Davina Vora and Tatiana Kostova
This paper aims to examine the individual-level headquarters–subsidiary relationship issue of psychological attachment in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Antecedents to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the individual-level headquarters–subsidiary relationship issue of psychological attachment in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Antecedents to subsidiary manager identification and commitment to the MNE and subsidiary are explored.
Design/methodology/approach
Those in subsidiary manager roles regardless of country of origin were surveyed. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squared structural equation modeling.
Findings
For both MNE and subsidiary models, perceived prestige related to commitment. All components of positive interaction related to subsidiary commitment (but not identification), while just one related to MNE identification and commitment. For the MNE model only, collectivism positively related to identification and commitment, cultural distance positively related to commitment, geographic distance negatively related to commitment, and language similarity marginally negatively related to commitment. Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) partially mediated relationships of perceived prestige and positive interaction with commitment in MNE and subsidiary models.
Research limitations/implications
This microfoundational approach to psychological attachment in an MNE setting suggests similarities and differences for antecedents in MNEs and subsidiaries, as well as the importance of OBSE. This study is limited by its exclusion of other antecedent variables and types of attachment, and a cross-sectional study design.
Practical implications
MNEs can increase psychological attachment by communicating the importance of the MNE and/or subsidiary, developing processes to improve interactions with other organizational units, and demonstrating that employees are valued.
Originality/value
Exploration of the individual-level of analysis of headquarters–subsidiary relationships is rare, and different findings for the MNE and subsidiary are highlighted, something that is not fully explained by current research on psychological attachment.
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Ettore Spadafora, Kwabena Aboah Addo, Tatiana Kostova, Makafui Kwame Kumodzie-Dussey, Ezekiel Leo, Valentina Marano and Marc van Essen
Despite agency theory and resource dependence theory suggesting that – albeit through different mechanisms – board independence positively influences firm internationalization…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite agency theory and resource dependence theory suggesting that – albeit through different mechanisms – board independence positively influences firm internationalization, empirical evidence on this relationship has been mixed and inconclusive. Based on this, the purpose of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze and synthesize the existing empirical literature and, second, to develop new theoretical insights on the effect of board independence on firm internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used advanced meta-analytic techniques that allowed them, first, to synthesize the existing empirical literature on the board independence–firm internationalization relationship and, second, to examine the effect of several contingencies on such relationship. This study relies on data from 87 primary studies (published and unpublished) carried out in multiple academic fields in the period 1998–2021 and covering 49 countries.
Findings
The results confirm the established agency and resource-dependence arguments, suggesting that higher board independence is associated with greater firm internationalization. Moreover, the results show that the focal relationship is moderated by home-country formal and informal institutional factors, and in particular, the legal protection of minority shareholders and family business legitimacy. The authors do not find evidence that CEO duality and board size moderate the focal relationship or that board independence has a stronger effect on breadth than on depth of internationalization.
Originality/value
This study lies at the intersection of the literatures on corporate governance and firm internationalization and on comparative corporate governance of the multinational firm, shedding further light on the role played by institutional environments in determining the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms.
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This chapter complements the one that appeared as “History of the AIB Fellows: 1975–2008” in Volume 14 of this series (International Business Scholarship: AIB Fellows on the First…
Abstract
This chapter complements the one that appeared as “History of the AIB Fellows: 1975–2008” in Volume 14 of this series (International Business Scholarship: AIB Fellows on the First 50 Years and Beyond, Jean J. Boddewyn, Editor). It traces what happened under the deanship of Alan Rugman (2011–2014) who took many initiatives reported here while his death in July 2014 generated trenchant, funny, and loving comments from more than half of the AIB Fellows. The lives and contributions of many other major international business scholars who passed away from 2008 to 2014 are also evoked here: Endel Kolde, Lee Nehrt, Howard Perlmutter, Stefan Robock, John Ryans, Vern Terpstra, and Daniel Van Den Bulcke.
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Jamie D. Collins, Dan Li and Purva Kansal
This study focuses on home country institutions as sources of variation in the level of foreign investment into India. Our findings support the idea that institutional voids found…
Abstract
This study focuses on home country institutions as sources of variation in the level of foreign investment into India. Our findings support the idea that institutional voids found in India are less of a deterrent to investments from home countries with high levels of institutional development than from home countries with similar institutional voids. Overall, foreign investments in India are found to be significantly related to the strength of institutions within home countries. The levels of both approved and realized foreign direct investment (FDI) are strongly influenced by economic factors and home country regulative institutions, and weakly influenced by home country cognitive institutions. When considered separately, the cognitive institutions and regulative institutions within a given home country each significantly influence the level of approved/realized FDI into India. However, when considered jointly, only the strength of regulative institutions is predictive of FDI inflows.
