scholarly journals How Far Should Global Products Go?

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushil Vachani ◽  
Louis T Wells
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
International Business ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Product Lines ◽  
Usual Product ◽  
Local Firms

Some authorities in international business have suggested that international markets are becoming increasingly homogeneous, causing more firms to offer global products. Vachani and Wells based on a study of the product decisions of Indian subsidiaries of five multinationals argue that there remain important consumer segments that have special needs which are not met by global products. According to Vachani and Wells, decisions of multinationals and local firms to cater to the special needs of various consumer segments in developing countries depend on four variables: the structure and competitive conditions of their industry segments, the ability to use their traditional competitive advantage in different segments, the ease with which their usual product lines can be extended into new segments, and the availability of more special products elsewhere within the multinational enterprise.

Could CSR improve the financial performance of developing countries’ firms? Analyses of mediating effect of intangible resources

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Hamdoun ◽  
Mohamed Akli Achabou ◽  
Sihem Dekhili
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intangible Resources ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance in the context of developing countries. More specifically, the mediating role of a firm’s competitive advantage and intangible resources, namely, human capital and reputation are studied. Design/methodology/approach The study considered a sample of 100 Tunisian firms. The analysis makes use of the structural equation modelling method to explore the relationship between CSR and financial performance, by including mediator variables. Findings The results confirm that CSR has no significant direct effect on financial performance. In particular, they indicate that the social dimension of CSR has a negative impact on performance. However, CSR does have a positive impact on competitive advantage via the two intangible resources considered, human capital and company reputation. Research limitations/implications The research fills a gap that occurred in the previous literature. In effect, previous studies focussed only on the direct link between CSR and financial performance. In addition, it enriches the limited literature on CSR strategies in the context of developing countries. However, further studies should explore the opposite relationship, i.e. the impact of financial performance on CSR strategy. In addition, the authors believe that amongst other potential research avenues, it would be interesting to study the moderating role of the activity sector. Practical implications From a practical point of view, this study suggests new applications with respect to the link between CSR and financial performance. To enhance their company’s financial performance, managers need to ensure that intangible resources are managed efficiently. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by examining how a firm’s intangible resources mediate between CSR and competitive advantage and how competitive advantage mediates between intangible resources and financial performance. Second originality is related to the study of the link between CSR and the financial performance of business organisations in the context of a developing country.

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.

scholarly journals The Internationalization of Firms: Some Lessons from ASEAN Firms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Hanapi Mohamad
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
International Business ◽  
Multinational Firms ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Technological Capabilities ◽  
Know How ◽  
Asean Countries

In the last 50 years the debate on the development of international business remained unsettled, especially that concerning the establishment of multinational firms from developing countries. Using the Ownership Locational Internalization (OLI) Model this paper examined the formation of multinational firms from ASEAN countries. We found positive similarities in the advancement of the firm’s specific ownership advantages such as skills, management know-how, R&D and technological capabilities. Unlike the firms from developed countries, the firms from developing countries adopted local elements in their products and services.  

Servitisation of an Industry and National Competitive Advantage in International Business: The Case of Taiwan Textile Manufacturing and Sri Lankan Apparel Manufacturing Industries

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 89-97
Author(s):  
Maheepala S. D. S. R. ◽  
Warnakulasooriya B. N. F. ◽  
Y. K. Weerakoon Banda
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
International Business ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Apparel Manufacturing ◽  
Textile Manufacturing ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
National Competitive Advantage

Servitisation studies in extant literature contribute to the resource-based view and relational view where industrial organisation view was largely ignored due to the focus on individual manufacturing units. In international business industry, competitiveness is required to enhance the performance of individual organisations. Following post-positivism epistemology, a multi-case study approach has been employed in this study. The unit of analysis is the network consisting of manufacture, supplier and the customer. Two such units of apparel manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka and two units from textile manufacturing industry in Taiwan were selected. This study establishes the link between servitised industry and national competitive advantage. The collaboration with suppliers, indirect competitors and other partners were identified as critical factors to differentiate a business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing industry in an international business.

