Editorial

Citation

Cunha, R.C.e. (2014), "Editorial", Management Research, Vol. 12 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRJIAM-06-2014-0551

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Management Research: The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, Volume 12, Issue 2

This issue of Management Research, the Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management reflects the variety of research interests associated with a globalized business context.

The first paper, by Cesário, Chambel and Guillén, integrates the human resource management (HRM) literature and the psychological contract literature. Using a sample of Portuguese expatriates, the article shows that HRM practices, implemented during the expatriation assignment, may influence the perception of the fulfilment of the psychological contract, which mediates the relationship between HRM practices and turnover intention.

The paper by Vassolo, Caldart and Silvestri reports the findings from a longitudinal study carried out at Walt Disney International. The authors specifically explore the concept of “induced variation”, or intra-organizational variation-increasing mechanisms deliberately created by top management, through the development of coexistent alternative administrative systems among the different regional operations, to decide which one should be selected and rolled out to the rest of the organization. The article describes how the capabilities developed by Walt Disney Latin America were chosen and transferred to broader operations.

In the third paper, Vouga Chueke and Borini study the internationalization process of companies in the specific aspect of subsidiary country and entry mode. One of the major findings of this study is the association between entry mode and institutional distance (both formal and informal institutions) between countries. Besides, the authors highlight the need to disaggregate the institutional distance construct into several variables to better understand the influence of formal and informal institutions on the process of firm internationalization.

The fourth article, by Hermelo et al., focuses the ability to achieve sustainability of abnormal returns in emerging economies, by exploring permanent and transitory country, industry, country – industry and firm-specific effects. Findings of the study suggest that the firm-specific effect is the most important in explaining permanent and transitory differences, followed by the country – industry interaction, suggesting that industries are not totally independent from country conditions. The paper also emphasizes the dynamic nature of emerging economies.

Finally, the special section “A Life in Research” includes an interview with Julio de Castro, the former President of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management. The interview is conducted by Santiago Ibarreche and covers Julio de Castro’s major contributions to the academy, in general, and to the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, in particular.

I want to conclude with an encouragement to all of you to submit to MRJIAM and to help sustaining the quality that the journal has already achieved. So, do not procrastinate, and submit your research work!

Rita Campos e Cunha