International Business Studies Research Articles

The changing geography of innovation: Chinese and Indian regions and the global flows of innovation

Using an interdisciplinary perspective that combines the geography of innovation studies with international business and innovation studies the thesis contributes to analyse the complementary role ...

Um estudo bibliométrico dos modelos culturais na pesquisa em negócios internacionais

Culture and the influence of national cultures and cultural differences have been widely studied in International Business (IB) research especially over the past three decades. To better understand what culture actually means and its implications on firms’ international operations, several cultural models and taxonomies have been put forward. In this paper we review the main cultural models in the extant IB research – Hofstede’s (1980), Hall’s (1976) and Troompenaars’ (1993) – and Kogut and Singh’s (1988) concept of cultural distance. In a bibliometric study of over 3,600 articles published in seven top ranked journals for IB research, we examine citations and co-citations to assess the relative use of the cultural models and the ties binding authors and theories studied. This study offers a wealth of information on the current state of IB-related research using culture that may be used to better understand the intellectual structure of the sub-field of cultural issues in IB studies but also to identify gaps for future inquiry. The results help setting a profile of the network of knowledge and permit us to conclude that Hofstede’s (1980) taxonomy on cultural characteristics is the most cited cultural taxonomy and holds ties to many of the core streams of IB-related research. In fact, despite the well-known criticisms, there is an increasing use of Hofstede’s dimensions. Key words: Cultural models, Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall, review, bibliometric study.

Gender in White-Collar Crime: An Empirical Study of Pink-Collar Criminals

White-collar crime is financial crime committed by white-collar criminals. Sensational white-collar crime cases regularly appear in the international business press and studies in journals of ethics and crime. This article is based on a sample of 255 convicted white-collar criminals in Norway from 2009 to 2012. Only 20 out of 255 white-collar criminals presented in Norwegian newspapers in the years from 2009 to 2012 were women. In the popular press, white-collar crime committed by women is sometimes labeled pink-collar crime. In this article, a number of reasons for this gender discrepance are discussed. Women’s access to organizational power structures is rising, but remains still limited. This is in line with opportunity theory. Women may have a greater sense of risk aversion rather than risk willingness, and women may more easily be perceived as victims of crime. However, It is very hard to believe that Norwegian men commit ten times more white-collar crime than Norwegian women, also because Norway is seen as a salient egalitarian country. Therefore, it is a question of whether the detection rate for female white-collar criminals is lower than for males. As a consequence, more attention should be paid to characteristics of female white-collar crime and criminals in future criminology research and law enforcement.

Corporate Crime Does Pay! The Relationship between Financial Crime and Imprisonment in White-Collar Crime

White-collar crime is financial crime committed by white-collar criminals. Sensational white-collar crime cases regularly appear in the international business press and studies in journals of ethics and crime. Many of these scholars apply anecdotal evidence to suggest what might be included and what might be excluded from the concepts of white-collar crime and white-collar criminals. On contrast, with a larger sample, we can study white-collar crime convictions using statistical techniques to identify relationships between variables. For example, it has been suggested that the amount involved in the crime (fraud, corruption, etc.) is an important factor when the judge decides the length of the prison sentence. In our sample of 255 criminal cases we identified 88 corporate criminals and 167 occupational criminals. Age when convicted was 47 years for occupational criminals and 49 years for corporate criminals. Furthermore, occupational criminals served 2.2 years in prison, while corporate criminals served only 2.1 years. This is particularly interesting, when the amount of money that was involved in the crime is taken into account. While occupational criminals on average abused 26 million Norwegian kroner, corporate criminals on average abused as much as 121 million Norwegian kroner. So, even if the magnitude of the financial crime in terms of money was substantially and significantly larger for corporate crime, occupational crime was nevertheless judged more severely in terms of imprisonment.

