International Management Studies Research Articles

Antecedents to the disclosure of a stigmatized national identity in cross‑national work settings

International Business (IB) and management studies have neglected giving needed attention to interactions of individuals with stigmatized national identities with overseas clients. This leaves uncertainty about the antecedents that lead these individuals to disclose their national identity to foreign clients or keep it hidden. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Stigma Theory, this comparative case study of two Tunisia-based call centers serving western markets indicates that identity-related choices depend more on skills and experiences individuals possess than on how they relate to each other. The study contributes to both IB and management studies by completing the existing definition of SIT and offering solutions regarding how to address stigma in IB.

Ripeness obscured: inductive lessons from Türkiye’s (transactional) mediation in the Russia–Ukraine war

PurposeConventional wisdom tells us that mediation without ripeness is a fool’s errand (Zartman and Touval, 1985). What, then, is Türkiye’s motivation for mediating the war in Ukraine in lieu of ripeness – and what can its behavior as a mediator tell us about that motivation? In pursuit of this question, this paper inductively analyzes Turkish mediation in the Ukraine war to unpack the relationship between a contextual (ripeness) and actor-level (motivation) variable. Of particular interest is the decision-making and behavior of third parties (like Türkiye in Ukraine) who elect to mediate highly complex conflicts in which ripeness is indiscernible. The purpose of this research is not to propose or test a causal relationship between obscured ripeness and mediation, but rather to examine mediation behavior in situations where ripeness is obscured.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of weaponized information on ripeness and third-party mediation is evaluated through an original, systematic and inductive case study analysis of Turkish mediation in the Russia–Ukraine war. As an intense theater of operations for information warfare for well over a decade, the war in Ukraine serves as an especially apt choice for an analysis of “obscured ripeness.” Likewise, Türkiye’s anomalous position as the only substantive source of mediation in the conflict lends significance to an empirical examination of its motivation and behavior as a mediator.FindingsThis research reveals that the pervasive use of weaponized information in the Russia–Ukraine war has distorted and disordered the information environment, thereby obscuring the ability of third parties to determine if the conflict is or could be ripe for mediation. However, the condition of obscured ripeness that prevails in the conflict has not proven a deterrent for mediation by Türkiye, which, as the only mediator in the conflict, has used a transactional approach to mediation motivated by self-regarding interests and animated by a manipulative mediation strategy. In sum, this inductive analysis of Turkish mediation in Ukraine reveals that the use of weaponized information in a conflict indirectly selects on transactional mediation (and mediators). The significance of this finding is magnified by the widespread use of weaponized information in contemporary conflicts as well as the declining frequency of third-party mediation.Originality/valueThere have been few, if any, systematic assessments in Turkish mediation of the Russia–Ukraine war, and none specifically concerned with the effects of weaponized information. Additionally, the paper proposes a typology of mediator motivation that is used to structure that assessment, while also introducing a new concept (“obscured ripeness”) and linking that concept both to the existing literature on ripeness and to the use of weaponized information in contemporary armed conflicts. As such, this manuscript represents an important contribution both to the empirical and theoretical landscape with respect to the study of mediation and international conflict management.

Unpacking the competitive relations among Chinese business actors in Africa

ABSTRACT Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in Africa has attracted much discussion on the competitive relations between Chinese companies and their foreign or local counterparts. There is however limited research examining the increasingly competitive relationships among Chinese business actors themselves and the complex implications of their activities for African economic development. Existing studies often either treat Chinese actors as a homogeneous entity pursuing a collective, state-directed agenda or emphasize the collaborative networks among Chinese business groups during their transnational entrepreneurial expansion. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the nature and consequences of intra-Chinese competition in Africa. It draws upon a critical reading of multidisciplinary literature in international businesses, management studies and economic geography, an extensive review of empirical cases across Africa, as well as field research in Ethiopia and Nigeria. Findings shed light on the competitive interests, logics, and strategies of Chinese overseas actors in construction, telecommunications, manufacturing, and retail sectors, and identify the challenges associated with managing intra-Chinese competition and fostering positive economic impacts in Africa.

