Foreign Network Research Articles

The Effect of Geographical Factors on the Foreign Policy of Qatar during 2014-2016

Objectives:Qatar is a small country that showed an important role in the local, regional, and international levels. Several geographical factors such as location, area, shape, and regional water have affected Qatar’s foreign affairs policy. Therefore, this study aims at illustrating the role of geographical factors in the country’s foreign affairs policy. What makes the study significant is that it is the first study which focuses on this topic in Qatar. Methods: The study has used to analysis the Foreign polices decisions two methods (i.e. Dwisha, 1977) (Dawisha) framework throughout the study. Results: The study revealed that some geographical factors had recently benefited Qatar during the forced siege by some GCC countries. Also, the political crises made Qatar depends mainly in its foreign affairs policy on the given energy resources alongside with a wide range of foreign relationships network with the effective countries in the international policy. This, enabled Qatar to overcome on the lack of space and population in order to enhance its economy to be out of the dominance of some GCC countries. Conclusions: Finally, the study approved that Qatar had inter-relation foreign network that positioned Qatar politically among countries, organizations, institutions comparing with large states. Keywords: Qatar’s geopolitics, Foreign policy, geographical factors, Qatar Siege, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Motivations for International Open InnovatioN (IOI): the perspective of Quebec SMES in Africa

Objective: This research aims to understand the motivations for SMEs from developed countries to engage in open innovation (OI) projects with partners in developing countries. Methodology: We adopted a qualitative approach and studied the case of 16 SMEs from Quebec that successfully carried out OI projects within African countries. Relevance: Despite the growing body of research on OI within SMEs, the international perspective of OI still needs to be explored. In particular, the context of developing countries has received limited attention, especially the motivations for SMEs from developed countries to undertake OI projects in developing countries. Main results: The results show that OI projects with African partners allow SMEs to integrate into African markets and acquire knowledge different from that of developed economies. These partnerships strengthen the overall organizational capacity of the SME beyond the acquisition of specific knowledge related to the innovation project. They also include social objectives to improve local communities living conditions. Theoretical contributions: By addressing the calls for research on OI within developing countries, this article expands the scope of OI in this context. It also contributes to the resource-based view theory by identifying integration within foreign networks as the main strategic resource, motivating SMEs from developed countries to initiate OI projects in developing countries. Managerial contributions: The study provides insights to SMEs from developed countries about the various reasons for implementing OI projects with partners in developing countries. It also offers them tailored advice to carry out such projects successfully.

Social media platforms use in startups’ international marketing strategies: a multiple case study

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how social media support startups in accessing international markets and interacting with foreign customers and stakeholders, focusing primarily on the social network LinkedIn.Design/methodology/approachGiven the explorative research aim, the paper adopts a multiple case study approach, analyzing seven Italian food tech startups. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted, also involving startup accelerators and a business angel to deepen the knowledge on the investigated phenomenon. In addition, a content analysis of the LinkedIn pages of the seven selected startups was conducted using NVivo 14 software.FindingsThe results of this study show that social media support startups to (1) diffuse brand awareness in international markets, (2) position their offering abroad and (3) develop relationships with international stakeholders to penetrate the local business. Furthermore, the main challenges and difficulties related to the use of social media by startups for these purposes were identified.Practical implicationsThis study provides useful managerial implications to enable startups to strategically use social media to access international markets and connect with key foreign networks. Also from a policy perspective, incentives to support the expansion and consolidation of startups into international markets are crucial.Originality/valueAlthough a vast literature has dealt with internationalization strategies, this study clarifies the role of social media in changing these dynamics speeding up startups’ access to foreign markets and identifying key local stakeholders.

Immigrant employment and the contract enforcement costs of offshoring

Offshoring continues to be an important dimension of firms’ internationalization choices. However, offshoring also increases contract enforcement costs by inhibiting the coordination and monitoring of performance. Immigrant employees may reduce such costs through their specific knowledge of the employer, their country of birth and access to foreign networks. In this paper, we investigate the role of immigrant employees within firms on firm offshoring, employing rich administrative Swedish microlevel data that include specific information about the characteristics of employees, manufacturing firms and their bilateral offshoring. Our results support the hypothesis that immigrant employees increase offshoring by lowering contract enforcement costs. Hiring one additional immigrant employee is linked to a relatively larger increase in offshoring at the intensive than the extensive margin, on average. The association to offshoring is considerably stronger for skilled immigrant employees and for contract and R&D intensive offshoring. Instrumental variable estimations demonstrate qualitatively similar results, while a placebo test with randomized immigrant employment does not generate any link between immigrants and offshoring.

