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A large and robust empirical literature demonstrates that there is a strong relationship between the performance of a multinational enterprise (MNE) and its degree of multinationality. We develop a new metric to capture the return on foreign assets (ROFA), which we use as an alternative metric to return on total assets (ROTA) as a dependent variable representing performance. We find a significant S‐shaped relation between ROFA and the degree of multinationality across a large set of UK firms.

Using the chocolate industry as a case in point, the authors show how to analyze and take advantage of industry factors that either propel or weaken the trend toward globalization.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Bruce Lloyd of the South Bank University reports on an interview with Professor George S. Yip, author of Total Global Strategy: Managing for Worldwide Competitive Advantage. Argues that managers must analyse their industry and identify the specific drivers that affect their operation and development. Leads to the identification of a number of global strategy levers: global market participation; products (global products, or local products); location of the value chain; marketing strategy. Explores critical success factors: a combination of traditional concepts associated with building and maintaining a competitive advantage and creating global capabilities and a global network that can tap into the best resources and expertise available around the world, as well as knowing how to pull it together and use it effectively. Maintains that the greatest challenge for management education all over the world is how to reconcile theory and practice. You must understand what you need to learn, then develop the capability actually to learn it.

Emerging thoughts and models in strategic management increasingly involve complex hypotheses at different levels of analysis and multiple sides of relationships. Such complexities often result in less than ideal empirical testing, with the ensuing implications being limited or sometimes even wrong. One such case is global relationship management (GRM). The effective implementation of GRM has been argued to be a principal source of a firm's value creation but the testing of GRM scenarios have been very limited. Using GRM as a case example, we introduce a new methodology to the strategic management literature that alleviates many of the limitations of existing techniques – static triangulation simulation (STS). A series of GRM hypotheses are briefly introduced and then tested via the STS technique. Starting values for the simulation, based on input from companies, are included from two sides of each GRM relationship (customer and supplier) and two levels (company and account) from each side. Such elaborate testing is typically not feasible via “normal” methodology – the STS technique, however, allows for a robust assessment of the different drivers that affect GRM outcomes.

Managers need neither swallow whole an elaborate strategic planning system, nor be discouraged into total rejection. Many of the problems businesses experience with strategic planning can be traced to a mismatch of their planning system and their companies' structure. This article presents a framework for conducting an audit of a company's structural need for strategic planning.

As multinational enterprises (MNEs) expand internationally (for example, as the ratio of foreign (F) to total (T) sales increases), there is a positive effect on firm performance (usually measured by return on total assets (ROTA). We advance this literature in three ways: (i) we focus on the recent performance of UK MNEs, in terms of ROTA, but also in terms of their return on foreign assets (ROFA); (ii) to supplement (F/T), we examine the ratio of European (E) to total (T) sales of these UK MNEs; and (iii) we test the relationship between (E/T) and both ROFA and ROTA, and find a significant non-linear fit.

Explains the concept of global account management and the forces driving it. Provides a framework to help managers to recognize why and when to use it and how to implement it successfully. Discusses examples from the advertising, computer, telecommunications, electrical component and banking industries and provides an in‐depth case study from one of the leading practitioners of global account management, the Hewlett‐Packard Company. Concludes with a guide to successful implementation.

Most observers expect Europe 1992 to enhance the performance of European businesses as they expand from a national to a continental scope. But there is little direct evidence to date of the potential gain in profitability at the business level. Using the PIMS Program database of 89 European continental businesses and 253 European single‐country businesses, this study attempts to provide evidence in this direction. The author finds that, in contrast to North America, European continental businesses were much less profitable than national businesses over the period 1972‐1987. This performance gap indicates the potential gain from the unified European market. This article examines the evidence and suggests some of the possible causes.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) is growing steadily and Chinese multinationals (MNCs) are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy. Thus, the number of papers focusing on China’s OFDI and Chinese MNCs has been increasing during the last years. The aim of this chapter is to carry out a review of the empirical papers dealing with Chinese MNCs published between 2002 and 2012 in high-impact international business and management journals.

This chapter reviews 43 empirical papers focusing on Chinese MNCs that were published in nine major scholarly journals between 2002 and 2012.

We report individual and institutional contributions, the theories and methods used, the research topics, and the main findings. We also discuss implications for future research.

Some previous literature reviews have dealt with research on China’s OFDI and Chinese MNCs. Nevertheless, none of the earlier reviews dealt specifically with empirical papers; neither did they provide an analysis of both individual and institutional contributions.