Host Country Partners Research Articles

The Central Role of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Program in Supporting Force Health Protection.

The Global Emerging Infections Surveillance (GEIS) program is the only Department of Defense (DoD) organization that coordinates global surveillance for emerging infectious diseases that affect US military forces operating in the United States or foreign locations. Since 1997, the GEIS program has focused on surveilling pathogens likely to affect military operations and the health of service members. The foundation of the GEIS program is the long-standing, mutually beneficial relationships between the DoD overseas laboratories and their host-country partners and militaries. Through centralized programmatic support, the GEIS program provides the infrastructure needed for a rapid and scalable response to emerging threats. The GEIS program continues to enhance and evolve its initiatives to provide timely, reliable information to decision-makers in the DoD. The GEIS program has been and will continue to be a vital source of actionable biosurveillance information during infectious disease events of global public health concern.

The effect of standardized advertising, managerial ties and born global orientation on export performance

PurposeGiven the contradictory findings of standardization/adaptation of marketing strategy in explaining export performance in the extant research, this study aims to examine the contingent effects of managerial ties and born global orientation in the standardized advertising-export performance conceptualization.Design/methodology/approachThe study used two-respondent method in the survey research by a sample of 155 exporting firms operating in the industrial marketing based in Australia and New Zealand and applied hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that standardized advertising has a significant effect on export performance and this relationship is positively moderated by business ties. Such effect is particularly enhanced for born global firms (than nonborn global firms). However, political ties negatively influence the impact of standardized advertising on performance and such effect is stronger for born global firms.Research limitations/implicationsA broader perspective of contingent variables should be included to examine the underlying relationship between standardized advertising and export performance in capturing the dynamism in international marketing contexts, such as institutional frameworks or sociocultural environments in host countries.Practical implicationsStandardized advertising is critical for born global firms’ export performance as it can increase efficiency and speed up internationalization processes. Such positive impact of standardized advertising on export performance is further enhanced if born global firms allocate resources to develop strong business ties with host country partners instead of building political ties with host country governments, because smooth business networking can facilitate standardized advertising on industrial marketing, yet justifiable political relations require intricate negotiations that often prolong internationalization progress.Originality/valueThis study incorporates managerial ties and born global orientation as contingent factors in fixing the theoretic interlock between standardization advertising strategy and export firm performance.

Integrating interventions supported by development assistance for health into local health system: evidence from a China–World Bank–UK rural health system strengthening project (1998–2007)

IntroductionTo empirically investigate sustainability of development assistance for health (DAH), we conducted a retrospective case study on the Basic Health Services Project (BHSP) for rural health system strengthening, supported by...

Knowledge acquisition from host-country partners: The interplay of trust and legal safeguards

Acquiring local knowledge from host-country key partners is crucial for internationalizing firms, yet it entails severe risks for both partners. Research thus emphasizes the role of interorganizational trust, but is inconclusive about how effective it is in different contexts. We theorize how different trust dimensions interact with host-country legal safeguards. We test our hypotheses with data on 210 cross-border relationships in the renewable-energy industry. Results show that weak legal safeguards render ability-based trust particularly effective for knowledge acquisition, while strong legal safeguards render integrity-based trust effective. Benevolence-based trust, however, may have detrimental effects under conditions of strong legal safeguards.

The Implications of COVID‐19 for Nonmarket Strategy Research

Abstract The COVID-19 virus ignited social and economic turmoil around the world Not since the Spanish Flu of 1918 had we seen a pandemic of such scale and severity The resultant global transformation of industries, supply chains, work, communication, and institutional frameworks suggests we are entering a period of non-ergodic change, in which the future cannot be extrapolated from the past (North, 1999) This means that we do not know the probability distribution or the outcomes from the virus So, we must find a way to coexist and build our resilience

