Philosophy of “Soft Law” as a Universal Regulator of International Relations Management

Soft law is a set of rules and guidelines, the legal force of which is at the “negotiation” stage. It has ap- peared in international law since the 1970s as one alternative to international treaties, used in cases where, for various reasons, the parties do not want or cannot commonly decide or to sign an international treaty. Agreements of this kind do not create legal obligations between the contracting parties (under the princi- ple, contracts must be respected) but only set political obligations, observing which is at the discretion of the parties. The primary purpose of the study is to analyze the philosophy of “soft law” in the context of international management of relations. The principal object of the research is the essence and significance of the philosophy of “soft law” as such. The major results of our research are to determine the essence and significance of the philosophy of “soft law” in the context of international relations.

Influence and Role of Business Reputation (Goodwill) on the Development of International Business

International business historically and logically arises as a result of the development and deepening of the international division of labor and the formation of the world market. International business is becoming an all-encompassing and pervasive phenomenon of modern civilization. Although there are many examples of international business in which the partners are, on the one hand, a private firm and on the other - a government agency of another country, it is still more typical to consider either inter-firm transactions of this kind, or intra-firm - in the case of if different divisions of the firm are located in different countries and these divisions interact with each other (the most typical in this case - the so-called multinational corporations). International business is based on the ability to benefit from the benefits of interstate (intercountry) business transactions, ie the fact that the sale of this product in another country, or the establishment of a firm of one country of production in another country, or the provision of services jointly by firms etc. provide business parties with more benefits than they would have if they did business in their own countries. This is a key point not only in understanding the nature and specifics of international business itself, but also in explaining the emergence and development of international management as such. Thus, it is a question of motivation of the businessman (manager), and it developed in the context of historical development of a civilization as a whole and its economic kernel - first of all. And definitely the impact of business reputation (goodwill) on the development of such business and its prosperity.

Toxicology and environmental risk analysis

Risk-based decision-making increasingly has global dimensions, extending from the international management of chemical risks to the sustainable development of our planet. Environmental risk analysis is firmly based on toxicological sciences with input from other public health disciplines. Increasing understanding of how the human genotype and phenotype affects absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of xenobiotics (compounds foreign to a living organism), is providing insight into answers to the oldest human question about disease: ‘Why me?’ The risk paradigm components of hazard assessment, dose–analysis, exposure assessment, risk characterization, risk management, and risk communication, and the toxicological concepts on which they are based, have proven durable in approaching increasingly complex environmental hazards. Newer approaches to managing risk, such as the precautionary principle, and newer challenges, such as nanotechnology and genetically modified organisms, necessitate further systematic thinking on how best to protect human health and the environment.

An Assessment of Environmental Policy Implications under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: A Perspective of Environmental Laws and Sustainable Development

Environmental issues know no boundaries and are recognised as a matter of regional and/or global concern, and neighbouring countries have to face shared environmental effects. Environmental laws internationally, particularly in the last thirty years, have grown significantly and have contributed to environmental protection in a variety of national, regional and international management strategies. In recent years, environmental legislation has entered into a responsible and mature phase in several non-Western countries, particularly in Asia. The present study examines the shared environmental obligations of regional or neighbouring countries using China and Pakistan as a case study and provides references from international (environmental) laws as well as states’ best practices. This study adopts a well-defined analytical methodology to not only investigate the implications of environmental laws but also to define the gaps in the existing framework of environmental laws in the region and recommend appropriate grounds to systematically fill these gaps through much-needed legal cooperation before it is too late. The study provides a detailed analysis and pertinent knowledge horizons, and concludes that there is an abrupt need for China and Pakistan to revise their trade agreements and include the environment as an integral part of each mega-infrastructural activity, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Most of the potential outcomes are already known but there is little academic discussion available concerning the perspective of cross-boundary environmental laws, and the present study intends to fill this gap.

Better, Faster, Stronger: The Evolution of Co-authorship in International Management Research Between 1990 and 2016

As a border-transcending discipline, the advancement of international management research depends on collaboration between scholars, universities, and nations to account for the diversity and complexity of management phenomena. Yet, relatively little is known about how international management has evolved as a field of research. We address this gap by examining the evolution of collaboration patterns on three levels of analysis, applying the concepts of cumulative advantage, preferential attachment, and isomorphic behavior in a diachronic network analysis. Based on 6,874 articles published between 1990 and 2016 in eight international management journals, our analysis shows that collaboration is driven by a few key players on each level. Although the US and UK still represent hubs, semi-peripheral actors from Europe and Asia enter the landscape. Nevertheless, non-western actors are still underrepresented. We tie this effect to the expertise-based hegemonic status of American and British business schools and dynamics of cumulative advantage on country-level.

Managing international professional service firms: a review and future research agenda

PurposeResearch on international professional service firms (PSFs) has grown in recent years, reflecting the increasing relevance of these firms in the global economy. However, to date, no attempt has been made to systematically examine and integrate this literature. This study reviews the body of knowledge on the international management of PSFs and proposes a future research agenda that aims to strengthen the research on international PSFs, by applying the conceptual lens of PSF characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of 108 empirical articles on the management of international PSFs was carried out.FindingsThe authors analyse where, how and what research was carried out on the international management of PSFs, and find that currently the field offers few opportunities to integrate findings or explain differences across different types of international PSFs. In recommendations for future research, the authors show how the lens of PSF characteristics can help overcome these issues and unveil promising avenues for future research that will lead to a more fine-grained theorising and understanding of the international management of PSFs.Originality/valueThe study provides a comprehensive state of the art of research on the international management of PSFs and a future research agenda, which builds on PSF characteristics to explore and better understand the heterogeneity of international PSFs, in order to develop more robust explanations of their behaviour and open new research avenues.

Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions: perceptions of scholars

This study aims to contribute to Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) within an international perspective. Our main argument is that when HEIs value international research and students’/academics’ international mobility, such institutions contribute to enlarge the view of internationalization throughout Brazil and push HEIs far beyond political, economic and commercialization processes considered to be, today, key drivers for Higher Education changes in terms of internationalization. To achieve this aim, the most recent tendencies in literature concerning the concepts of HEIs and International Management (IM) were gauged to realize the extent to which they may contribute to alternative perceptions in global Higher Education in Brazil. The theoretical framework was based on the articulation of such concepts, and data were connected to the interviews held with highly skilled scholars of three different public Brazilian HEIs using the methodology of oral histories. Data pointed traits and suggestions toward expanding internationalization in Brazilian HEIs, among which fostering international researchers and resource allocation systems for international research funding.