Doing Business in Vietnam from the Perspectives of Polish Entrepreneurs – the Role of Local Partners

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges of expanding into an emerging marketfor multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the strategies they adopted to overcome these adversities. Whileinterest in the expansion of MNEs into the Vietnamese market is increasing, there is a lack of research onthis process from the Polish businesses' perspectives, which may differ from existing literature. Theanalysis of information obtained by a semi-structured interview method shows that the psychic/culturaldistance is the most critical challenge the Polish enterprises must face when entering the Vietnamesemarket. The study also shows that the key success factor for the expansion of the Polish enterprises intothis market is a local partner, i.e., acquiring an appropriate Vietnamese partner, good cooperation withhim/her, and building mutual trust. As a result, among the available forms of internationalization, thePolish enterprises most often choose export and various forms of cooperation with local partners as themain ways to enter this market.

The impact of international interorganizational relationships on creativity: the local partner perspective in an emerging country

PurposeThis paper aims to understand how international interorganizational relationships (IORs) impact the organizational creativity of a local partner in an emerging country, and how the creative capacities of emerging countries firms are developing.Design/methodology/approachThe study is exploratory and qualitative, based on five IORs between European multinational corporations (MNCs) and Tunisian firms operating in the consumer goods sector analyzed using the Gioia method.FindingsThe results show that it seems necessary for firms in emerging countries first to be legitimate, then to have dynamic capacities (learning capacities in particular), and that they know how to develop an innovation strategy and implement it concretely. The authors highlight three different organizational mechanisms. The first concerns analyzing the legitimacy of the local partner to engage in an innovation process based on its distinctive capacities and formalization of procedures. The second involves building dynamic capabilities, especially technological and managerial skills, in order to meet the challenges of the growing collaboration between the partners and to expand their mandate. The third deals with implementing an innovation strategy on two fronts: trust between partners and sustainable innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThe contributions focus on the international dimension of the IORs' impact on creativity and the role of the local partner's creative capacities. The work highlights to what extent “techno-centric” creativity plays a role in the absorption capacity of local partners, as well as the level of assistance provided by MNCs for developing innovation in emerging countries' firms. Moreover, our results show that increasing awareness of ecological and responsible consumption is reorienting production patterns on both local and global scales and offers many benefits for local and multinational firms. The limitations concern the sample size, the narrow diversity of the sector and the lack of information regarding multinational firms.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is to show the construction of the creative process at the level of the local partner, from the execution of a specification to the implementation of a sustainable innovation strategy.

New island stories: heritage, archives, the digital environment and community regeneration

This chapter reflect on the author's experiences as the local partner lead for two University of Leeds-led projects. It explores what can be understood from them about the relationship between communities, digital heritage archives, institutions, and heritage engagement. Heritage (hi)stories, digital skills enhancement, and community empowerment are frequently cited ingredients in the mix of approaches to promoting community regeneration and development. Between October 2014 and March 2015, the two projects explored some of these themes with residents of the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Jointly, the projects brought together community, academic, institutional, and private sector partners to create new digital tools to support heritage-based community research and creative expression, and to further explore questions about heritage perception and digital engagement. Thus, this chapter discusses the meaningful contribution that projects such as Pararchive can make in the wider context of national ambitions for digitally engaged communities, and how project implementation might usefully be aligned with local communities in the future.

Risk, capabilities, and international venture capital syndication in China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance a holistic model of venture capital (VC) firms’ syndication decisions in an emerging economy. When considering syndication with local partners, VC firms consider multiple sources of risk related to firm-specific characteristics (life-cycle, operational and political). In conjunction with these risk factors, they also consider their own capabilities, namely, their knowledge breadth and knowledge depth. Knowledge breadth stems from a VC firm’s network position and knowledge depth is a result of its prior industry expertise. Together, these capabilities have competing impacts on VC firms’ desire to syndicate. From one perspective, VC firm capabilities may help deal with risk such that syndication may not be perceived as necessary. Alternatively, VC firm capabilities may signal attractiveness to a local partner and allow the VC firm to syndicate more easily. Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is conducted on a sample of 111 US VC firms investing in China between 1993 and 2010. Findings Lower VC firm capabilities are associated with a tendency not to syndicate with a local partner when venture risk factors are low. This pattern may arise because of such VC firms’ relative lack of experience with partnership management or weaker appeal to local partners. Originality/value This study is one of the earliest attempts to develop a neo-configurational perspective within the VC literature and thus contributes to a more nuanced understanding of international VC firms’ strategic behaviour in emerging economies by examining multiple risks and capabilities simultaneously and in conjunction.