BRICS Summit in Johannesburg: More Instruments and Fewer Decisions

This article presents an analysis of the outcomes of the tenth anniversary BRICS summit that took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the meetings of ministers of BRICS countries. The achievements of the ministerial meetings and the main summit were analyzed taking into account such parameters as the implementation of the priorities of the host country; ensuring continuity of the BRICS agenda; launching new initiatives and making decisions that are in line with the interests of the host country and BRICS partners. Beyond that, the article presents analysis of distribution of the functions of global governance (“Discussion”, “Decision making”, “Direction setting”, “Delivery”) and issues of the global governance by the number of symbols used in the texts of the Johannesburg declaration and the documents agreed during ministerial meetings. The author used the method of content analysis when reviewing the strategic documents of South Africa on issues of national development and the documents agreed during the ministerial meetings and the summit in Johannesburg, and the method of historical analysis when determining impact of South Africa on the BRICS agenda and success of the chairmanship. South Africa as the BRICS chair country preserved continuity over the key issues of the agenda (macroeconomic policy, cooperation in humanitarian sphere, etc.). Security issues were not fully developed, although they were put on the priority list by the chair country. Decisions made at the summit in Johannesburg and during the ministerial meetings result in creation of new working mechanisms (PartNIR, BRICS Vaccine Development and Research Center, etc.) that meet the current global challenges and match the interests of the parties. Nevertheless, the share of “Decision making” function decreased significantly against the background of the growing number of “Deliberation” function in the documents that were analyzed, which indicates a divergence of interests of the parties on a number of issues under discussion.

Seeing the tree and the forest: Japanese auto firm multinational dispersion, cultural distance, and foreign manufacturing subsidiary ownership levels

Firms may pursue greater equity ownership in foreign manufacturing subsidiaries to limit internal costs of coordinating and communicating with culturally dissimilar host-country partners. We offer that this relationship is strengthened when a firm’s multinational network is more geographically dispersed, or dispersed in terms of national cultural contexts, because a highly dispersed multinational network may also make coordination difficult. With a panel of 7422 firm-year observations (1993–2016) from 541 foreign manufacturing subsidiaries (32 Japanese parent automotive firms), we find the positive cultural distance and equity ownership relationship is positively moderated by geographic and cultural dispersion within parent firms’ multinational networks.

Approaching Evaluations of Surveillance System Pilots through an Ownership Perspective

Approaching Evaluations of Surveillance System Pilots through an Ownership Perspective

Influences of cognitive dimensions on the collaborative entry mode choice of small- and medium-sized enterprises

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address internationalisation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by specifically focussing on collaborative entry modes. Despite significant research done on market entry and internationalisation strategies of firms, the use of collaborative entry modes by SMEs during internationalisation has not received a lot of attention. The authors contribute to foreign market entry studies by analysing the influences of cognitive dimensions on collaborative entry mode choice (equity vs non-equity modes) of SMEs in their international markets.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyse the influences of cognitive dimensions on the choice between equity-based vs non-equity-based collaborative entry modes. The empirical sample consists of internationalisation strategies of 345 Italian SMEs, where the authors used a questionnaire to collect the data. The authors use structural equation modelling to analyse influences of factors like asymmetric information, informal institutional distance, time trends of country, perception of size and resources of potential host country partners, and perception of host country partners’ power on this important market entry mode.FindingsThe results show that high informal institutional distance leads to preference of non-equity-based collaborative entry mode by Italian SMEs. The authors also find that positive time trends of the host country, positive perception of size and resource of the local partner, as well as the local partners’ power leads to preference of equity-based collaborative entry mode by Italian SMEs.Originality/valueThis study focusses on an ignored aspect of market entry strategies, i.e., equity vs non-equity collaborative entry mode choice of SMEs. The authors use insights from resource-based view and cognitive dimensions literature, to address the influences of five cognitive dimensions on the collaborative entry mode choice of SMEs during their internationalisation.