Distance and divestment of Korean MNC affiliates: the moderating role of entry mode and experience

In this study, we examine the impact of cross-national distance on the divestment of foreign affiliates. On the basis of the nine dimensions of cross-national distance (Berry et al. 2010. “An Institutional Approach to Cross-National Distance.” Journal of International Business Studies 41 (9): 1460-1480), we empirically examine the impact of each measure of distance on the divestment of affiliates. Using a data set of 1697 multinational corporations (MNCs) headquartered in Korea and their 2435 affiliates in 67 host countries from 2000 to 2010, we find that distance created by economic, financial, political, administrative, cultural, demographic, knowledge and global connectedness leads to the divestment of foreign affiliates. We also find that the positive relationship between cross-national distance and affiliate divestment is likely to become stronger when an MNC enters the host country through a joint venture and weaker for affiliates with greater experience in the host country.

Investimento externo direto chinês no Brasil: motivações, desafios e perspectivas

O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi estabelecido como identificar motivações apresentadas por empresas chinesas que realizam investimentos externos diretos no Brasil, bem como os desafios encontrados nesse processo e suas perspectivas futuras. Depois de uma revisão bibliográfica estruturada a partir dos temas do investimento externo direto e dos investimentos chineses na América Latina e no Brasil, conduziu-se um estudo empírico de base qualitativa a partir da consulta a informantes-chaves, abordagem metodológica que vem sendo utilizada em estudos de negócios internacionais que enfoquem a China ou que contem com gestores e/ou gerentes chineses como respondentes. Os procedimentos de coleta de dados envolveram entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas pessoalmente e por telefone, além de questionários contendo perguntas abertas, enquanto o tratamento dos dados seguiu o protocolo da análise de conteúdo clássica. Os resultados da etapa empírica da pesquisa ressaltam aspectos culturais e políticos que perpassam decisões estratégicas empresariais.

From the Editors: How to write a high-quality review

The peer review process is widely used by academic journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), to evaluate the quality of manuscript submissions relative to the journals’ scholarly goals. Our overview suggests that the best reviews also facilitate the introduction of new and important ideas to the field. Content analysis of 156 past JIBS reviews found that the best reviews (highly rated reviews written by reviewers who won the JIBS best reviewer award in 2011 and 2012) shared many key features, including a focus on the overall contribution (potential impact) of the manuscript, a positive tone and specific suggestions for improvement. We also surveyed current JIBS action editors and found that, despite the importance of high-quality reviews for the advancement of the field, few recalled being formally trained or mentored on how to write them. To better understand the features of a good review, the editors rated the various features of the peer reviews on helpfulness, and they also rated how often these features are present in the reviews they receive. Based on the survey of action editors and the content analysis of previous reviews, this editorial offers detailed guidance for current and future reviewers on how to write helpful, developmental and possibly even award-winning peer reviews.

China’s policy environment toward foreign companies: implications to high-tech sectors

The paper discusses the Chinese policy environment as regards the experiences of foreign firms in China. In particular, the study focuses on the changes in China's policies toward foreign-invested firms and the companies' perceptions of protectionism of the Chinese regulatory environment. Theoretically, the paper reflects approaches in international political economy and business studies on the bargaining relations between host states and firms, and institutional perspective on business strategy that focuses on the dynamic interaction between organizations and their institutional environment. Hence, the approach takes into account the formal and informal institutional constraints that firms face in a particular institutional framework. Drawing from international survey data, as well as interviews with China-based Finnish firms, the paper analyzes the different types of formal and informal protectionism that foreign companies face in China. It is found that foreign firms perceive the Chinese policy measures as increasingly protective, strict toward foreigners, and favoring of local companies. This is based on China's strategy to remove the earlier preferences for inward foreign direct investment and to support, instead, the growth of indigenous companies. At the same time, the Chinese market presents such a potential that attracts foreign firms to increasingly invest in the country. China has a strong position in competing for investments: its aspiration for higher technology, together with its labor resources, gives China an unique advantage in bargaining with foreign firms over investments.

