Luis Alfonso Dau, Elizabeth M. Moore and Max Abrahms
This chapter examines the impact of national membership in international organizations on female entrepreneurship. Drawing on the institution-based view from global strategy and…
Abstract
This chapter examines the impact of national membership in international organizations on female entrepreneurship. Drawing on the institution-based view from global strategy and civil society theory from international relations, we show how international organizations can promote entrepreneurship opportunities for women with respect to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). This research has both practical and social implications. From a practical perspective, it provides important insights for policy makers and entrepreneurs. Policy makers can use the findings to understand how the international organizations that countries join affect entrepreneurship, particularly the United Nation’s SDGs Entrepreneurs can also use the findings to advocate mutually beneficial conditions for host environments, particularly those dedicated to female empowerment. A sample of 44 countries, 5 years of data, and 130 country-year observations finds robust support for our assertions.
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Luis Alfonso Dau and David Wesley
The goal of this chapter is to discuss the managerial implications of regulatory reforms in BRICS countries and how those reforms affect the strategy and performance of BRICS…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this chapter is to discuss the managerial implications of regulatory reforms in BRICS countries and how those reforms affect the strategy and performance of BRICS multinationals. In particular, we consider (1) how firms may learn from the institutional and competitive changes at home that accompany pro-market reforms and use this knowledge to venture out successfully across borders, (2) how firms may learn through their international operations as a means to enhance their competitiveness and responsiveness to reforms in their home market, and (3) how BRICS multinationals differ from other emerging market multinationals.
Methodology
The chapter is primarily conceptual and relies heavily on case studies, interviews, and public financial data.
Findings
Ultimately, reforms are implemented by the state, but the strategic responses of managers to these reforms are largely what determine whether their firms will survive and thrive under the new and evolving regulatory conditions. BRICS firms are particularly well positioned to take advantage of reforms within their own countries and in other emerging markets, including other BRICS nations.
Originality/value
The chapter underscores the importance of aligning strategy with home and host market policies and environments.
Research Limitations
The observations presented are conceptual and have not been verified quantitatively. We rely heavily on historical observation and, therefore, much of the analysis is selective to those firms and may not apply to other firms.
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The purpose of this paper is to combine notions from the POST Model of Economic Geography and Learning Theory from International Business to study how firms may enhance their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to combine notions from the POST Model of Economic Geography and Learning Theory from International Business to study how firms may enhance their responsiveness to institutional processes and changes through different forms of international learning. Focussing on one form of institutional changes, namely pro-market reforms, the paper analyzes how firms may boost the potential benefits from such changes through international strategies that increase their access to knowledge spillovers and absorptive capacity. These strategies include international product diversification, enhancing innovation capabilities, informal institutional exposure, accumulated internationalization knowledge, and overall experiential knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using generalized least squares models with AR(1) panel-specific autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity correction. Based on the preliminary analyses performed in these studies, the author also executes a Hausman test, Bartlett’s test, and James/Alexander’s test. The results of these analyses indicate that the use of random effects is appropriate; that moderating effects are present; and that multivariate analyses using these moderators are suitable, respectively.
Findings
The results indicate that pro-market reforms have a positive and significant effect on the profitability of firms from developing countries. Furthermore, they provide support for the positive moderating effects of international product diversification, innovation capabilities, informal institutional exposure, accumulated internationalization knowledge, and overall experiential knowledge. Together, these findings suggest that through their international strategic decisions, MNEs can enhance their access to knowledge and become more responsive to institutional changes in their home market.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes to the economic geography literature by linking the POST Model with the classification of types of knowledge from Learning Theory. The paper analyzes how characteristics of place, organization, space, and time play a different role for each of the three basic types of knowledge that is relevant for international firms: institutional, business, and internationalization. Furthermore, the paper contributes to the literature on reforms and firm profitability by delving deeper into the moderating effect of strategic decisions on the relationship between reforms and firm performance. This allows us to have a deeper comprehension of how various sources of international learning may enhance the responsiveness of firms to institutional changes.
Originality/value
The paper provides several important contributions to the international strategy literature. First, it contributes to Learning Theory by combining it with the POST Model of Economic Geography to study how each of the three sources of knowledge (and their subcomponents) can be further broken down into factors of place, organization, space, and time. Second, it contributes to the literature of institutional change by studying how knowledge acquired through vastly different means can provide firms with sources of competitive advantage over other local competitors when responding to institutional changes in their home market. Third, it contributes to the literature on reforms and profitability by studying five novel moderators of this relationship.