Host Market Corruption, Subsidiary Strategies and Market Exit

We study the relationship between host market corruption pervasiveness, the subsidiary localization strategies implemented by MNEs and the likelihood of host market exit. We assume that the pervasiveness of corruption in the host market threatens to undermine the legitimacy of foreign-investing firms in the host market environment. In this context, the strategic insights proffered by resource dependence theory (RDT) and institutional theory (IT) are characterized by distinct spatial orientations. RDT predicts that subsidiaries will implement proximal (or, host market-oriented) localization strategies in which host country partners and employees are hypothesized to be best-suited to efforts to enhance the subsidiary’s legitimacy and reduce the likelihood of host market exit. Conversely, IT suggests that distal (or, home market-oriented) localization strategies, in which subsidiaries prefer to engage home country partners and employees in the subsidiary investment, are better-suited to reducing the likelihood of exit from increasingly corrupt host market environments. Leveraging this theoretical tension, we investigate the relative efficacy of these strategies by developing competing hypotheses with respect to the moderating impact of proximal and distal localization strategies upon the likelihood of market exit in increasingly corrupt host market environments. Testing the hypotheses with a sample of 1,239 subsidiary investments in 31 countries during 1998-2005, we find that a proximally-oriented partnering strategy heightens the likelihood of market exit under conditions of more pervasive host market public corruption, but not more pervasive private corruption. Conversely, a distally-oriented expatriate staffing strategy increases the likelihood of market exit under conditions of both more pervasive public corruption and private corruption.

Revisiting reciprocity in international volunteering

This article critically examines reciprocity in international volunteering. It first highlights tensions and unintended consequences that can emerge when pursuing reciprocal relationships between host-country partners and international volunteers or volunteer-sending organizations. It then reconsiders how to determine equal or fair distribution of benefits between stakeholders when some benefits are material and some are intangible. It then presents a typology of different modalities of reciprocity practiced or aspired to by contemporary international volunteer organizations. The article aims to provoke more nuanced consideration of when, if or under what conditions different forms of reciprocity may be possible or even desirable.

"Corruption, Multinational Enterprise Strategy and Foreign Subsidiary Survival"

This study focuses on the multinational enterprise’s (MNE) pursuit of external legitimacy and the survival implications associated with various strategic initiatives that are implemented at the subsidiary level to secure legitimacy in increasingly corrupt host market environments. In this context, the strategic insights proffered by resource dependence theory (RDT) and institutional theory (IT) are characterized by distinct spatial orientations. RDT predicts that subsidiaries will implement proximal localization strategies in which local (host country) partners and employees are hypothesized to be best-suited to efforts to enhance the subsidiary’s legitimacy and reduce its likelihood of exit from the host country market. Conversely, IT suggests that distal localization strategies in which subsidiaries that prefer to engage home country partners and employees in the subsidiary investment are better-suited to reducing the likelihood of subsidiary exit from increasingly corrupt host country market environments. We develop a set of competing hypotheses based on RDT and IT to examine the relationship between host market corruption levels, MNE strategy and the likelihood of exit. The hypotheses were tested against a large sample of subsidiaries established between 1995 and 2006 in 44 host countries. Our results reveal the enhanced efficacy of distal localization strategies. Subsidiaries that prefer transnational joint venture partnership arrangements (constituted by home country partners only), employ a greater proportion of expatriates and engage fewer host country partners in subsidiary investments enjoy a diminished likelihood of exit under conditions of heightened corruption.