Judicial Determination of the Provision of VPN Behavior

The issue of a judicial determination of the act of providing Virtual Private Network software is currently a hot topic of discussion in the judicial practice as well as theoretical urgent, and research has found that many VPN providers have engaged in many illegal acts by taking advantage of loopholes in legislation and justice. The offshore network activities have been categorized as one major national security concern by many countries and VPN providers are surely among those potential criminals. Since the use of offshore networks may involve infringement of national security as well as national ideology, China has implemented restrictions on access to specific foreign networks. However, the reason behind its formation is that there is not yet a uniform interpretation and determination standard for the application of the relevant issues. Therefore, this article will propose a set of unified standards as well as legislative improvement suggestions through the analysis of the crimes involved.

Exporting and sourcing strategies

AbstractThis study uses firm‐level panel data for South Korea for the period 2006–2015, to investigate changes in firms' sourcing behaviors after these firms start exporting. The data studied includes detailed information on firms' export status, whether their purchases of intermediate inputs were domestic or from foreign markets, and whether the supplier firms were affiliated or non‐affiliated. To estimate the effects of exporting on firms' sourcing strategies, we employ a difference‐in‐differences estimator with propensity score matching. The main finding is that participation in export markets leads to the increased use of intermediate inputs purchased from foreign suppliers; it also increases these firms' sourcing from affiliated parties relative to sourcing from non‐affiliated suppliers. These changes in firms' sourcing compositions after their entry into export markets are mainly driven by purchasing rather than subcontracting. These findings point out that firms that newly participate in exporting tend to improve their product competitiveness by increasing the proportion of their intermediate inputs from foreign affiliates. It is also possible that these firms expanded their foreign networks after they begin export activities, and this plays a role in how and where they source their intermediate inputs.

Key Agreement Scheme Based on Smart Cards

An efficient roaming service over wireless networks is essential for mobile users. It allows mobile users to seamlessly access the services provided by the home agent without losing connectivity when they visit a foreign network. This handover communication happens with the help of a foreign agent. In most cases, the communication between the mobile user and the foreign agent occurs over an unsecured channel. Therefore, researchers have proposed various authentication schemes to protect data transmitted over this unsecured channel. Most of the proposed schemes are focused on key agreement schemes. However, the key agreement schemes researchers have submitted are primarily high in computational and communication costs. Therefore, this research proposed an authenticated key agreement scheme based on passwords and smart cards with lower computational and communication costs without compromising the scheme’s security. This criterion was achieved due to using lower-cost operations and functions in the scheme. Moreover, the scheme’s development is based on the result of analyzing and improving other schemes proposed by other researchers.

Antecedents of internationalization of Taiwanese SMEs: a resource-based view

PurposeThis study aimed to explore the antecedents of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) internationalization and to compare the different resources required to enter different geographical regions. This study adds to the discussion on internationalization from a resource-based view (RBV) and a focus on dynamic capability, especially the linkage with resources such as digital capability, domestic industrial networks and the business-to-business (B2B) model.Design/methodology/approachThis study used secondary data collected by an SME association in 2020, using a logistic regression model to examine the hypotheses. The respondents were selected according to stratified random sampling.FindingsDigital capability and the B2B model significantly and positively affect the likelihood of internationalization by SMEs, while domestic industrial networks were negatively correlated with this process. In addition, Taiwanese SMEs with high digital capability tend to expand to North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. Smaller firms tend to develop in Southeast Asia, whereas larger firms opt to establish business in Oceania.Research limitations/implicationsA research limitation is the generalizability of the sample. Findings could be enhanced if future studies include more industries and draw comparisons among different industries or countries. Future studies could explore digital entrepreneurship from a global perspective.Practical implicationsManagers need to emphasize better the development of digital capabilities and skills for SMEs. With limited financial resources and workforce, SMEs can strengthen the competence in international markets by adopting a suitable business model. When SMEs join an association to expand SMEs foreign networks, the study suggests that SMEs carefully evaluate the characteristics of each industrial association first, given that some associations are domestic-oriented. As for public policymakers, a project grant can be used to provide digital capability training for SME employees and owners or promote building a B2B model when internationalizing.Originality/valueThe authors' findings fill the research gaps in RBVs of internationalization, especially in linking resources such as digital capability, domestic industrial networks and the B2B model. The outcomes of this research serve as a reference not only to policymakers for improving the current SME ecosystem, but also to business practitioners positioning themselves in this system.

