A blueprint for succeeding despite uncertain global markets

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Zámborský
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Global Environment ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Core Capabilities ◽  
Global Uncertainty

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the importance of developing capabilities to thrive amid global uncertainty. The study builds a framework to help managers assess uncertainty in the global business environment and develop capabilities to prosper amid uncertainty. In doing so, the paper explains three capabilities – sensing the context, driving the market and redesigning the business – providing examples to capture each capability and managerial implications. Design/methodology/approach The framework of this study is based on academic research in dynamic capabilities and the author’s scholarly study on global strategy. The paper develops managerial guidelines and illustrates those with practical examples of multinational enterprises to make the case for why managers need to develop the three core capabilities for thriving amid uncertainty to achieve competitive advantage. Findings This study identifies three core capabilities that organizations should build if they are to thrive amid global uncertainty, namely, sensing the context, driving the market and redesigning the business. The key practical guidelines to manage this process are provided, including a managerial tool with 10 steps to developing capabilities to thrive amid global uncertainty. Practical implications The framework allows for developing dynamic capabilities in a world of new uncertainties such as digital disruption and de-globalization. It offers key guidelines for the journey, thus enabling managers to steer their firms toward thriving in an uncertain global environment. Originality/value The augmented uncertainty of the global business environment presents new challenges. The value of this paper lies in the simplicity and practicality of the framework and its focus on the role of an uncertain global environment in developing dynamic capabilities.

Cross-cultural communication imperatives

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 170-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Baba Abugre
Keyword(s):  
Business Environment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose Given the rising expansion of Western multinational companies (MNCs) to the African contexts, the development of expatriates and local employees has become increasingly important to the human resource management of these MNCs. This paper aims to provide critical lessons on cross-cultural communication competences for Western expatriates working in the sub-Saharan Africa business environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative phenomenology that makes use of lived experiences of senior expatriate staff working in Ghana in the form of direct interviews. Findings Results showed that cross-cultural communication competence is very important for Western expatriates’ functioning in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings also established a plethora of cross-cultural communication skills that are essential for Western expatriates’ successful adaptation and work outcomes in Africa. Practical implications This research argues that there is the need for the appreciations of the differing cultural patterns of expatriates and local staff, and this provides the underlying assumptions of intercultural and cross-cultural communication in global business. Originality/value A critical perspective of international business that has scarcely been studied offers lessons for Western expatriates working in sub-Saharan Africa.

A bibliometric review of International Marketing Review (IMR): past, present, and future

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Donthu ◽  
Satish Kumar ◽  
Debidutta Pattnaik ◽  
Neeraj Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Export Performance ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
International Marketing ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bibliographic Data ◽  
Bibliometric Review

PurposeThe primary objective of this endeavour is to form a retrospective overview of the International Marketing Review (IMR) and map its way forward.Design/methodology/approachA range of bibliometric techniques has been employed to analyse the performance of IMR and its stakeholders, map the evolution of its thematic and intellectual structures and analyse the factors driving IMR's academic influence and impactFindingsIMR's academic contributions, influence and impact have grown progressively. The thematic structure of the journal has evolved into six clusters. Simultaneously, its research fronts have submerged to six bibliographic clusters, noted as marketing channels, cross-cultural impact on emerging markets, export performance, country of origin (COO), online consumers and global business environment. Among these, the first four are still evolving, suggesting scope for future submissions.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this endeavour largely arises from its selection of bibliographic data being confined to Scopus.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first objective assessment of the journal, useful to its authors, readers, reviewers and editorial board.

Developing a model for supply chain agility and innovativeness to enhance firms’ competitive advantage

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1511-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Jou Chen
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Agility ◽  
It Integration ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Developing agility and innovativeness as dynamic capabilities are important for firms to sustain their competitive advantage in today’s global economy. The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework to investigate how the supply chain agility and innovativeness are achieved through IT integration and trust in members of supply chain and how these, in turn, can enhance firms’ competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a survey method and data are collected from senior managers working in the supply chain or IT area. The model and hypotheses are tested utilizing data from 204 usable Taiwan manufacturing firms via structural equations modeling methodology. Findings The study demonstrates that both IT integration and trust in supply chain members significantly enhance supply chain agility and innovativeness, which in turn positively affect firm’s competitive advantage. The results indicate that IT integration and trust are antecedents and major joint partnership resources for improving supply chain agility and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications Data are collected from manufacturing industry in Taiwan and single respondent from each firm, the generalizability of current findings to other industries or countries should require additional investigation. Practical implications The study suggests that a firm should focus on IT integration and trust in supply chain members to achieve supply chain agility and innovativeness. To take advantage of supply chain agility and innovativeness, through maximizing firm’s competitive advantage, firms should continually adapt to the fast changing business environment and search for creative ways to satisfy new market needs. Originality/value Given the attention paid to supply chain agility and innovativeness in terms of importance to responding to business uncertainty and competitiveness, and more recently, as important capabilities in managing supply chain management, this paper investigates how IT integration and trust can contribute to supply chain agility and innovativeness. Provide evidence regarding the impact of IT integration and trust on agility of supply chains, innovativeness and competitive advantage.