The Impact of Informal Institutions on MNE Strategy: Innovation Investments in Emerging Markets

This paper investigates how differences in the informal institutions prevailing in the home and host countries influence the foreign entry strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs). While the relationship between formal institutions and MNE strategy has been the subject of considerable academic scrutiny, less is known about the role of informal institutions. Our theory contends that the type of uncertainty precipitated by informal institutions is critical to understanding the strategic behavior of foreign-investing MNEs. More specifically, we dis-aggregate the informal institutions construct and develop two new, more explicit, latent constructs – behaviorally-oriented informal institutions and technology-oriented informal institutions. Our theory posits that increased behavioral informal institutional distance will precipitate a preference for full ownership (WOS) and a greater proportion of expatriates in subsidiary investments. Conversely, heightened technological informal institutional distance will predict the opposite outcome – a preference for shared ownership (JV), host country partners rather than home country partners and a smaller proportion of expatriate employees. We test our theory using a longitudinal sample of subsidiary investments that were established in emerging markets for the purpose of engaging in innovation–related activities. The results provide support for our conceptualization of informal institutions and the construct’s relationship with the entry strategies of foreign-investing MNEs.

The problem of control and the role of home–host ties in explaining multinationals' foreign operations, competitiveness, and performance

AbstractThe existing multinational enterprise (MNE) literature has focused on capabilities and value creation challenges, including related to cultural and other distance. To better understand heterogeneity in the foreign country performance of MNEs, however, we need to go beyond the global strategy challenges of capabilities and coordination. Specifically, we need to explore MNEs' value capture challenges abroad and attend to control as a chronic dilemma that is inadequately addressed by internalization. In operating in foreign host countries, MNEs are chronically exposed to two types of largely uninsurable discretion: sovereign discretion of host governments and delegated discretion of host country employees, partners, suppliers, and such. The problem in the first case relates to power; and in the second it relates to information. Power and information are the sine qua non of effective control. Control is a prerequisite for anticipated value capture, which influences the extent of MNEs' capability transfer, input localization, and output adaptation in a given host country. Transfer, localization, and adpatation are the essence of host country value creation, which influences competitiveness and performance there. Accordingly, beyond differences in MNE capabilities, heterogeneity in access to credible power and reliable information in a focal host country predicts heterogeneity in MNEs' competitiveness and relative performance there. This is why and how heterogeneity in macro‐level home–host ties (HHTs) explains durable performance differences among foreign MNEs operating in a focal host country. In terms of global strategy research and practice, this turns the spotlight on macro‐level HHTs, nonmarket strategy, and, eventually, focused internationalization. It also argues for more microfoundations research on the limits and actual control benefits of internalization.

A growing global network's role in outbreak response: AFHSC-GEIS 2008-2009.

A cornerstone of effective disease surveillance programs comprises the early identification of infectious threats and the subsequent rapid response to prevent further spread. Effectively identifying, tracking and responding to these threats is often difficult and requires international cooperation due to the rapidity with which diseases cross national borders and spread throughout the global community as a result of travel and migration by humans and animals. From Oct.1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009, the United States Department of Defense’s (DoD) Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) identified 76 outbreaks in 53 countries. Emerging infectious disease outbreaks were identified by the global network and included a wide spectrum of support activities in collaboration with host country partners, several of which were in direct support of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005). The network also supported military forces around the world affected by the novel influenza A/H1N1 pandemic of 2009. With IHR (2005) as the guiding framework for action, the AFHSC-GEIS network of international partners and overseas research laboratories continues to develop into a far-reaching system for identifying, analyzing and responding to emerging disease threats.

International Health Regulations (2005) and the U.S. Department of Defense: building core capacities on a foundation of partnership and trust

A cornerstone of effective global health surveillance programs is the ability to build systems that identify, track and respond to public health threats in a timely manner. These functions are often difficult and require international cooperation given the rapidity with which diseases cross national borders and spread throughout the global community as a result of travel and migration by both humans and animals. As part of the U.S. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Globa Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) has developed a global network of surveillance sites over the past decade that engages in a wide spectrum of support activities in collaboration with host country partners. Many of these activities are in direct support of International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]). The network also supports host country military forces around the world, which are equally affected by these threats and are often in a unique position to respond in areas of conflict or during complex emergencies. With IHR(2005) as the guiding framework for action, the AFHSC-GEIS network of international partners and overseas research laboratories continues to develop into a far-reaching system for identifying, analyzing and responding to emerging disease threats.

