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The issue of motivation for foreign direct investment (FDI) is central to international business (IB) theory and empirical research. The most common starting point is Dunning’s four motives (4M) framework: market seeking, natural resource seeking, efficiency seeking and strategic asset seeking. This paper explores the genesis, development and application of the 4M framework and demonstrate how it has developed from an abstract typology and heuristic device unsupported by empirical evidence into a set of concrete behavioral assumptions with theoretical and methodological consequences for IB research.

The paper is mainly conceptual, based on relevant theoretical work on FDI motives, and partly methodological, concentrating on the importance of realism for behavioral assumptions in IB.

The authors demonstrate that the shift in the 4M framework from abstract typology to a set of concrete behavioral assumptions has important implications for the development of IB theory and methodology. A critical issue has largely been ignored: the role of realism in the assumptions on which theory and its empirical testing are based and the possible consequences of unrealism in key behavioral assumptions. The authors show that attempts to “fix” the problems inherent in the 4M framework will inevitably fail and suggest ways in which it is possible to inject more realism into behavioral assumptions underlying FDI motivation.

The authors demonstrate that the applicability of the 4M approach, for either firms or policymakers seeking to attract FDI and maximize the benefits from it, needs to be more clearly understood in the context of the particular decision.

Many countries see the attraction of FDI as central to their plans for economic growth and indeed the propensity for industrial development and moving up the value chain. The understanding of FDI motive has, in recent years, been recognized as central to this. The authors offer an important nuance to this understanding.

The paper offers both theoretical and methodological insights for IB scholars interested in FDI motivation.

Research indicates a long historical connection between racism and nationalist ideologies. This connection has been highlighted in the resurgence of exclusionary nationalism in recent years, across many multicultural societies. This chapter discusses the notions of race, ethnicity and nation, and critically examines how racism shapes contemporary manifestations of nationalist discourse across the world. It explores the historical role of settler-colonialism, imperial expansions and the capitalist development in shaping the racial/ethnic aspect of nationalist development. Moreover, it provides an analysis of the interconnections between the racialisation of minorities, exclusionary ideologies and the consolidation of ethno-nationalist tropes. This chapter further considers the impact of demographic changes in reinforcing anti-migrant exclusionary sentiments. This is examined in connection with emerging nativist discourse, exploring how xenophobic racism has shaped and is shaped by nostalgic nationalism based on the sanitisation of the legacies of Empire and colonialism.

This study proposes a novel method utilising a speech-word pair bipartite network to examine the correlation structure between members of parliament (MPs) in the context of the UK- China relationship.

We construct MP-word pair bipartite networks based on the co-occurrence relationship between MPs and words in their speech content. These networks are then mapped into monopartite MPs correlation networks. Additionally, the study calculates correlation network indicators and identifies MP communities and factions to determine the characteristics of MPs and their interrelation in the UK-China relationship. This includes insights into the distribution of key MPs, their correlation structure and the evolution and development trends of MP factions.

Analysis of the parliamentary speeches on China-related affairs in the British Parliament from 2011 to 2020 reveals that the distribution and interrelationship of MPs engaged in UK-China affairs are centralised and discrete, with a few core MPs playing an integral role in the UK-China relationship. Among them, MPs such as Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, David Cameron, Lord Hunt of Chesterton and Lord Howell of Guildford formed factions with significant differences; however, the continuity of their evolution exhibits unstableness. The core MP factions, such as those led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and David Cameron, have achieved a level of maturity and exert significant influence.

The research has several limitations that warrant acknowledgement. First, we mapped the MP-word pair bipartite network into the MP correlation network for analysis without directly analysing the structure of MPs based on the bipartite network. In future studies, we aim to explore various types of analysis based on the proposed bipartite networks to provide more comprehensive and accurate references for studying UK-China relations. In addition, we seek to incorporate semantic-level analyses, such as sentiment analysis of MPs, into the MP-word -pair bipartite networks for in-depth analysis. Second, the interpretations of MP structures in the UK-China relationship in this study are limited. Consequently, expertise in UK-China relations should be incorporated to enhance the study and provide more practical recommendations.

Firstly, the findings can contribute to an objective understanding of the characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations, thereby informing adjustments of focus accordingly. The identification of the main factions in the UK-China relationship emphasises the imperative for governments to pay greater attention to these MPs’ speeches and social relationships. Secondly, examining the evolution and development of MP factions aids in identifying a country’s diplomatic focus during different periods. This can assist governments in responding promptly to relevant issues and contribute to the formulation of effective foreign policies.