Private Sector Corruption, Public Sector Corruption and the Organizational Structure of Foreign Subsidiaries

Corporate anti-corruption initiatives can make a substantial contribution towards curtailing corruption and advancing efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. However, researchers have observed that underdeveloped assumptions with respect to the conceptualization of corruption and how firms respond to corruption risk impeding the efficacy of anti-corruption programs. We investigate the relationship between the perceived level of corruption in foreign host countries and the organizational structure of subsidiary operations established by multinational corporations (MNCs). Foreign host market corruption is disaggregated into two components—private and public corruption. We employ an uncertainty-based perspective grounded in transaction cost theory to focus upon the distinct mechanisms through which private and public corruption can each be expected to impact a foreign subsidiary’s organizational structure [wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) or a joint venture (JV) with a local partner]. We expect that each type of corruption fosters a different type of uncertainty (environmental or behavioral) which predominates in shaping the MNC’s choice of foreign subsidiary investment structure. Hypotheses are developed and tested with a sample of 187 entries into 19 foreign host markets. Each type of corruption was found to exert a distinct effect upon the organizational structure of foreign subsidiaries. More precisely, while heightened perceived levels of public corruption were found to motivate MNCs to invest through a JV with a local partner rather than a WOS, more pronounced private corruption precipitated the opposite outcome.

Youth Savings

This chapter focuses on a study which assesses two sets of policy levers that can be pushed to increase savings: improving the accounts people can access and encouraging people to save more. The researchers worked with local partner organizations on two interventions: a simple group-based savings account and a youth-focused financial literacy curriculum made up of ten 90-minute sessions, to be held weekly for ten weeks. They partnered with the Church of Uganda, whose network of youth clubs counted thousands of members across the country. Keeping track of individuals proved far more difficult than calling names, as club members attempted to cover up each other's absences. This case qualifies as a failure of technical design. Given a setting where official documents are scarce, identifying and tracking individuals over time is always a challenge. The other candidate for a failure of technical design is the set of underlying incentives that led club members to behave badly.

FACTORS AFFECTING CONTRACTOR’S BIDDING SUCCESS FOR INTERNATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN AUSTRALIA

This paper examines the effects of different factors on the success or failure of bids for infrastructure projects in Australia. Logistic regression analysis was used to empirically determine which factors have the largest effect on bid­ding success. Data was collected from 123 bids submitted by several infrastructure companies with subsidiaries in Aus­tralia. The analysis found that having a competitive advantage and a local partner, and also not competing against a local company were the most important factors; as they significantly increase the chances of success. However, four other factors, having relevant expertise, resource availability, a previous relationship with the client, and a previous relation­ship with consortium members, are ‘essential’ to be able to compete; as the absence of any of these four factors results in bid failure, although having them is not a guarantee of success. Results of this paper provide valuable information for any company considering the opportunity of entering into Australia’s infrastructure market as well as for companies that are already present in that country and are considering whether to bid for a specific project.

Joint Venture Efficiency through Skills Complementarity or by Reducing Transaction Costs?

This paper aims to examine the main strategies multinational companies implement to enter new markets, and more specifically emerging ones, by reviewing the determinants of the strategic choice between establishing a joint venture formed by a multinational and a local partner, and the merger/acquisition of a local firm. By reviewing the relevant literature, we explore the strategies that Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) follow to enter new markets in emerging economies. Finally we put the literature in test by presenting a case study of a clothing retail company that has been a platform for multinationals wishing to enter the market of Mexico.