AN OVERVIEW OF 10 YEARS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS AT JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES

<p>This paper aims to present an overview of articles published in the Journal of International Business Studies (jibs), since 2003 till 2012. According to Web of Knowledge website, jibs is the most impacting publication focused in International Business. We analyzed 498 articles in order to select papers built under qualitative basis. We found 65 articles under this premise. Firstly, we analyzed keywords under topics focusing in the entire period (2003-2012). Secondly, we analyzed whole abstracts, focusing in the last five years (2008-2012). Afterwards, we detailed keywords, objectives, strategy of research, object, industry and region where they took place. We concluded that qualitative papers are losing space in jibs. Last years, quantitative papers are serving more to confirm what we know from other studies. Paradoxically, meanwhile complex institutional environments are gaining evidence in International Business, statistics and calculi are those which have been gaining space. More qualitative studies might provide an enriching strategy for better understanding what is going on in new boundaries of IB, like emerging countries. It is a goal of jibs to expand qualitative studies; it could represent opportunities to researchers from countries less researched, like Brazil.<br /><br /></p>

The Effects of Cross‐border and Cross‐industry Mergers and Acquisitions on Home‐region and Global Multinational Enterprises

We examine the effects of international and product diversification through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the firm's risk–return profile. We identify the rewards from different types of M&As and investigate whether becoming a global firm is a value‐enhancing strategy. Drawing on the theoretical work of Vachani (Journal of International Business Studies, 22 (1991), pp. 307−222) and on Rugman and Verbeke's (Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (2004), pp. 3−18) metrics, we classify firms according to their degree of international and product diversification. To account for the endogeneity of M&As, we develop a panel vector autoregression. We find that global and host‐region multinational enterprises benefit from cross‐border M&As that reinforce their geographical footprint. Cross‐industry M&As enhance the risk–return profile of home‐region firms. This effect depends on the degree of product diversification. Hence there is no value‐enhancing M&A strategy for home‐region and bi‐regional firms to become ‘truly global’.

From the Editors: How to write articles that are relevant to practice

Although the Journal of International Business Studies is not a practice-oriented journal, thinking deeper about the practical relevance of our articles can only help enrich them and help decision makers implement better decisions. However, while many academic articles in social sciences go to great lengths to explain their theoretical and empirical impact, in many cases their explanation of practical relevance is a paragraph in the conclusion section with a few cursory ideas that appear to be an afterthought rather than an integral part of the article. Here we provide suggestions for crafting a practical implications section that is relevant for decision makers.

"Past experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies"

Despite significant increases in international business education, and cultural competence in particular, in U.S. classrooms we still know relatively little about the roles of specific cultural intelligence dimensions relative to how students affectively respond to such education. This article examines the relationship between prior international experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies in U.S. college students. Using path analysis, our data indicate that prior international experience relates positively to all dimensions of cultural intelligence and that only metacognitive cultural intelligence and motivational cultural intelligence relate to increased satisfaction with the study of international business.

Past Experience, Cultural Intelligence, and Satisfaction With International Business Studies

Despite significant increases in international business education, and cultural competence in particular, in U.S. classrooms we still know relatively little about the roles of specific cultural intelligence dimensions relative to how students affectively respond to such education. This article examines the relationship between prior international experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies in U.S. college students. Using path analysis, our data indicate that prior international experience relates positively to all dimensions of cultural intelligence and that only metacognitive cultural intelligence and motivational cultural intelligence relate to increased satisfaction with the study of international business.

The Dynamics of International Business Research: A Relational Cluster Perspective

This study examines the evolution of the field of international business (IB) research based on a relational cluster analysis of co-citations in the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) from 1982 to 2011. Particularly, we examine the changing role of theory in relation to empirical IB research. Based on a factor and network analysis, we identify distinct clusters of IB research and their relations over time. We show that the initial focus of IB research on issues of international expansion has shifted towards issues of governance and implementation. In this process, debates on foreign entry mode and culture have served as important integrating themes. At the same time, theory debates in IB have expanded from a narrow focus on explaining international expansion, to a rather heterogeneous conglomerate of approaches which have assisted increasingly differentiated empirical research. Our findings have important implications for evaluating the present state and potential future of IB as a research field.