First, this study expands the research methodology of parliamentary debates analysis in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the UK-China relationship through the MP-word-pair bipartite network. This outcome inspires future researchers to apply various knowledge networks in the LIS field to elucidate deeper characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations. Second, this study provides a novel perspective for UK-China relationship analysis, which deepens the research object from keywords to MPs. This finding may offer important implications for researchers to further study the role of MPs in the UK-China relationship.

This study proposes a novel scheme for analysing the correlation structure between MPs based on bipartite networks. This approach offers insights into the development and evolving dynamics of MPs.

We explore the effect of selective schooling, where students are assigned to different schools by ability, on adult health, well-being and labour market outcomes. We exploit the 1960s transition from a selective to a non-selective secondary schooling system in England and Wales. The introductio3n of mixed-ability schools decreased average school quality and peer ability for high-ability pupils, while it increased them for low-ability pupils. We therefore distinguish between two treatment effects: that of high-quality school attendance for high-ability pupils and that of lower-quality school attendance for low-ability pupils, with mixed-ability schools as the alternative. We address selection bias by balancing individual pre-treatment characteristics via entropy balancing, followed by ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Selective schooling does not affect long-term health and well-being, while it marginally raises hourly wages, compared to a mixed-ability system, and school aspirations for high-ability pupils. Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities measured prior to secondary school are significantly and positively associated with all adult outcomes.

This paper investigates the moderating role of values congruence, an element of person–organisation (P–O) fit, on the relationship between intrinsic work satisfaction and anticipated employee turnover. The model uses data from employees of the Australian Public Service (APS).

The study draws upon data from the APS’s annual Employee Census for 2018. We first use principal component analysis (PCA) to derive measures of collegial values congruence, managerial values congruence, intrinsic satisfaction and extrinsic satisfaction. The study then uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis to examine the main effects of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction, collegial and managerial values congruence as well as their interaction effects on anticipated future employee tenure.

Our results show the significant linear effects of intrinsic satisfaction, extrinsic satisfaction and managerial values congruence on anticipated tenure. Collegial values congruence, however, did not show a significant linear effect. Interaction effects were then tested, and both collegial and managerial values congruence were shown to moderate the relationship between intrinsic satisfaction and anticipated tenure. Higher levels of both forms of values congruence buffered the negative impact of lower intrinsic satisfaction on turnover intention.

The study is limited by its reliance on cross-sectional self-reported data within a specific and atypical organisational context (the Australian Public Service, or APS). Additionally, the cross-sectional nature of the data limits the establishment of causal inferences. Future research could explore longitudinal data and examine other potential moderators of the turnover intention.

Understanding the moderating role of values congruence, and in particular P–O fit, can develop organisational strategies that aim to reduce turnover by emphasizing the alignment between employee values and organisational, collegial and supervisor culture and values.

This study contributes to the relevant literature by showing the importance of values congruence in partially offsetting the negative effects of low intrinsic satisfaction on anticipated turnover. This is particularly relevant in the public sector context. The examination of both collegial and managerial values congruence provides a more nuanced understanding of the mechanisms that drive turnover intention.

Growth optimism, which describes the expected future growth of a firm, is an important but underexplored construct in strategy. This paper aims to assess the planning antecedents of such growth optimism by using a large Australian sample of small enterprises.

The authors use a secondary data set, gathered among Australian small to medium enterprises (SMEs), by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The analysis adopts a regression approach including a mediated and a non-mediated path to explore the direct and indirect effects of strategic planning and budgetary planning and management on expected future revenues.

This paper assesses the implications of concurrent strategic planning and financial management dynamic capabilities on anticipated future revenue growth, an important predisposition dynamic capability. The authors note that this configuration of actions and predisposition aligns closely with the necessary requirements for growth. The findings suggest that firms that use strategic planning and robust budget planning and monitoring processes exhibit higher optimism about future sales growth and firms that effectively configure these planning activities with market development tend to exhibit higher growth and more growth optimism.

In terms of theoretical contributions, the paper strongly supports the formality view in the formal/informal debates associated with effectuation strategies. The authors suggest that appropriate strategic and budgetary planning and control systems act as a counterbalance to organisational confusion and managerial capriciousness, leading to improved confidence among managers and their employees regarding future resource commitments and plans.

The findings of the paper are potentially important for both managers and policy makers. For managers seeking to grow their future sales, planning is shown to be an important antecedent activity. The presence of financial and strategic planning may predispose firms to make important investment decisions that drive future growth. Also, a better understanding of the firm’s current and future strategic and financial position may be evidence of effective firm management, a situation that, in turn, drives growth.

