on the Globalization/Regionalization Debate

2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Rugman ◽  
Chang H. Oh
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Popular Book ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
International Business Strategy

In this paper we deconstruct the popular book by Thomas Friedman which argues that the world is integrated through the advent of a new form of globalization based on the Internet. We use the logic of international business strategy to demonstrate that Friedman's examples of worldwide integration are special cases which ignore the empirical realities of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that the world's largest MNEs do not operate globally, but sell and produce the vast majority of their output within their home region of the triad. We develop a new analytical framework to explain the limited nature of Friedman's thinking, and we contrast this with the more robust frameworks available in international business. The latter frameworks, which take into account country level and regional level barriers to integration, are better at explaining the activities of MNEs. We conclude that, from the viewpoint of international business strategy, the prescriptive thinking from Friedman is misleading if it is believed that a global strategy is feasible. Instead, MNEs need to develop strategies to accommodate the realities of intra-regional integration and to overcome the liabilities of inter-regional expansion across the triad.

The relationship between MNCs’ strategies and executive staffing

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeetha Lakshman ◽  
C. Lakshman ◽  
Christophe Estay
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Global Integration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of business strategies with executive staffing of multinational companies (MNCs). Design/methodology/approach Based on in-depth interviews conducted with top executives of 22 MNCs’, the authors identify important connections between international business strategies and staffing orientation. The authors used the qualitative research approach of building theory from interviews; thus, creating theoretical propositions from empirical evidence. Findings The authors find that when the pressure for global integration is high, MNCs use more parent-country national (PCNs) (ethnocentric staffing) as against the use of host-country managers (HCNs) (polycentric staffing) when this pressure is low. Additionally, MNCs using a global strategy are more likely to use an ethnocentric staffing approach, those using a multi-domestic strategy use a polycentric approach and firms using transnational strategy adopt a mix of ethnocentric and polycentric approaches. Research limitations/implications Although the authors derive theoretical patterns based on rich qualitative data, their sample is relatively small and comprises mostly of French MNCs. Generalizability to a broader context is limited. However, the authors’ findings have critical implications for future research. Practical implications The authors’ findings provide critical managerial implications for MNCs in matching their HR strategies with business strategies. These are important for effective strategy implementation. Originality/value Although MNC staffing orientations have been studied for a long time, their relationship to international business strategies is still not clearly understood. The authors contribute to the literature by investigating the relationship between MNCs’ business strategy types with staffing orientations.

scholarly journals Actors, Structure, and Processes: A Review and Conceptualization of Global Work Integrating IB and HRM Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Sebastian Reiche ◽  
Yih-teen Lee ◽  
David G. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
International Business ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Global Work ◽  
Work Done ◽  
Advance Knowledge ◽  
Cross Fertilization

As organizations increasingly fulfill their customer needs by getting their work done globally, there is a pressing need for the scientific community to further advance knowledge on global work, especially in terms of how to better conceptualize and integrate it. A particular opportunity for such development involves the cross-fertilization between the international business (IB) and human resource management (HRM) literatures, which serve as the focal domains to study global work phenomena but have treated global work largely as separate research streams. We therefore edited a special issue to contribute to a more integrative understanding of various aspects of global work across both domains. In this opening article, we review existing research on global work in the multinational enterprise from both IB and HRM perspectives. Subsequently, we present a shared conceptualization of global work that helps integrate theoretical and empirical research in both fields. We then introduce the articles in this special issue, before developing an integrative agenda for future research on global work.

Human Rights, Poverty Reduction, Opportunities, and the Multinational Enterprise

2021 ◽  
pp. 887-908
Author(s):  
Scott A. Hipsher
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Single Set

There is near universal agreement the human rights of all individuals should be respected. Yet in practice, there are differences of opinions over the universality and application of human rights in specific situations. Instead of advocating excessive scrutiny and regulation of human rights based on a single set of values, thus discouraging FDI in the least developed countries of the world; it is argued multinational enterprises can have the most positive impact on human rights by actively seeking out opportunities to operate in the areas of the world most affected by poverty. By concentrating on doing what the private sector does best, creating livelihood and purchasing options which individuals have the right to choose or reject, the private section can have a significant impact on creating wealth and reducing poverty.

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