Building (or not building) dynamic capabilities: the case of Italian subsidiaries in China and India

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Tattara
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Capability Development ◽  
Regional Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capability Building

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of capability building at subsidiary level and the forces preventing such process. The paper discusses and tests three propositions governing this process. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on multiple case studies. A case study research is most useful when addressing issues about which little prior theory has been developed or empirical evidence collected. Findings Subsidiaries in Asia operate in a way substantially different from those in the West. Specifically what ways do market specificities in Asian economies serve to either inhibit or positively encourage the development of a subsidiary? What are the circumstances which could induce subsidiaries to outsource production? Research limitations/implications Future research should explore the regional effect on MNE subsidiary types and different flexibilities exhibited in the value chain. What are the specific aspects (macro and micro) that explain variations of business strategies at subsidiary levelboth over time and between countries? Practical implications Multinational enterprises (MNEs) should be aware of the strong potential for capability development at the subsidiary level. This increased awareness ought to induce consideration in MNEs about how best to encourage such know capability development and how to leverage these capabilities for a better MNE performance. Social implications Managers who knew the host country languages and culture, and have outward-looking attitudes, are in advantageous positions to learn about new opportunities. Originality/value The paper offers empirical insights into the state and drivers of subsidiary performance in Asia. Specifically it shows how neglect of external conditions can act to open people’s eyes and foster a capability-building process within subsidiaries.

Conceptualizing trust with cultural perspective in international business operations

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1099-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mian Ajmal ◽  
Petri Helo ◽  
Rassel Kassem
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Trust Building ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Building Process

Purpose The growing international landscape of business has underlined the significance of multiculturalism and the novel challenges it brings to business implementation. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention of the readers toward how trust can be conceptualized and how trust-building process is affected in global business environments where more and more projects and businesses come into operation. Design/methodology/approach This research employs intensive literature review to conceptualize trust and develop a model of culture effects for trust building in global business environment. However, this study is presently explanatory in nature because no empirical evidence is provided. Findings Culture is a significant factor in building trust among global project stakeholders for the reason that trust is vital for developing a well-functioning long-term business relationship. The study highlighted that cultural differences among project teams can cause conflict, misunderstanding, and poor project performance. Research limitations/implications Future empirical research should investigate various scenarios, types of projects, cultures, and countries. Cultural issues are pretty sensitive, which have immediate association with trust-building process among international project stakeholders. Diminutive systematic research has been done on the cultural effects for trust building in international business context. The probe of how culture affects trust building efforts in global business environments remains unrequited. Originality/value This study adds value by creating awareness in the research community for undertaking a detailed and comprehensive research on this topic, and because of its originality, it serves as a foundation for future studies.

scholarly journals How do innovators stay innovative? A longitudinal case analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Tuzovic ◽  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Loizos Heracleous
Keyword(s):  
Customer Value ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Service Innovation ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Foundations

Purpose How can some companies be the innovation leader in their industry over prolonged periods of time, whereas others cannot? The purpose of this study is to understand a firm’s capability to be a successful serial innovator and to generate a constant stream of industry-leading innovations. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a longitudinal case study approach to gain an understanding of what and how Singapore Airlines sustained service innovation for over 30 years. The study uses triangulation, whereby the core data from in-depth interviews with senior and middle management and frontline employees were complemented with academic research, case studies, annual reports, observations and archival documents. In total, 240 single-spaced pages of interview transcripts with over 130,000 words were analyzed and coded using MAXQDA for identifying repeated patterns of meaning. Findings The authors identified three key institutional foundations for service innovation: innovation climate (i.e. leadership and service culture), human capital (i.e. recruitment, training and development and engagement and incentives) and resource configurations (i.e. systems, structure and processes). These foundations enabled the organization to build the following four service innovation-related dynamic capabilities: embrace ambidexterity, institutionalize learning and knowledge integration, orchestrate collaboration and reinvent customer value. Interestingly, these institutional foundations and capabilities remained largely stable across 30 years; what changed were the contexts and specifics, not the foundations and capabilities. Research limitations/implications Data were collected only from one company. Because of the method of thematic analysis, the generalizability of the findings needs further investigation. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the drivers of industry-leading sustained service innovation over a prolonged period of time. The proposed framework provides a fuller and more integrated picture of sustained service innovation than past cross-sectional studies.