The knowledge domain of the academy of international business studies (AIB) conferences: a longitudinal scientometric perspective for the years 2006–2011

Conferences play a major role for the development of scientific domains. While journal and article contributions in the field of international business (IB) are a general and well researched area of scientometric studies, conferences are not. The absence of a systematic assessment of international business conferences as a reference to the collective status of the Academy of International Business (AIB) community is astonishing. Whatever reasons are accountable for that fact, this paper starts to fill that gap. It establishes a knowledge network composed of the last six years AIB conferences. We collected all the contributions in full text with their abstracts and keywords from 2006 to 2011. All the data have been organized in a data system and we used the information-theoretic clustering method which allows different analytical views through the entire knowledge corpus. The results indicate significant statistical differences between topic modules and keyword threads of the yearly conferences. There are three keywords which dominate as a leitmotif between 2006 and 2011, but the detailed structure changes from conference to conference significantly.

Effective Persuasion of International Business Sales Letters

Language usage has attracted increasing research attention in international business studies. Yet scarce research has been done on the use of language in sales letters across cultures. Our paper, using a combined etic-emic approach aims to compare Chinese and New Zealand managers’ reflective accounts of persuasive strategies and the function of sales letters used in these two countries. In particular, we seek to contribute to an improved in-depth cross-cultural understanding through an investigation using emic sources of language and persuasion. Our findings indicate that language and persuasion play a significant role in sales letters, the Chinese managers focusing more on building qing (positive affect) with the reader whereas the NZ managers sought a more immediate reaction to their sales pitch and informal engagement with the reader. Furthermore, also based on the insights gained reflectively and reflexively from our discussion, these differences were closely related to persuasion strategies which are also important parameters influencing cross-cultural adaptations.

An assessment of hierarchical linear modeling in international business, management, and marketing

International marketing research, in most cases, involves at least two levels (e.g., firms within countries) that make the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) a suitable data analysis technique. Due to its robustness, the use of HLM in the international business (IB) research has increased substantially over the last decade. However there is still a lack of standardization in the fundamental issues that hinders the wide spread use of HLM. This study provides unified approach to HLM use in IB research by providing standards for appropriate use of HLM. To achieve this goal, a detailed analysis of the method's use in 42 IB studies is provided and these studies are compared with 104 non-international studies to determine where IB research stands in terms of HLM use. Finally this study focuses on the good HLM practices and offers suggestions designed to maximize the effective use of HLM and potential in international business studies.

Trapped or spurred by the home region? The effects of potential social capital on involvement in foreign markets for goods and technology

Drawing on social capital theory and the international business literature, we argue that domestic geography, in terms of localized potential social capital, facilitates individual firms’ awareness of business opportunities, including knowledge related to involvement in the foreign markets for goods and technology, thereby enhancing firms’ involvement in those foreign markets. When potential social capital reaches a certain threshold, it may work to trap firms into operating only within their home regions, thus reducing involvement in foreign markets. We conjecture that firms’ research and development investment moderates the relationship between potential social capital and degree of involvement in foreign markets, but given the very different properties of the two markets, with different signs for each market: a positive moderation effect for the markets for goods, and a negative effect for the markets for technology. We find empirical support for our arguments based on a representative sample of around 2000 Italian firms. Journal of International Business Studies (2012) 43, 783–807. doi:10.1057/jibs.2012.27

Internationalization and performance in a recently advanced country: A horizontal S-shaped link?

This study provides new insights into one of the most controversial issues in the field of international business studies, namely, the shape of the international diversification-firm performance re...

The social embeddedness of multinational companies: a literature review

Multinational companies (MNCs) combine the advantages of global strategies with embeddedness in heterogeneous social, and especially national, contexts. This embeddedness contributes to the innovativeness of MNCs by facilitating access to external resources and competences as well as coordination with internal and external actors. After a theoretical introduction to the embeddedness concept, highlighting its multidimensionality and dynamics as well as the role of agency, the contribution of International Business (IB) studies and economic sociology to clarifying the embeddedness concept will be discussed. In four strands of IB literature, the environments of MNCs are characterized by assets, contingencies, resources and rules. Sociological approaches focus on the influence of the broader institutional environment on MNCs, on the micro-political and cognitive-cultural dimensions of agency and on interdependency between transnational and other social spaces. These two fields of study contribute to a better understanding of the challenges faced by MNCs in dealing with heterogeneous social contexts.