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Daniel O'Connell and Alan Rugman
This paper aims to analyze the research productivity and impact of the finalists of the AIB best dissertation award, now titled the Buckley and Casson Award, but from 1987 to 2012…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the research productivity and impact of the finalists of the AIB best dissertation award, now titled the Buckley and Casson Award, but from 1987 to 2012 the Farmer Award. Specifically, this paper examines whether there is a relationship between winning the best dissertation award and subsequent publication productivity and impact. Relationships between academic institution and institutional geographic location and finalists are also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines 25 years of citation counts and the number of publications in Google Scholar of Farmer Award winners and finalists of the AIB best dissertation award from inception in 1987 to 2009, with cited publications as a measure of productivity and citations as a measure of impact. Top performers in productivity and impact are identified, and the averages of winners and non-winners are analyzed in aggregate, over time and per year. Data on finalists' institution and geographic location of institution are analyzed to describe the importance of location and institution to the award.
Findings
It is found that the overall average citations of the winners of the award is less than that of the non-winners, and that in the large majority of years the non-winners have an average citation count higher than that of the winners. However, taking averages in five year increments shows more mixed results, with non-winners performing better in two periods and winners performing better in two periods, with the remaining period being split as to research productivity and impact.
Originality/value
Aggarwal et al. in this journal summarized a variety of data on Farmer Award finalists from the 1990s to gain insights on institutions represented by finalists, the publication record of finalists, and content of dissertations, among other characteristics. This paper updates some of the insights from that paper by examining data on award winners from 1987 to 2013, and adds further insight by examining for the first time cited publications and citation counts winners and non-winners for the same period excluding the last two years.
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Arpita Joardar, Tatiana Kostova and Sibin Wu
The purpose of this paper is to present our viewpoint on the research on foreignness and provide directions for future studies. We suggest that research on foreignness can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present our viewpoint on the research on foreignness and provide directions for future studies. We suggest that research on foreignness can be expanded by exploring its complexity.
Design/methodology/approach
This article takes the form of a viewpoint.
Findings
We identify three facets of foreignness – foreignness effect (liabilities or assets) foreignness level (organizational or individual) and foreignness locus (external or internal to an entity), which have not been sufficiently examined in prior research.
Originality/value
We discuss how these aspects can inform a novel research agenda in this area.
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Kiran M. Ismail, David L. Ford and Manuel Portugal Ferreira
Firms’ strategic responses to environmental shifts under conditions of uncertainty in the wake of institutional changes are far from understood. We utilize data from over 1,200…
Abstract
Firms’ strategic responses to environmental shifts under conditions of uncertainty in the wake of institutional changes are far from understood. We utilize data from over 1,200 firms in seven Central Eurasian transition economies to examine the extent to which institutional inefficiency is predictive of the response strategies employed by the firms in their environments. We also examine how firms maneuver in the environment through an innovative effort in developing new products, opening new plants or upgrading product lines and technologies. Our results seem indicative of both an adaptive and an innovative effort by firms in these countries. The results are discussed with respect to empirical limitations and future research avenues in these transition economies.
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Franziska M. Renz and Richard Posthuma
This study systematically reviews the literature on psychological ownership theory since its inception 30 years ago. Psychological ownership describes why and how individuals…
Abstract
Purpose
This study systematically reviews the literature on psychological ownership theory since its inception 30 years ago. Psychological ownership describes why and how individuals inform their identities by taking ownership. The authors provide guidance and support to management scholars to access the field and make meaningful contributions to the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
A variety of bibliometric techniques for performance analyses and science mapping is implemented to examine quantitative bibliographic data of 178 studies on psychological ownership. The data are obtained from Web of Science. The VOSviewer science mapping framework is employed to perform the analyses.
Findings
Co-authorship, citation and keyword co-occurrence networks indicate the social structures, most influential authors, publications and journals, as well as topics of past research and avenues for future investigation in the field of psychological ownership. While the authors of the seminal studies Pierce et al. (2001, 2003) have shaped the field over the past decades, the future of psychological ownership research requires stronger collaborations across the globe to advance the field from the individual level to the group and organization level.
Originality/value
This study is the first to comprehensively analyze the management literature on psychological ownership from a historical perspective using a systematic approach, bibliometric procedures and quantitative data. Insightful guidance and avenues for future investigation are offered to move psychological ownership research forward.