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Luis Alfonso Dau, Elizabeth Marie Moore and Margaret Soto
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how multinational firms have an added incentive to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to maximize profitability and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how multinational firms have an added incentive to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to maximize profitability and adapt to the changing normative climate in a post Great Recession economy.
Methodology/approach
This chapter builds on institutional theory using contextual evidence from Mexican firms to provide insight into the varying pressures facing local and multinational enterprises in emerging markets.
Findings
This chapter highlights different sets of pressures faced by emerging market firms, both domestic and multinational. This chapter contends that emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are incentivized to uphold CSR practices to a greater degree than domestic firms from emerging markets.
Research limitations
Contextual evidence for this chapter was confined to Mexican firms, which provides an opportunity for future research to be carried out from alternative emerging markets.
Social and practical implications
From a social standpoint, this chapter sheds light on the challenges of globalization and the current rift between national level policies, coinciding behavior, and global expectations. From a practical standpoint, this chapter could inform and alert CEOs and practitioners to the nuances of CSR expectations, contingent upon the sphere in which they choose to operate in.
Originality/value
This chapter contributes to the growing dialogue on EMNEs while highlighting the schism between national and global expectations for CSR. Further, this chapter adds to the literature on institutional theory by connecting it to the in-group and out-group literature from sociology.
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Elizabeth Moore, Kristin Brandl and Luis Alfonso Dau
In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) contemporary business environment intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) play a central role. Their objective is to align…
Abstract
In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) contemporary business environment intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) play a central role. Their objective is to align member countries for collective global problem solving activities under the guidance of the organization. They aim at providing global stability and security through the creation of supranational institutions. While political sciences have studied IGOs from a global political perspective, little is known about the influence of these IGOs and their supranational institutions on country institutional environments and business environments. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to understand how IGOs influence these national institutional environments, especially considering the countries’ development levels. By using regime and institutional theory we are able to conceptualize the relation of supranational and national institutions within the differently developed countries. We identify two interconnected factors that impact this analysis, the strength of the national institutional environment of member countries and their power in the IGO. Using these factors, we identify a clash and misalignment of national and supranational institutions in emerging countries, which is leading to enhanced VUCA business environments. We provide an exemplary case that discusses institutional schisms created by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) influence in Argentina. Moreover, the impact of IGOs is significant in least developed countries and has little to no impact in highly developed countries.
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Larissa Marchiori Pacheco, Elizabeth M. Moore, Elizabeth Allen, Robin K. White and Luis Alfonso Dau
Sustainability and resilience challenges persist globally due to the lack of coordinated action among firms and community stakeholders. This is even more challenging for…
Abstract
Sustainability and resilience challenges persist globally due to the lack of coordinated action among firms and community stakeholders. This is even more challenging for multinational corporations (MNCs) interacting across multiple, and often diverse, institutional environments. To be effective, MNCs’ sustainability efforts must respond to interdependent functions and systems in communities and rely on adaptive governance frameworks targeting long-term initiatives. The authors highlight the importance of public–private interconnections to promote resilience and enable the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The authors introduce a methodology to analyze community resilience and present an in-depth, single case study of New Orleans. Findings provide important insights for the international business (IB) literature, but also critical implications for policymakers and practitioners.
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Sheila M. Puffer, David Wesley, Luis Alfonso Dau and Elizabeth M. Moore
This chapter centers on the global leadership of enterprises and their strategic business decisions as they interact with intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and…
Abstract
This chapter centers on the global leadership of enterprises and their strategic business decisions as they interact with intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in constructing a supranational global governance regime to address complex global issues. As the world faces myriad issues that transcend state borders, negative externalities of globalization, such as climate change and pandemics, are straining the current system and threatening vulnerable populations. To better understand how firms address these challenges, we present a stakeholder framework involving multinational enterprises (MNEs) in a supranational context and examine their relationships with IGOs, international nongovernmental organizations, and NGOs. A typology of firm behavior is introduced to describe four strategic responses to increased pressure for corporate social responsibility that represent the extent to which firms take leadership roles. Case studies illustrate each of the four archetypes, namely the collaborator, the complier, the counteractor, and the combatant. The situational strength of global governance organizations can have an influence on which strategic response MNEs choose, and ultimately on how MNEs decide to engage in socially responsible behaviors. The interrelatedness of MNEs and global governance organizations will continue to grow as humankind grapples with complex global issues that threaten our way of life. The 4 Cs of MNE strategic responses inform how firms may choose to respond to these challenges.