Dependency or Interdependency: United States Power Generation Firms’ Entry into China

Conventional theories of market entry assume choice availability. This investment assumption is subject to challenges in the power generation market of an emerging economy where the host government controls most key resources and market entry choices. With such constraints, entrants become heavily dependent on their host country partners. This study investigates how the resource dependency frameworks explain better in respect of some US power generation firms that manage to operate electricity facilities in China whereas some have to abort. Using cross‐case analysis, patterns emerged illustrate how two groups of entrants manage key resources differently.

A Graduate Education Framework for Tropical Conservation and Development

Conventional graduate training related to tropical conservation and development has typically separated the two fields, with students focusing on either conservation from the perspective of the biophysical sciences or development as an extension of the social sciences. On entering the workforce, however graduates find they are required to work beyond disciplinary boundaries to address the complex interconnectivity between biological conservation and human well-being. We devised a framework for graduate education that broadens students' skill sets to learn outside their immediate disciplines and think in terms of linked socioecological systems, work in teams, communicate in nonacademic formats, and reflect critically on their own perspectives and actions. The University of Florida's Tropical Conservation and Development program has adopted a learning and action platform that blends theory, skills, and praxis to create an intellectual, social, and professionally safe space where students, faculty, and other participants can creatively address the complex challenges of tropical conservation and development. This platform operates within a nondegree-granting program and includes core courses that are taught by a team of biophysical and social scientists. It incorporates a range of alternative learning spaces such as student-led workshops, retreats, visiting professionals, practitioner experiences, and a weekly student-led seminar that collectively encourage students and faculty to enhance their skills and systematically and thoroughly reflect on program activities. Challenges to the described approach include increased service demands on faculty, a redefinition of research excellence to include effective and equitable collaboration with host-country partners, and the trade-offs and uncertainties inherent in more collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Despite these challenges, growing interdisciplinary programs, coupled with adaptive educational approaches that emphasize learning and action networks of students, faculty, and field partners, provide the best hope for responding to the emerging challenges of tropical conservation and development.

Baseline data analysis as a tool for predicting the conservation value of tropical coastal habitats in the Indo-Pacific

Coral Cay Conservation, a United Kingdom-based not-for-profit organization, operates using teams of international volunteers to conduct coral reef and tropical marine resource assessments in order to provide a baseline of data to facilitate marine resource management. This modus operandi provides the resources necessary to conduct a detailed study at minimal cost to the host country partners. This paper introduces a technique of data analysis to define the conservation value of the shallow (<30 m) tropical coastal environment. All data initially undergoes multivariate analysis to define discrete benthic habitat classes using the methods described by Mumby and Harborne [Development of a systematic classification scheme of marine habitats to facilitate regional management and mapping of Caribbean coral reefs. Biological Conservation 1999;88:155–63]. Subsequent analysis of benthic and reef fish data in terms of biodiversity and reef health indices allows spatial comparison of sites of differing conservation value and the geographic delineation of areas suitable for Marine Protected Area status.

Firm performance, knowledge transfer and international joint ventures

Management and protection of proprietary intangible assets, such as technology and management skills, are important for firms considering international expansion via joint ventures. Joint venture partners have incentives to appropriate intangible property. Also, many governments have instituted policies to help domestic firms maximise technology spillovers. Some require foreign firms interested in selling in domestic markets to enter into arrangements that ensure the flow of technology from the foreign firms. This gives the host country partners an advantage over their foreign counterparts when it comes to sharing intangible assets. It is often asserted that these sorts of host country advantages contribute to better economic growth for that country and the domestic firms involved in the international joint ventures. However, there is little empirical evidence on this. We present empirical evidence that transfer of intangible assets from foreign to host country partners contributes to the performance of the host country partner firms.