Search results

There is limited empirical research on the internationalization processes, strategies and operations of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from countries at different levels of development. This paper examines and analyzes the internationalization strategies and characteristics of Asian MNEs within the investment development path (IDP) perspective.

Primary data are drawn from matched case studies of emerging MNEs from Taiwan (a newly industrializing country) and Malaysia (a fast developing country) in the textile and electronics industries.

The internationalization strategies of our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were founded on cost‐based competencies and other location‐based advantages, brought together by an extensive web of ethnic networks. Differences between our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were found and discussed. In general, the Taiwanese firms were more internationalized (at stage 3 of IDP) than the Malaysian firms (stage 2). They had more developed and elaborate production networks and greater own design manufacturing/own brand manufacturing participation than the Malaysian firms.

The research did not capture the operational strategies at the level of the subsidiary or JV. The findings were exploratory and formed the basis for research propositions presented. As indicated there existed a wide empirical research gap on Asian as well as Taiwanese and Malaysian MNEs. These need to be filled to provide further evidence and answers to the issues raised in the paper. Other potential areas of research could include longitudinal studies of Asian MNEs to examine whether they will resemble Western MNEs as they evolve, the impact of ethnic networks on the performance of Asian MNEs of both Chinese and non‐Chinese origins, and the role of the state in internationalization strategies.

Few studies have been done on emerging market multinationals and their internationalisation strategies.

The paper aims to assess the impact of corporate strategy on shareholder value in decline and turnaround situations.

A sample of 45 turnaround firms was selected and matched against a control sample which did not face continuous decline over the time period studied. The impact of corporate strategy on shareholder value was tested using cumulative beta excess return measures to capture the long‐term basis of corporate strategy.

The paper finds that the beta excess return measures captured the hypothesized relationships between strategy and shareholder value for the sample firms studied.

Beta excess return measures are superior to case studies or event studies for identifying the long‐term effects of corporate strategy.

Relatively few studies have compared the strategies of turnaround firms with a matched sample of non‐declining firms. The use of cumulative beta excess returns to assess long‐term valuation of corporate strategy is original.

Competitiveness is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the 1990s. It has drawn substantial attention from the government and business communities during the last 25 years. Morrisson et al. (1988) noted that between 1983 and 1987, the term competitiveness appeared more than 5700 times in the titles of newspapers and magazine articles. The growth of importance and interest can also be observed from the increase in the bibliographical entries in ABI/Inform database. From 1981 to 1986, the topic “international competitiveness” increased by about 26 listings per year (a total of 159 in 6 years) and the rate increased to 45 listings per year from 1987 to 1993. Academic interest in the area has also increased and as a result, new developments contemplating conceptualization and understanding of competitiveness are taking place. However, to no one's surprise, writers from different disciplines offer a variation in perspective when describing the concept, understanding, and postulation of competitiveness.

The ultimate goal of competitiveness is the well being of the citizens of a country. From this perspective, this study investigates the contribution of international competitiveness on per capita income, human development, and inequality in 45 countries of the world. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to determine the relationships. The results indicate that international competitiveness positively influences per capita income and human development. Competitiveness also influences the reduction of inequality in a country. Longitudinal studies with more country data needs to be conducted to further the relationships established through cross‐sectional research.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the importance of managing outsourcing without allowing learning skills to become atrophied, but instead ensuring that the transfer of functions to external agents (by outsourcing) can actually be a source of new learning. From an organizational learning perspective, the issues addressed fall within the sphere of corporate strategy and play a critical role in value creation. Hypotheses are presented concerning the role of management, its leadership styles and its ability to trigger mechanisms of new knowledge creation with a consequent impact on value creation, even when production processes are performed by third parties.

The paper's investigation is based on a positivist[1] philosophy, and follows a socio‐economic and knowledge‐based approach. The method used to verify the hypotheses involved a process of hands‐on research, with bank executives being asked to complete a structured questionnaire.

From the survey it emerged that in order to create value and allow the outsourcing output to be incorporated in a process of continual improvement of resources, a correct management of the relationship with the outsourcing service provider is most efficacious if the output is treated as shared, disseminated and incorporated knowledge. It was found that, in the presence of democratic styles, knowledge becomes learning and generates the maximum benefit in terms of distinctive resources.

This paper argues that it is possible to outline a procedure in which particular importance is given to control and leadership, which are the basis for dissemination and learning outcome.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how family and business priorities influence organisational decline and turnaround in a family business.