Vulnerability in the Global Tropics? An Ethnography of the Experiences of International Managers in Venezuela and Mexico

The Latin American tropics have been considered spaces where the taken-for-granted vulnerability of the international assignment experience is exacerbated because of poor working conditions. In classical approaches to international management studies, the complexity attributed to the role of global managers resides in the ‘fact’ that they live under conditions of permanent confrontation, adjustment, change and adaptation. The literature typically portrays the international manager as perpetually experiencing an ‘out-of-place’ existence, as their supposed ‘national culture’ of origin is by definition different from the ‘national culture’ of the destination country. The stereotyped exoticism of the tropics – constructed as spaces for tourism and adventure, but also characterised as precarious in terms of their health infrastructures, uncomfortable climates, and socio-economic and political instability – contributes to the framing of international management in these regions as highly challenging. In this article, these stereotypical conceptions are challenged. Evidence is provided indicating that managers’ narratives about ‘the experience of working and living in the tropics’ have more to do with their negative experiences of organisational power and the creation of a singular organisational culture of control and commitment than with the experience of the tropical context per se. The analysis is based on 6 years of intermittent longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork (2005–2009; 2020–2022) with international and nomadic Latin American professionals working in two factories located in the tropics owned by an industrial corporation.

From the periphery to the centre: a bibliometric review of global virtual teams as a new ordinary workplace

PurposeThis study aims to offer a bibliometric analysis of the already substantial and growing literature on global virtual teams (GVTs).Design/methodology/approachUsing a systematic literature review approach, it identifies all articles in the Web of Science from 1999 to 2021 that include the term GVTs (in the title, the abstract or keywords) and finds 175 articles. The VOSviewer software was applied to analyze the bibliometric data.FindingsThe analysis revealed three dialogizing research clusters in the GVTs literature: a pioneering management information systems and organizational cluster, a general management cluster and a growing international management and behavioural studies cluster. Furthermore, it highlights the most cited articles, authors, journals and nations, and the network of strong and weak links regarding co-authorships and co-citations. Additionally, this study shows a change in research patterns regarding topics, journals and disciplinary approaches from 1999 to 2021. Finally, the analysis illustrates the position and centrality in the network of the most relevant actors.Practical implicationsThe findings can guide management practitioners, educators and researchers to the most meaningful clusters of publications on GVTs, and help navigate and make sense of the vast body of the available literature. The importance of GVTs has been growing in the past two decades, and Covid-19 has accelerated the trend.Originality/valueThis study provides an updated and comprehensive systematic literature review on GVTs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is also the first systematic literature review and bibliometry on GVTs. It concludes by suggesting future research paths.

EXPLORING THE EXTENSION OF CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM ON ETHNOCENTRIC BUSINESS ORIENTATION OF YOUNG ADULTS FROM TWO COUNTRIES

Many consumer studies have confirmed that in different international settings ethnocentric consumers mostly prefer domestic products. Consequently, consumer ethnocentrism has been considered as a prominent informal barrier for international trade. Even though an ethnocentrism as a personal trait has been a subject of international management studies, ethnocentrism was rarely observed within a context of managers’ or owners’ decisions that affect business orientations. The purpose of this study was to explore a link among consumer ethnocentrism and ethnocentric business orientations of graduate students as future managers and business owners. The main goal was to and derive implications relevant for consumer and organizational marketing in international environment. The main motivation behind the study was to explore potential extension of consumer ethnocentrism on managerial ethnocentric decision making, and consequently, on ethnocentric business orientation. Research was conducted on a convenience sample of 219 business economics graduates from the University of Rijeka, Croatia and from the University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling has been employed to explore a linkage among observed concepts. Empirical results indicated a differences among sub-samples from two countries in level of consumer ethnocentrism and its impacts on preferences towards domestic products. However, significant positive relation has been found between consumer ethnocentrism and ethnocentric business orientation in case of both observed groups. Consumer ethnocentrism has been confirmed as predictor of ethnocentric tendencies towards domestic products as well as predictor of ethnocentric business orientations of youth as a future managers and business owners. Research results confirmed that consumer ethnocentrism can be extended from consumer preferences and orientation towards domestic products to managers’ ethnocentric decision making, providing ethnocentric business orientation.

Spatial analysis of blue and green water footprints of agricultural crop patterns: Turkey

The agricultural sector is responsible for around 85% of global freshwater consumption. Spatial variations of the water footprint (WF) of agricultural products can be employed to mitigate regional and global problems concerning water scarcity. In this study, the agricultural WF of Turkey at administrative boundary level based on a diverse crop pattern was analysed. The total, per capita and per land area blue and green WFs and virtual water contents (VWCs) of 81 agricultural products were calculated for administrative boundaries. Accordingly, the national WF of agricultural production was estimated to be 107 × 109 m3, of which 56% is blue water. Cereals constitute the largest share of the national WF (57%), mostly due to the production of wheat, barley and maize. Detailed maps and quantifications of VWCs and total, per capita and per land area WFs of various crops are illustrated in this paper. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the most comprehensive work carried out in the study area to date, with a wide range of crop patterns and administrative boundaries taken into account. This work is expected to contribute to national and international water management studies by proposing and discussing the water intensity of agricultural products at high spatial resolution.

