National Income Inequality, Society, and Multinational Enterprises

This chapter calls for understanding the perspective of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on international differences in income inequality. The authors set a research agenda on how national differences in income inequality influence MNE expansion strategies. Applying a transaction cost framework, both negative and positive economic outcomes of income inequality, from the MNE's perspective, are identified. Low levels of income inequality may deter foreign investment, as MNEs prefer countries where they incur lower levels of transaction costs arising from interactions with various market and non-market actors. However, the positive effect of income inequality on location attractiveness will likely diminish at higher levels of inequality when benefits are increasingly offset by additional monitoring, bargaining and security costs owing to instability and conflict. The chapter further explores the implications for level of MNE equity applied in the choice of entry mode under different levels of income inequality.

Determining Influencing Factors of Currency Exchange Rate for Decision Making in Global Economy Using MARS Method

The aim of this study is to identify the determinants of US Dollar/Turkish Lira currency exchange rate for strategic decision making in the global economy. Within this scope, quarterly data for the period between 1988:1 and 2016:2 was used in this study. In addition to this aspect, 10 explanatory variables were considered in order to determine the leading indicators of US Dollar/Turkish Lira currency exchange rate. Moreover, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) method was used so as to achieve this objective. According to the results of this analysis, it was defined that two different variables affect this exchange rate in Turkey. First of all, it was identified that there is a negative relationship between current account balance and the value of US Dollar/Turkish Lira currency exchange rate. This result shows that in case of current account deficit problem, Turkish Lira experiences depreciation. Furthermore, it was also concluded that when there is an economic growth in Turkey, Turkish Lira increases in comparison with US Dollar. While taking into the consideration of these results, it could be generalized that emerging economies such as Turkey have to decrease current account deficit and investors should focus on higher economic growth in order to prevent the depreciation of the money in the strategic investment decision.

Efficacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice

This chapter deals with the evolution of communities of practice by considering two key components which facilitate knowledge sharing: Organizational Learning and Social Capital. Dualities and intersections between the building blocks of these two components are investigated by discussing organizational learning in its explorative and exploitative forms, while considering social capital in its bridging and bonding forms. As a critical contemporary step of evolution, information and communication technologies are also elaborated in order to examine the impact of constant and instant tools on these facilitators of knowledge sharing. The study aims to derive proxies among these components of organizational learning and social capital in order to design an integrated framework that reflects the nature of online communities of practice.

What Makes a Global Business Model?

A firm's business model is an essential mechanism determining how an organization creates value for its stakeholders and captures part of the created value as profit for its owners. Global enterprises secure their market positions through properly functioning business models that are globally scalable. Once a globally scalable business model is successfully designed and validated in one location, it becomes a non-location-bound firm-specific advantage, promoting the firm's international expansion. This chapter addresses the following research questions: (1) What is the role of a business model in the success of global enterprises? (2) Which common attributes do business models of successful global companies possess? and (3) How to make a business model more suitable for global expansion? The theoretical analysis of these questions yields a conceptual framework for examining the global companies through the business model lens. The developed conceptual framework is illustrated and corroborated with the mini-cases of global companies.

Cooperation and Competition Among Regions

Many brands exist within the tourism industry. Territorial brands exist at local, regional, national, and supranational level where they overlap and are interrelated. Therefore, it is necessary that tourist destinations develop and manage their brands to obtain a strong differentiated position in the competitive market. This study analyzed relationships between destinations in the new global scenario. It aimed to improve brand architecture and increase tourist loyalty. A comprehensive analysis considering 6,964 tourists from 17 countries was applied. The study offered recommendations to destinations in order to expand the design of marketing activities, improve coopetition strategies, and advance competitiveness. The results confirmed that the destinations must adapt their promotional strategies to the new global landscape of interconnected business. In addition, they need to develop strategies for horizontal loyalty between destinations.

Water-Related Price Risks

This chapter presents the issue of the risks associated with the increase of the price (tariffs) of water, which are, and promise to be, a growing challenge for the sustainable management of the companies. At the beginning of the chapter the term risk is operationalized and water-related risks are classified. The reasons and their specific characteristics for the raising of water prices and the objective risks they create for the companies have been identified in the main part of the chapter. This part informs the company management about the possible causes of unjustified increase in the price of the water used in their activities. Several informational and analytical solutions and guidelines for the management have been marked in the end. These can prove useful in preventing and reducing the abovementioned risks and in aiding the sustainable management of the companies.

Project and Risk Management in a Global Context

Project management is one of the possible ways to improve the organizational reputation and create value. The control achievable on each project' constrains (time, cost and quality) and the actions consequent by assessment process can represent in theory a guarantee for the success of a project. In practical, there are many risks capable of upsetting the project dynamics leading to failures. Risk management, or the specific area of knowledge of Project Risk Management, are useful to prevent this possible occurrence. The global dimension of organizations' networks that use PM, moves this quality to the project that this organizations do. A definition of global project is provided as well as also the consequent considerations about the cross-cultural aspect within the peoples involved in this type of project. It is framed and proposed a new category of risk related to management of global project: cultural risk analysis.

A Proposition of Strategy Making in Global Firms

Strategy as Practice (hereafter S-As-P) is referred as a research topic concerning with the doing of strategy; who does it, what they do, how they do it, what they use and what implications this has for shaping strategy. The developing field has taken the concern of “humanize management” seriously by bringing human actors to the center of the strategy (Jarzabkowski & Spee, 2009). This study aims to furnish insights into the S-as-P approach. In this sense, it considers extended mainstream strategy research and focuses on light practices that have largely passed and unnoticed (Vaara & Whittington, 2012). Furthermore, its reflections on businesses operating in global economy are discussed.

Strategic Planning, Cultural Context, and Business Continuity Management

This study is focused on the role, importance and practice of Business Continuity Management (BCM) in relation with Strategic Planning (SP) and Cultural Context (CC) by offering a holistic framework for short-term and long-term strategic business analysis. The purpose is to create a unique structured plan for understanding the organizational failure willingness and to create a culture of readiness, feedback and risk management. The methodology used is quantitative with questionnaire for collection data. The study sample includes 50 organizations from four different sectors: banking, services, industrial and insurance in Shkoder (Albania). The research findings show a positive correlation between SP and BCM (0.54%), with a significant positive impact of SP on BCM. A positive correlation is founded between SP and CC (0.588%). The study suggests that placing the BCM in the Corporate Culture may be entitled as another manner of integrating BCM and SP in one structure. Between culture and strategy there is a huge number of characteristics and similarities they have in common with each other.

Regionalism and the Multilateral Trading System

Regionalism and the Multilateral Trading System: The Role of Regional Trade Agreements is a discussion about the new reality and the evolution of the reduction of international barriers to freer trade under the World Trade Organization (WTO) formerly the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). The chapter devotes time to the two largest regional trade agreements (RTAs), the European Union (EU) with 28 countries and North American Trading Agreement (NAFTA) with three countries account for half of all world trade (WTO, 2017a). The US set a course post World War II as the proponent of globalization and freer trade. RTAs at that time were failing or inconsequential. In response to the EU trading block, the US committed to a (Free Trade Area) FTA with Canada and subsequently the NAFTA with Canada and Mexico the rest of the world began to become concerned about being shut out of a preferential trade deal. The main theme of the chapter is that trade liberalization is moving forward because of Regional Trading agreements, not the WTO which is stalled and may never restart in its current form.