Following critical realism as philosophical orientation, this research is based on an exploratory single case study.

This research identified specific socioemotional wealth priorities driving this organisation decline and turnaround. The study also determined how the family and business dynamic leads to decisions that first trigger the organisational decline and then explain the successful implementation of turnaround strategies.

Findings of this research provide limited and contingent theoretical generalisation. Accordingly, replication and further quantitative research is required for a better understanding of this phenomenon.

Managers can benefit from this paper by noting which behaviour could lead to organisational decline and which factors could lead to a turnaround. Similarly, managers can learn about the importance of the alignment of socioemotional wealth priorities as a critical response factor to determine whether to follow exit strategies or turnaround (succession) actions.

The study contributes to the organisational decline literature and family business literature. It advances the understanding of how family businesses should balance family and business priorities to avoid organisational decline and identify strategies successfully implemented for turning around.

El objetivo de este artículo es determinar cómo las prioridades familiares y del negocio influyen sobre la declinación y recuperación organizacional en una empresa familiar.

Se usa investigación cualitativa basada en caso único de estudio y realismo crítico como orientación filosófica.

Esta investigación identifica prioridades socioemocionales específicas que explican la declinación y recuperación organizacional de una empresa familiar. Se determina como la dinámica familiar y empresarial lleva a tomar decisiones que primero desencadenan declinación organizacional y luego explican la implementación exitosa de estrategias para la recuperación organizacional de la empresa en cuestión.

Los resultados dan soporte a una generalización teórica y contingente. En consecuencia, se requiere replicación y más investigación cuantitativa para una mejor comprensión de este fenómeno.

los gerentes pueden beneficiarse de este artículo al identificar qué comportamiento podría conducir a la declinación de la organización y qué factores podrían conducir a su recuperación. Del mismo modo, los gerentes pueden aprender sobre como alinear prioridades socioemocionales y hacer de esto un factor crítico en la definición sobre implementar estrategias para continuar (sucesión) o dejar el negocio.

El estudio contribuye a la literatura sobre declinación organizacional y también a la literatura sobre Empresas Familiares. Avanza en la comprensión de cómo las empresas familiares deben equilibrar las prioridades familiares y del negocio para evitar el declive de la organización y da luces sobre estrategias implementadas con éxito en la recuperación organizacional de una empresa familiar.

This paper aims to examine the consistency between firms’ stakeholder-friendly responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings. Consistent firms are those with high prior ESG ratings that actively support stakeholders during the COVID-19 crisis.

The authors use data from JUST Capital, which tracks Russell 1000 firms’ actions in response to the pandemic, to examine the relationship between pre-pandemic ESG ratings and their COVID responses towards employees, customers and communities. The authors also analyse the impact of firms’ consistency between pre-pandemic ESG ratings and stakeholder-friendly COVID responses on ESG ratings and stock returns.

This study finds that firms with higher pre-pandemic ESG ratings are more likely to support their stakeholders during the pandemic. The authors also find that firms with high ESG ratings before the pandemic experience a decline in their ESG ratings if they do not actively support their communities during the COVID-19 crisis, although insufficient employee/customer support does not impact their ESG ratings. Finally, the authors find that firms with higher pre-pandemic ESG ratings that continue to uphold their ESG commitments through community assistance during the pandemic achieve higher stock returns compared to inconsistent firms.

The results reveal gaps in how comprehensively ESG agencies assess firms’ crisis responses, highlighting areas for rating improvements. The findings contribute to sustainable development by revealing the importance of firms upholding their ESG commitments during crises to maintain stakeholder trust and drive long-term value creation.

The findings underscore the need for responsive, transparent ESG rating processes to support the integration of sustainability considerations into corporate practices and investment decisions, particularly during evolving societal expectations during crises.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how pre-pandemic ESG ratings explain firms’ stakeholder-friendly responses during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyse the integration of these responses and pandemic risks into ESG ratings during the crisis.

Corrosion-producing microorganisms have different physiology and include sulfate-reducing bacteria, iron oxidizers and magnesium oxidizers. Biocorrosion has been seen in various industries, especially the petrochemicals and oil industries. One proposal to solve this problem is the use of bacteriophages to treat the bacteria-caused corrosion. The aims of this study were isolation and identification of corrosion-producing bacteria from petroleum pipeline corrosion as well as finding their specific bacteriophages for phage therapy purposes.