In terms of social and policy implications, the data gathered for the survey by the ABS forms a valuable collection of information in relation to business practices. Australian firms are required by law to regularly report budget plans and outcomes. The research suggests that this data can inform policy initiatives, particularly in relation to programmes that may assist small and young firms to undertake prospective strategic and budgetary planning.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate the particular configuration of strategic and financial planning and anticipated sales growth in the SME context.

The article examines the differences in the reception of international and Indigenous students to understand the challenges faced by the first students who identified as Indigenous, and to improve understanding of the 1950s, a pivotal decade in the development of university culture.

Drawing on archival sources and contemporary student magazines and newspapers, this article contrasts the attitudes towards international and Indigenous students at the University of Melbourne during the 1950s. It uses these populations to show that the idea of friendship specific to the populations of students and staff in the 20th century could both include and exclude groups within society.

The article shows that while students embraced the cultures of countries in Asia, and made friends with students who came to Australia to study, Indigenous students were less well received. This issue is explored in the context of the ongoing, earnest fundraising for scholarships for Indigenous students, and both the support and the backlash this engendered.

The article focuses on the University of Melbourne, which established the Aboriginal Scholarships committee, and where the first Indigenous student graduated, but more work is needed to understand parallels elsewhere.

The article has implications for understanding the way in which university communities embrace outsiders and adapt to foreign cultures. It also sheds light on intolerance, informing approaches to respond to these issues today.

The article reveals the many challenges faced by the first Indigenous students during the 1950s, the time when university education first became a priority. In this it helps to understand that the slow increase of numbers was not only caused by external factors but also originated within the academy.

This article makes a contribution to understanding the differences between the increasing acceptance in Australian universities of international students from Asia and the persistent resistance to accepting Indigenous Australian students.

The study sets out to demonstrate how a lifecycle perspective on complex, public-sector procurement projects can be used for making qualitative assessments of procurement policy and practice and reveal those procurement capabilities that are most impactful for operating effectively.

Agency theory, institutional theory and the lifecycle analysis technique are combined to abductively develop a framework to identify, analyse and compare complex procurement policies and practices in public sector organisations. Defence is the focal case and is compared with cases in the Nuclear, Local Government and Health sectors.

The study provides a framework for undertaking a lifecycle analysis to understand the challenges and capabilities of complex, public-sector buyers. Eighteen hierarchically-arranged themes are identified and used in conjunction with agency theory and institutional theory to explain complex procurement policy and practice variation in some of the UK’s highest-profile public buyers. The study findings provide a classification of complex buyers and offer valuable guidance for practitioners and researchers navigating complex procurement contexts.

The lifecycle approach proposed is a new research tool providing a bespoke application of theory by considering each lifecycle phase as an individual but related element that is governed by unique institutional pressures and principal-agent relationships.

This chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities of integrating big data generated by contemporary museums into data ecology and data fabrics of smart cities. First, it exposes that smart cities could enhance their global reputation, visibility and image by building on closer collaborations with museums. Second, it demonstrates that museums in the 21st century have transformed into hyper-connected cultural hubs, spreading their reach and impact beyond their immediate urban locations. Finally, this chapter discusses creative approaches to data-curation mechanisms that stress the role of museums and cultural heritage sites in supplying data for a more strategic and proactive smart city co-design and management. Specifically, this chapter offers a three-dimensional framework for integrating heritage data in the design of smart city data ecosystems, which includes such components as Data Resources, Data Republics and Data Impacts. Data Resources stresses museum collections’ data and meta-data as a strategic resource to empower creative public data-curation practices to tell meaningful stories about the city and enhance place-making. Data Republics focuses on big data generated by visitors online or on-site as a foundation for evidence-based urban research, design and management, empowering more sustainable, safe and enjoyable tourism. Data Impacts details data-driven methodologies that museums could employ to measure public sentiment and opinion to offer new human-centred indicators to understand the performance of smart cities. This chapter shares a conceptual framework for repurposing museum data within a smart city data ecology to translate the current data excess into data intelligence.

This introductory chapter presents the book’s rationale and structure and reflects on the notion of ‘fragmented powers’ as a key entry into understanding evolving power dynamics in the English-speaking world. Combining historical and contemporary perspectives, from the late 18th century to the contemporary era, fragmentation as a non-linear process reveals the tensions between centralisation and decentralisation, as well as confrontation and cooperation in the fields of constitutional and institutional issues, politics and political party systems, the media, and in urban and social policies at both the intra-national and transnational levels. The adoption of a long view perspective and a multidisciplinary approach allows to critically assess the concept of fragmentation by questioning both its positive and negative effects on the cultural, political and socio-economic environments.