International business, innovation and ambidexterity: A micro-foundational perspective

Research on international business and innovation has accumulated a vast body of knowledge which has assisted in comprehending complex international management issues in diverse international settings. Yet, the existing studies have not paid sufficient attention to the multifaceted aspects of innovation and ambidexterity. We join the conversation with international business and innovation by suggesting that investigating the micro-foundations from a multidisciplinary perspective situated in varying international contexts can advance our collective understandings of the phenomena in important ways. This paper has three general objectives. First, we show that innovation and ambidexterity has been a long-standing issue in international management and business studies and provide an overview of the puzzles that underpin and trigger this special issue. Second, we highlight the key insights and contributions of the papers included in this special issue by reviewing their theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches and findings. Finally, we outline a future research agenda that can help advance on international business and innovation research.

Entrepreneurs’ Implicit and Explicit Achievement Motives and Their Early International Commitment

Entrepreneurs’ new ventures pursue different strategies in international markets; some are more committed to the foreign markets than others. Existing international management studies largely use entrepreneurs’ conscious rationale, such as profitability, risks, resource limitations, country-specific knowledge, and personal values, to explain the commitment diversities. Drawing from achievement motivation theory and cognition theory, this study adds entrepreneurs’ unconscious motives and differentiates between implicit and explicit achievement motivation as important forces driving the diversities of the commitment. Evidence collected in this study suggests that both conscious and unconscious achievement motives are related to the commitment but the relationships are moderated curvilinearly by overseas operation complexity and overseas competition intensity respectively. The findings of this study have important implications for entrepreneurs managing international business.

Interactions among conflict management techniques: extending the breadth and depth of the framework

The articles in this issue contribute to a turn in international conflict management studies from considering strategies as relatively independent initiatives to regarding them as interdependent. T...

A comparative study of international and Chinese public health emergency management from the perspective of knowledge domains mapping

BackgroundAt the end of 2019, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severely damaged and endangered people’s lives. The public health emergency management system in China has played an essential role in handling the response to the outbreak, which has been appreciated by the World Health Organization and some countries. Hence, it is necessary to conduct an overall analysis of the development of the health emergency management system in China. This can provide a reference for scholars to aid in understanding the current situation and to reveal new research topics.MethodsWe collected 2247 international articles from the Web of Science database and 959 Chinese articles from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. Bibliometric and mapping knowledge domain analysis methods were used in this study for temporal distribution analysis, cooperation network analysis, and co-word network analysis.ResultsThe first international article in this field was published in 1991, while the first Chinese article was published in 2005. The research institutions producing these studies mainly existed in universities and health organizations. Developed countries and European countries published the most articles overall, while eastern China published the most articles within China. There were 52 burst words for international articles published from 1999–2018 and 18 burst words for Chinese articles published from 2003–2018. International top-ranked articles according to the number of citations appeared in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2016, while the corresponding Chinese articles appeared in 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2011.ConclusionsThere are differences in the regional and economic distribution of international and Chinese cooperation networks. International research is often related to timely issues mainly by focusing on emergency preparedness and monitoring of public health events, while China has focused on public health emergencies and their disposition. International research began on terrorism and bioterrorism, followed by disaster planning and emergency preparedness, epidemics, and infectious diseases. China considered severe acute respiratory syndrome as the starting research background and the legal system construction as the research starting point, which was followed by the mechanism, structure, system, and training abroad for public health emergency management.

Industrial espionage revisited: Host country–foreign multinational corporation legal disputes and the postcolonial imagery

In this article, we take a postcolonial management approach to exploring the lingering significance of postcolonial imagery in shaping legal disputes between host country and foreign multinational corporations. We apply a critical discourse analysis to the Korea versus Orbotech industrial espionage lawsuit, in which the Korean government accused a foreign multinational corporation of leaking its ‘national core technology’. Through this analysis we demonstrate how industrial espionage discourse was used to fight Korea’s negative reputation as a technological imitator, associate Korea with global technological leaders, and disassociate itself from other ‘imitators’. In response, Orbotech’s industrial espionage discourse has aimed to reproduce Korea’s imitator stigma. Our findings highlight the continual role of the imagined North/South and West/rest symbolic boundaries in constructing global business hierarchies even when the marginalized party—Korea—has already moved to the elite economies club. While international management studies rarely address industrial espionage beyond its technical meaning, we underline the embeddedness of industrial espionage as a discourse in maintaining and disrupting the geopolitical business landscape.