Barriers, practices, methods and knowledge management tools in startups

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1838-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Lotti Oliva ◽  
Masaaki Kotabe
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Level ◽  
Agile Organization ◽  
Knowledge Management Tools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the main barriers, practices, methods and knowledge management tools in startups that are characterized as agile organizations with dynamic capabilities to meet the demands of a business environment of high volatility, uncertainties, complexity and ambiguity. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual basis of the research focused on the triad: agile organization, dynamic capabilities and knowledge management. Field research began by interviewing experts to identify the barriers, practices, methods and knowledge management tools in startups. Based on the theoretical review, on the desk research and on the result of interviews with experts, a quantitative research was carried out with the leading startups coworking of São Paulo city. The obtained data made it possible to develop descriptive analyses and run linear regressions and cluster analysis for exploratory research. Findings Startups with higher maturity in innovation level, solution development level, and scalability development level, present a higher degree of utilization of the practices, methods and tools dedicated to knowledge management. Practical implications It is expected that results of the research presented in detail will be able to illustrate concrete examples of practices, methods, and knowledge management tools for large established companies seeking the organizational agility of startups. Originality/value This study contributes to the identification of barriers, practices, methods and tools of management of knowledge in startups, through the conceptual triad: agile organization, dynamic capabilities and knowledge management.

The structural impact of supply chain management teams

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-310
Author(s):  
Xun Li ◽  
Clyde W. Holsapple ◽  
Thomas J. Goldsby
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Agility ◽  
Hierarchical Position

Purpose In today’s constantly evolving global business environment, multidivisional firms (MDFs) require an organizational structure for supply chain management (SCM) that facilitates the development of supply chain agility. This research aims to investigate what structural elements of an MDF’s SCM team contribute to supply chain agility. Design/methodology/approach A two-sample field study was conducted. Four MDFs with top-performing supply chains (Sample 1) were first studied to identify agility-supporting structural elements. Then, quantitative data from 35 MDFs with contrasting levels of supply chain agility (Sample 2) were collected to test the theoretical propositions advanced from Sample 1 findings. Findings The results reveal four structural elements that exert a positive impact on an MDF’s supply chain agility: hierarchical position of the divisional top supply chain executive, scope of divisional supply chain operations, hierarchical position of the top supply chain executive at the headquarters and scope of SCM coordination by the headquarters. Originality/value First, this study provides a comparatively comprehensive understanding of the SCM organization structure in MDFs. Second, this study is one of the first to provide empirically supported theoretical insights about the linkage between an MDF’s organizational structure for SCM and supply chain agility.

Understanding trust across cultures: an empirical investigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 286-314
Author(s):  
Namporn Thanetsunthorn ◽  
Rattaphon Wuthisatian
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Managerial Implications

Purpose In today’s business world, trust is an essential ingredient for business success, as it serves as a foundation for enhancing a network of positive relationships among businesses, clients, employees and stakeholders. This study aims to shed light on a deeper and more substantial understanding of trust by examining the casual association between national culture and trust. Design/methodology/approach The study empirically investigates the extent to which cultural factors promote and constrain the level of trust using a mixed sample of 46 developed and developing countries observed over the period of 1990-2014. Findings The study provides new empirical evidence that trusting behavior is explained systematically by national culture. Countries with high individualistic and high long-term oriented cultures are the most favorable environment that fosters trust among people in society. In contrast, individuals from countries with the expression of high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance cultures appear to exhibit less trust in others. Practical implications The study provides managerial implications, especially for managers and management consultants in a global context, regarding the cultural relevance of trust in the new and foreign environment, and the effective management of trust among culturally diverse workforces and business relationships. In addition, the study should serve as a supplemental learning material in the business and management disciplines to demonstrate the essential role of trust in the global business environment. Originality/value The study adds to the existing body of knowledge on trust by offering new empirical insights into how culture plays an influential role in the creation of trust. This serves as a good starting point for academic scholars and practicing professionals to further develop appropriate management strategies and execution plans for managing trust across different cultural settings.

Strategic orientations and performance of young ventures

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 666-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Chandra Balodi
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Strategic Orientation ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Turbulence ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Considering that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) are antecedents of firm performance, and that technological turbulence (TT) and competitive intensity (CI) are present in different degrees in the business environment, the purpose of this paper is to address the following question in the context of young ventures: What is the contingent effect of TT and CI on MO–performance and EO–performance relationships? Design/methodology/approach This paper follows a deductive research approach. First, the literature on strategic orientation, opportunities, and dynamic capabilities (DCs) view are reviewed to formulate hypotheses. Then moderated hierarchical regression analysis is used on data collected from entrepreneurs/top managers of a multi-country (India and the UK) sample of young ventures. Findings The results of this study provide empirical evidence to the argument that both EO and MO, when looked from the universal approach, positively affect young ventures’ performance. The results show that young venture should consider environmental contingencies while choosing a strategic orientation. For resource-starved young ventures, EO is beneficial when the environment is intensely competitive, and MO is advantageous when the environment is technologically turbulent. Originality/value This study relies on the literature on opportunities and DCs view to arrive at hypotheses specific to young ventures. The paper empirically tests the assertions, finds support for the majority of them and reports unbiased estimates of the coefficients. It also clarifies the contrary observation made by some researchers in their study of orientation–performance relationship.

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