Internationalization of SMEs: The Effect of Unfair Experience in the Home Country

This study identifies a new motive which drives SMEs to go abroad. We investigate the impact of unfair experiences with large domestic partners on the internationalization of SMEs along with the moderating effects of industry competition and foreign networks. Using the survey data from Annual Survey of Korea Venture Firms (2014 ~ 2018), we find some support for the explanatory role of unfair experience and moderating roles of industry competition and foreign network on SMEs’ internationalization. The findings suggest that SMEs with unfair experiences in the home country are more likely to internationalize, and foreign networks may catalyze the internationalization of SMEs. However, industry competition may discourage the international expansion of SMEs because they need to focus more on defending their positions in the home country than expanding their business internationally.

The Relationship Between Timing, Speed, and Performance in Foreign Market Network Entry

The purpose of this article is to examine the performance consequences of an early and rapid foreign network entry process. We develop a theoretical model that uses theories on first mover advantage and capability development as mechanisms to explain the relationship between the timing and speed of entering the network and SME performance in the network. The theoretical model is tested with a dataset collected on-site at 198 SMEs. The results show that earlier network entry positively affects performance and that the speed of relationship development in the network entered has a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) effect on SMEs’ performance. Although the extant literature recognizes that firm performance is affected by the degree of insidership reached in foreign business networks, little is known about the performance effects of the timing and the speed of entering the network. Our findings suggest that managers of exporting SMEs should move first into new networks to give themselves time to grow slowly in the foreign market network to mitigate diseconomies of time compression.

Strengthening Russia’s International Prestige during the Northern War: Russian Diplomatic Institutions and Instruments

During the Northern War (1700-1721), the Russian government had to make great efforts to strengthen the anti-Swedish coalition. Peter the Great developed a broad foreign network of state representatives: employees of the diplomatic corps (envoys, ministers, residents, agents, etc.), trade commissioners, and correspondents. Peter the Great himself, his Cabinet, and the foreign policy department (Posolsky Prikaz, Collegia Inostrannykh Del) controlled these agents of influence. Peter’s diplomats fought for symbolic capital by taking part in official negotiations and unofficial meetings, in diplomatic and court ceremonies, in gift-exchanging, and organizing various festivities. This capital then was converted into the international prestige of the ruler, his title, honor, glory, and position in the hierarchy of European rulers. Considerable attention was paid to promptly inform Western partners about events in Russia’s foreign and domestic policy. Russian information policy emphasized the news that can strengthen Russia’s international prestige: dynastic, diplomatic, and military successes, political reforms, and court celebrations. The article examines the practice of news dissemination through Russian diplomatic missions and foreign diplomatic representatives in Russia. The practice reduced the negative effect of the spread of unofficial information, fake news, and false rumors. The war continued in the pages of print media. To limit the dissemination of information damaging Russia’s prestige, Russian diplomats began to use the same instruments of influence (newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets), which European diplomats used at that time: various methods of pressure and bribery, propaganda, and censorship. The successes of Russian diplomacy have led to the strengthening of Russia’s international prestige and contributed to creating a positive image of the country abroad. The Russian government transferred the gained experience into domestic policy. Peter the Great also demanded fighting against “reprehensible” information about “the person of his majesty, or his troops, as well as his state.”