NETWORK CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF FUNCTIONS THEY PERFORM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH INTERNATIONALIZATION PROCESS OF SMEs IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES---exploratory research on Pakistan

2012 ◽  
Vol 01 (08) ◽  
pp. 35-53
Author(s):  
Seerat Fatima ◽  
Sheraz Arif
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Synergistic Effect ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Internationalization Process ◽  
Different Types

The purpose of this study is to classify the networks according to functions they performed, especially scrutinize their structures. The research concentrates on the influence of these functional networks on the internationalization process of small and medium sized companies (SME) in developing countries. What are the different types of support being provided by network partners? What is the structure of the existing network? The research part is inductive, qualitative and based on case study. The study’s findings illustrate the subtleties of how various network partners interact with entrepreneurs to penetrate, integrate and extend their international markets. Networks can help entrepreneurs expose themselves to new opportunities, obtain knowledge, learn from experiences, and benefit from the synergistic effect of pooled resources. Another contribution of this paper is that it identifies structures of the functional networks, till date networks are classified on the basis of extent of support they provide, not on what support they provide, thus advancing the literature.

Agriculture: Food Security and Trade Liberalization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Tangermann
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Agreement On Agriculture

In the WTO's Doha Round, agriculture is again at center stage, even though it accounts for no more than a small and declining share of world trade. The Agreement on Agriculture concluded in the Uruguay Round was a huge step forward in the GATT's dealings with agriculture. But more needs to be done. In recent years, agricultural support in several developing countries has increased while developed countries have reformed their farm policies and improved market orientation. One specific problem in the Doha Round negotiations on agriculture is the treatment of public stockholding for food security purposes. A possible solution could come through an amendment of the rules for measuring domestic support, by agreeing that procurement prices below prices prevailing on international markets are not considered "administered prices".

Critical Success Strategies for Competitive Advantage of Indigenous Construction Firms in Developing Countries: A Ghana Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 097215092090725
Author(s):  
Matthew Kwaw Somiah ◽  
Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa ◽  
Wellington Didibhuku Thwala
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Success Strategies ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Varimax Rotation ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Policy Direction

Though a plethora of studies have suggested indigenous construction firms in developing countries are competitively disadvantaged and risk being marginalized in the competition posed by their foreign counterparts, there is lack of empirical study that identifies the critical success strategies for competitive advantage of indigenous construction firms in developing countries to adduce empirical findings towards policy direction and formulation. Thus, this study identifies the critical success strategies for competitive advantage of indigenous construction firms in developing countries using Ghana as a case study and suggests strategies for competitive advantage of indigenous construction firms. The use of principal component analysis and varimax rotation in data analysis aided in reducing the large set of success strategies to four principal components. Using a questionnaire survey, 667 respondents were invited to rate 21 success strategies identified from literature based on their knowledge and experience. Correlations between the 21 variables showed that four key components underlay the critical success strategies for competitive advantage of indigenous construction firms in developing countries, namely tendering, contract, client-centred and branding strategies. Findings and recommendations of this study may be useful to construction stakeholders who are seeking innovative ways to enhance indigenous construction firms’ competitive advantage and policy direction.

An organismic approach to multinational enterprise failure

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong-Yang Park ◽  
Yong Kyu Lew ◽  
Byung Il Park
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Delphi Technique ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Legitimacy ◽  
Foreign Divestment ◽  
Market Strategies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer why some multinational enterprises (MNEs) fail within the international business (IB) domain. Design/methodology/approach Conceptually, the study takes an organismic approach to MNE failure. Methodologically, it adopts an elite interview approach derived from the Delphi technique. Respondents are 39 IB and strategic management academics. Findings The paper finds that MNE failure is rooted in strategic leadership and capabilities (i.e. internal deterioration of organizational resources and strategies) and institutional pressures and differences, and these factors lead to deterioration of institutional legitimacy for an MNE. Originality/value The paper conducts a review of the firm failure and foreign divestment literature and undertakes an organismic approach to the analysis of MNE failure in the IB context. The paper provides useful insights on developing and implementing both market and non-market strategies for overcoming MNE internationalization failure.

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