The digital economy, which heralds the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4), is upon us. What can history teach international business scholars about how firms are…
Abstract
The digital economy, which heralds the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4), is upon us. What can history teach international business scholars about how firms are likely to respond to this new form of technological change? Who are the likely winners or the likely losers? For 30 years, the author has lived through, studied, and written about the Third Industrial Revolution and other major environmental shocks, ranging from new entrants to academia to regional integration to outbreak of war, looking at the fundamental issues of how individuals, firms, communities, and countries respond to and are affected by life-changing events. In this chapter, the author tells seven brief stories about living through and studying “shocks and responses.” Perhaps, some of these stories may provide useful lessons to the scholars of IR4.
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In developed markets, emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) seem to be more discriminated by host country nationals than foreign developed market multinational…
Abstract
Purpose
In developed markets, emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) seem to be more discriminated by host country nationals than foreign developed market multinational enterprises (DMNEs). They are challenged with host country nationals’ prejudices and face a stigma of being from emerging markets. While literature agrees that EMNEs suffer from additional disadvantages due to their country-of-origin, research fails to identify those factors that may lead to a higher discrimination against EMNEs than against foreign DMNEs.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on institutional theory, we look at institutional-related and resource-related antecedents that have an impact on various forms of direct and indirect discrimination by host country nationals.
Originality/value
Our framework analyzes the crucial differences between host country nationals’ perception of EMNEs and foreign DMNEs and the resulting challenges for EMNEs in the developed world. It enhances our understanding of the importance of institutional environments in explaining differences in host country nationals’ discrimination against foreign MNEs.
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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000001135. When citing the…
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000001135. When citing the article, please cite: Coy A. Jones, J. Bernard Keys, Thomas R. Miller, (1989), “Focused Labour Force: An Organisational Development Strategy”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 10 Iss: 3, pp. 10 - 1.
Coy A. Jones, J. Bernard Keys and Thomas R. Miller
In recent years the concept of the “focused factory”has emerged in the field of operations management, and the“contingency approach to job design” has evolved in the areaof…
Abstract
In recent years the concept of the “focused factory” has emerged in the field of operations management, and the “contingency approach to job design” has evolved in the area of organisational development. Utilising these two concepts in combination, the creation of a contingency continuum of job enrichment, the “focused labour force”, for improved utilisation of human resources is proposed.
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This chapter investigates the theoretical support for the distance metaphor that is widely used to capture the effects of institutional diversity in international business (IB…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the theoretical support for the distance metaphor that is widely used to capture the effects of institutional diversity in international business (IB) and management studies. It argues that neither new institutional economics (NIE) nor in neo-institutional sociology (NIS) offers support for a focus on the degree of dissimilarity. Rather, both literatures emphasize dis-commonality as a problem for cooperation. In the NIE argument, common enforcement mechanisms are needed to reduce transaction costs. In the NIS argument, effective communication and cooperation is limited to meaning-giving structures common to all parties. In neither perspective, the degree of difference in structures that are not common is relevant. We propose an alternative metaphor, institutional overlap, to capture the effects of institutional diversity on IB transactions. We argue that such a concept differs from institutional distance in being agency-centered, sensitive to intra-country variation, non-additive, and driving the thickness rather than the costs of transactions.
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Coy A. Jones, Thomas R. Miller and J. Bernard Keys
The major reason for the success of Japanese decision making is the understanding, acceptance and support of techniques by managers and employees, the various stages of the…
Abstract
The major reason for the success of Japanese decision making is the understanding, acceptance and support of techniques by managers and employees, the various stages of the decision‐making process being utilised, alongside the unofficial politics, in direction, subtlety and patience which are intrinsic to the consensual decision process. By contrast US managers register scepticism and suspicion towards participative decision processes; when such a process is used it is primarily for the purpose of improving decision quality, as against the Japanese aim to achieve unanimous consent (not approval). The Japanese process allows decision implementation with little conflict; however the prerequisites for this form of participation may be largely unfilled in other cultures' work places.
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Bita A. Kash, Kayla M. Cline, Stephen Timmons, Rahil Roopani and Thomas R. Miller
Health care institutions in many Western countries have developed preoperative testing and assessment guidelines to improve surgical outcomes and reduce cost of surgical care. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care institutions in many Western countries have developed preoperative testing and assessment guidelines to improve surgical outcomes and reduce cost of surgical care. The aims of this chapter are to (1) summarize the literature on the effect of preoperative testing on clinical outcomes, efficiency, and cost; and (2) to compare preoperative testing guidelines developed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
We reviewed the literature from 1975 to 2014 for studies and preoperative testing guidelines.
Findings
We identified 29 empirical studies and 8 country-specific guidelines for review. Most studies indicate that preoperative testing is overused and comes at a high cost. Guidelines are tied to payment only in one country studied. This is the most recent review of the literature on preoperative testing and assessment with a focus on quality of care, efficiency, and cost outcomes. In addition, this chapter provides an international comparison of preoperative guidelines.
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C. Clay Dibrell and Thomas R. Miller
Drawing from an information processing perspective, this paper examines how information technology (IT) has been a catalyst in the development of new forms of organizational…
Abstract
Drawing from an information processing perspective, this paper examines how information technology (IT) has been a catalyst in the development of new forms of organizational structures. The article draws a historical linkage between the relative stability of an organization’s task environment starting after the Second World War to the present environmental instability that now characterizes many industries. Specifically, the authors suggest that advances in IT have enabled managers to adapt existing forms and create new models for organizational design that better fit requirements of an unstable environment. Time has seemingly borne out this hypothesis as the bureaucratic structure evolved to the matrix to the network and now to the emerging shadow structure. IT has gone from a support mechanism to a substitute for organizational structures in the form of the shadow structure. The article suggests that the evolving and expanding role of IT will continue for organizations that face unstable environments.
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Mehmet Demirbag, Ekrem Tatoglu and Keith W. Glaister
Drawing on institutional and transaction cost theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the location choice for a sample of 522 foreign affiliates of Turkish multinational…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on institutional and transaction cost theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the location choice for a sample of 522 foreign affiliates of Turkish multinational enterprises (MNEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Binary logistic regressions are conducted to test a number of hypotheses on the functional relationships between the hypothesized effect of variables and location choice of Turkish MNEs based on a secondary data drawn from official sources.
Findings
In general, the findings provide support for the majority of the study's hypotheses and tend to confirm the theoretical perspectives adopted. The level of political constraints, the level of knowledge infrastructure in the host country market, subsidiary density, industry R&D intensity and subsidiary size are found to have the expected impact on the Turkish MNE's location choice among geographic alternatives. No support is found for the impact of ownership mode of subsidiary and the group affiliation on Turkish MNEs' location choice for their subsidiaries.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses on Turkish MNEs and the findings may not be generalizable to other emerging country (EC) MNEs. Also, the classification of geographic location into developed versus emerging countries may be too crude.
Practical implications
In general, the paper posits that Turkish MNEs have a motive of strategic asset seeking to enhance their global competitiveness when they enter developed countries, whereas they simply attempt to exploit their firm‐specific advantages or competencies when they access emerging countries.
Originality/value
Given the increasing number of EC MNEs entering other emerging and developed markets, this paper adds to the understanding of the determinants of location strategies of Turkish MNEs by identifying key regional characteristics that lead Turkish MNEs to select particular locations, among the several geographic alternatives.