Pathways to the Caliphate: Mapping Malaysian Foreign Fighter Networks in Iraq and Syria from 2012-2019

ABSTRACT Utilizing social media profiles, court documents and media reports, this article analyzes the Malaysian foreign fighter networks in Iraq and Syria between 2012 and 2019. It is found that the Malaysian foreign fighter phenomenon is primarily driven by charismatic personalities, i.e., influential figures who were able to attract individuals into the Middle East. The attempted movement of fighters into Iraq and Syria can be divided into three phases corresponding to three personalities; the first led by Al Qaeda linked Yazid Sufaat, the second by Ajnad al-Sham linked Lotfi Ariffin and the third by Islamic State (IS) linked Muhammad Wanndy Mohd Jedi. Contrary to popular belief, the first wave of Malaysian militants had joined Syrian-based rebel groups like Ajnad al-Sham instead of IS with the shift occurring after Lotfi Ariffin’s death in September 2014. The three phases also highlight the shift in recruitment strategy from physical recruitment to the purely online sphere. A radicalization driver model of Malaysian fighters is proposed and it is argued that the two main factors that drove Malaysian fighters into the conflict zones are (1) External factors: charismatic personalities; romanticization of jihad; moral factors and ideological factors; and (2) Internal factors: discontent with the government.

Foreign Interference and Social Media Networks: A Relational Approach to Studying Contemporary Russian Disinformation

AbstractThe use of disinformation to disrupt the domestic politics of other states has become a staple of contemporary global politics. How these campaigns operate at a microlevel of individual users and network communities, however, remains undertheorized. In this article, we develop a theoretical framework to analyze how states leverage existing social media networks strategically for that purpose. Drawing from social network theory, we argue that the spread of disinformation in the digital age is best understood by examining how actors achieve and maintain access to the existing social media networks via a process of cultural keying—mimicking the cultural cues of the target network to camouflage their intentions and attract followers. While this activity is usually limited in scale and scope, it may be amplified to seize on critical domestic and international events. To demonstrate these arguments, we examine the Twitter behavior of the Kremlin-linked news outlets RT and Sputnik during and after the 2017 French presidential election. We first analyze their presence and salience in a network of accounts interested in French politics. We then use structural topic modeling to identify thematic overlap between the outlets and our panel of users. Our analysis suggests that Kremlin-linked outlets are indeed active in local networks and repeatedly key on salient themes such as Islamophobia and Euroscepticism to blend in.

Risk management regulation and corporate demand for reinsurance in the Spanish Autarky (1940-1952)

This paper examines the changes to reinsurance regulation implemented during the Spanish autarky to analyze how the restriction of imports of financial services affects the performance of the insurance and risk management industry. We build a novel dataset on domestic insurers and reinsurers to identify the effects of the barriers to purchasing foreign reinsurance on corporate strategies and ultimately, on the determinants of reinsurance demand. We find that, in spite of a chronic dependence on foreign risk exchange networks, Spanish insurers faced this period of isolation by means of an intensive use of captive reinsurance. This strategy helped to alleviate financial distress and resulted in the substitution of foreign reinsurers by domestic companies, as far as the restrictive regulation was in force.

Who gains more from networking? A comparative study of Polish exporting and non-exporting SMEs

Abstract Paper’s objectives The paper aims to identify differences in the perceived benefits of cooperation in domestic and foreign networks achieved by Polish small and medium enterprise (SME) exporters and non-exporters. Methods applied A quantitative study was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing and computer-assisted web interviewing on 240 Polish exporting and non-exporting SMEs. The t-test and correlation analysis were used to investigate the phenomena under study. Findings While exporting SMEs attach greater importance to networking with foreign partners than non-exporting ones, domestic partners are of equal importance for exporting and non-exporting firms. Exporting SMEs perceive local business partners to have more influence on their market success than foreign ones. Exporting SMEs benefit more from networking than non-exporting companies. Originality/value The paper compares the importance of local and foreign network partners for the market success of exporting and non-exporting SMEs, contributing to both internationalization and entrepreneurial literature.