The sample pipes with the corrosion were obtained from the Gandomkar petroleum pipeline station, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. For screening the corrosion-producing bacteria, the rusted pipe samples were cultured in a selective culture medium, manganese agar. The purified individual colonies were subjected to molecular examinations. For isolating bacteriophages from silversmithing workshops wastewater in Isfahan, whole plate titration methods and transmission electron microscopy were used to isolate and detect phages.

The cultivation of corrosion-based material on manganese agar after 18 hours incubation at 30°C resulted in the isolation of cream-colored colonies. The microscopic examinations showed Gram-negative coccobacilli. Based on molecular examinations, the isolated bacteria were identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain PBM-IAUF-2 with Genebank accession number of KU145278.1. The found bacteriophage was related to the Siphoviridae family of phages.

This paper is the first report of isolation and identification of corrosion-producing bacteria and its specific lytic phages from Gandomkar petroleum pipeline station, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. The biological procedures for preventing the microbial corrosion could be an asset and considered as a potential in the petroleum and industrial microbiology. Phage therapy is considered as one of the economical methods for reducing the biocorrosion.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dimensions of service quality (SERVQUAL) from the perspective of the customers and its relationships with perceived overall SERVQUAL in retail banking and also investigate the relationships between perceived overall SERVQUAL and customer trust, customer satisfaction, and bank reputation.

A survey questionnaire was constructed, and data were collected from 375 regular customers of local banks. The convenience sampling method was employed to collect data from existing customers of local banks operating in the Klang Valley area of Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data.

The results of the study indicate four key dimensions of SERVQUAL – tangibles, empathy, reliability and security, and internet banking – all of which are significantly and positively related to customers’ perceived overall SERVQUAL. Internet banking facilities are another significant determinant of the perceived overall SERVQUAL. The results are indicative of the strong and positive effect upon customer satisfaction, their trust in the bank, and, finally, a bank’s reputation.

This study has presented and tested empirical study of perceived overall SERVQUAL model in the banking industry, particularly in the Malaysian context. This research identified the dimensions of SERVQUAL (i.e. tangibles, empathy, reliability and security, and internet banking) that influence the overall perceived SERVQUAL, and how these overall perceptions will eventually influence customer trust, customer satisfaction, and bank reputation is valid and reliable in retail banking industry. This study, however, only focussed on the banking industry. Given the diversity of the service industry, these findings may have to be tested for the applicability to different service industries in future studies.

This research is useful to bank managers as it helps them improve SERVQUAL to protect and expand their respective market share in a highly competitive industry. Banks could utilise the results of this study to improve their service tangibility, empathy, reliability, and security, which will affect both customer trust and satisfaction, and enhance a bank’s reputation.

The findings of specific dimensions of SERVQUAL will contribute to customer perception of banks’ image and reputation, and strengthen trust and satisfaction. Moreover, assisting customers towards the understanding of how they should received high quality of services with regard to quality should be perceived as emphatic, reliable, secured and tangibility of service.

The findings of this study highlight the specific dimensionalities of SERVQUAL in influencing the perceived overall SERVQUAL. This study will increase the understanding on the impact of perceived overall SERVQUAL on consumer trust, customer satisfaction, and a bank’s reputation. Specifically, it reports an empirical study of a model of perceived overall SERVQUAL that simultaneously considers the direct effects of perceived overall SERVQUAL on customer trust, customer satisfaction and bank reputation.

This paper aims to examine the investigations made on the corrosion behaviour of magnesium (Mg) substrate electrodeposited using different nano-materials.

This study uses nano-materials such as those of reduced graphene oxide (r-GO), titanium-di-oxide (TiO₂) and also r-GO/TiO₂ nano-composites (dispersed through ultra-sonication process) at 3-min time interval. Crystalline nature of synthesized TiO₂ is studied through X-ray diffraction and its pore volume is measured to be approximately 0.1851ccg-1 by Brunauer Emmett Teller analysis.

Surface morphology of the developed set of specimens inspected through scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy establishes a clean surface coating and further witnesses for only minimal defects. Electrochemical behaviour of the developed coating is studied exhaustively using Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ solution.

Incremental corrosion resistance exhibited by developed composite coating owes to the factors viz. chemical stability and hydrophobic tendency of TiO₂ and r-GO; these known engineering facts resist the flow of ions into the corrosive media and thereby reduce the rate of corrosion.