From ‘Trucfilm’ to ‘Animatiefilm’: How the Emergence of Animation as a New Artistic Form Is Reflected in Dutch Terminology

Before 1940, the influence of foreign films, filmmakers and film networks on film culture in the Netherlands was substantial. This article investigates how various Dutch professionals within the fields of film production, distribution, exhibition and reception referred to animation film, in a period when this term was not part of the Dutch language. From early on, animation film was recognized as being ‘intrinsically different’ from live-action film and, along with the gradual emergence of this new artistic form, a corresponding language to support it evolved, influenced by language contacts in various contexts in the multilingual landscape in Europe. From the first singular appearances in 1913, a more form-specific terminology had gradually developed by 1940. During the same time, animation film steadily proceeded to occupy its permanent place in Dutch film culture.

The Brazilian way of international franchising development

The Latin American market has become one of the few "new" directions in the geography of international franchising development. Much of Latin American countries only in recent years have begun to realize the benefits of franchising for the economic growth and job creation, and some governments are offering financial support to brands which wish to franchise with them. Brazil among the entire Latin American region is undoubtedly the leading market in many areas, including the development of franchising. The article focuses on the analysis of the franchising development in Brazil from an economic point of view, provides statistical and graphical data on the state of this type of business in the country. In addition, cornerstones are identified that may hinder the development of the internationalization of the activities of foreign franchise networks in the Brazilian market.

Reaching out to the World: Pomeranian Medical University′s Connections to International Networks of Knowledge Production and Circulation, 1956–1968

This study explores the effects the political “Thaw” of 1956 had on the ability of the Pomeranian Medical University of Szczecin, Poland (PUM) to join and contribute to the international production and circula- tion of medical knowledge in the years 1956–1968. It gives an overview of the challenges PUM had to face in its relationships with the state apparatus that controlled access to foreign networks. It also discusses the cases of three PUM professors, namely: Bolesław Górnicki (1908–1998; head of Paediatrics), Witold Starkiewicz (1906–1978; head of Ophthalmology), and Kazimierz Stojałowski (1903–1995; head of Pathological Anatomy). For the first of them, Szczecin was a nine-year episode in a prosperous academic career closely tied with Warsaw; the latter two were among PUM’s founding staff and stayed in Szczecin till retirement. The study reveals how personality, political and confessional worldview, strength of personal attachment to PUM, and diplomatic skills exhibited by each of the three professors influenced the range, the quality, and the durability of connections they established between PUM and the world.

Semantic Study on Network News Texts in Mode of “Distant Reading”

The corpus adopted in this study is from the official news texts of Chinese and foreign network media collected and processed by researchers. By Voyant, a web-based text reading and analysis platform, the study finds and analyzes the semantic differences of lexical chunk Chinese culture in Chinese and foreign news stories under the semantic view of systematic-functional grammar with the digital humanistic mode “distant reading” as the semantic analysis research means. the study explores the implicit semantic deviation and its logical semantic relationship between Chinese and foreign news texts.

ES-HAS: ECC-Based Secure Handover Authentication Scheme for Roaming Mobile User in Global Mobility Networks

The design and implementation of two-factor schemes designed for roaming mobile users for global mobility networks in smart cities requires attention to protect the scheme from various security attacks, such as the replay attack, impersonation attack, man-in-the-middle attack, password-guessing attack and stolen-smart-card attack. In addition to these attacks, the scheme should achieve user anonymity, unlinkability and perfect forward secrecy. In the roaming scenario, as mobile users are connected to the foreign network, mobile users must provide authentication details to the foreign network to which they are connected. The foreign network forwards the authentication messages received from the mobile users to their home network. The home network validates the authenticity of the mobile user. In the roaming scenario, all communication between the three entities is carried over an insecure channel. It is assumed that the adversary has the capabilities to intercept the messages transmitted over an insecure channel. Hence, the authentication scheme designed must be able to resist the above-mentioned security attacks and achieve the security goals. Our proposed scheme ES-HAS (elliptic curve-based secure handover authentication scheme) is a two-factor authentication scheme in which the mobile user possesses the password, and the smart card resists the above-mentioned security attacks. It also achieves the above-mentioned security goals. We also extended our two-factor authentication to a multi-factor authentication scheme using the fingerprint biometric technique. The formal security analysis using BAN logic and the formal security verification of the proposed scheme using the widely accepted AVISPA (automated validation of internet security protocols and applications) tool is presented in this article. In comparison with the related schemes, the proposed scheme is more efficient and robust. This makes the proposed scheme suitable for practical implementation.