Informal Networks: Dark Sides, Bright Sides, and Unexplored Dimensions

AbstractInformal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt conduct – largely related to research on emerging markets. To date, the construction of informal networks and their cultural intertwinement and development have not been a focus of international management and organization studies, a gap that this special issue seeks to address. This special issue contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of informal networks and their ambivalence, in which the same networks have different modes of operation and have positive and negative sides intermittently or simultaneously. We demonstrate the context in which informal networks operate, highlight their complexity, and encourage dialogue among scholars studying informal networks in a variety of countries. Using a context-based and comparative perspective allows us to conceptualize informal networks in a more integrated and balanced way. Understanding the workings of informal networking – known variously asguanxi, yongo, jentinho, wasta,andblat– in culturally specific settings, places Western values, social structures, and ideals of behavior in perspective and tests Western-centered assumptions, narratives, and theories. Because informal networking is a conventional way of conducting business in many countries, as depicted in this special issue, defining the bright (positive) and the dark (negative) sides of informal networks is critical for responsible management and business success at multinational corporations.

Signaling value of top management team

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to integrate the upper echelon theory with signaling theory and examine the impact of top management team (TMT) on the initial public offering (IPO) performance of Chinese firms in the USA.Design/methodology/approachThis study used Security Data Corporation (SDC) that is a central database for foreign IPOs in the USA. The authors identified 142 Chinese firms that issued stocks on the US markets between 2003 and 2014. This study used firm’s final prospectuses to collect data manually.FindingsThis study finds that the TMT characteristics such as functional heterogeneity and international exposure convey the positive signal of firm’s legitimacy to the US investors and increase the IPO performance.Originality/valueThis study extends the upper echelon perspective that has previously overlooked the signaling value of TMT characteristics in the foreign IPO studies. The top management plays an important role to the firm’s successful foreign market listing. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, a large number of Chinese firms have started IPOs in the USA, but there is a dearth of research on these firms. This study aims to contribute to the study of international business and management and describes that the TMT functional heterogeneity and international exposure have a significant role in the success of Chinese foreign IPOs.

The Effect of EMNEs’ Business Experience and Industry Characteristics on the Choice of International M&As

Purpose - This research attempts to examine how the choice of countries for international M&A (merger and acquisition) varies depending on the business experience of companies in developing countries, especially China, and the characteristics of the target industries. Design/methodology/approach - This research is exercised on the three variables of liquidity, i.e. the bid-ask spread, the depth, and the trading volume. This research used a paired difference test to measure the impact before and after the policy were imposed. Findings - As a result of analyzing 206 Chinese MNEs (multinational enterprises) using a probit estimation, we found that Chinese firms prefer to take over acquisitions as they have more experience in business, but they prefer to acquire companies located in developing countries. Research implications or Originality - It is expected that international M&As that are centered in developing countries such as China will grow further, and research on global M&A around developing countries is of great importance. Therefore, research is needed to understand the phenomenon of M&As from developing markets to developed markets, going beyond the developed countries-oriented discussions presented by previous international management studies. We confirmed that when target companies belong to the high-tech industry, acquirers in developing countries prefer to acquire companies located in developed countries. Also, it has been found that companies in developing countries have a lot of business experience and that high-tech companies prefer acquiring companies belonging to advanced countries.

MNEs' Agency Within Institutional Contexts: A Study of Walmart's Post-acquisition Practices in Mexico, Germany, and Japan

Abstract The issue of MNEs' adaptation to host country institutional environments in their post-cross-border acquisition implementation, and the outcomes thereof, remains underexplored in international management studies. The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of three institutional approaches — (1) the earlier variant of the neoinstitutional theory (ENIT), (2) its recent variant (RNIT), and the comparative institutional analysis approach (CIA) — to explain (non)adaptation behavior in host country environments. Using Walmart's acquisition cases, we show that the MNE adopted a non-adaptation behavior in Mexico and Germany—countries which represent vastly different institutional environments—and succeeded in the former, but failed and withdrew from the market in the latter. However, in the Japanese institutional environment, which is similar to the German one, Walmart engaged in selective adaptation and survived in the market. Based on the case data, we offer a critical assessment of the applicability of the three approaches. These three approaches provide a base on which to develop a model to explain the relationship between institutional influences, an MNE's organizational agency and adaptation behavior, as well as outcomes. Moreover, we discuss future research directions and provide implications for practitioners related to MNEs' adaptation behavior and the ensuing outcomes in host markets.

Defining and Measuring the Institutional Context of National Intellectual Property Systems in a post-TRIPS world

Indices that approximate for the quality and strength of intellectual property (IP) systems are commonly used as variables in empirical international management studies. However, while international IP systems have radically transformed after the implementation of the TRIPS agreement, these contextual changes have not been accounted for in existing international management research approaches. This study examines the institutional context of IP systems in the post TRIPS implementation years by conceptualizing how IP Law on the books (regulations) and IP Law in practice (enforcement) combine. This enables the identification of two new contextual categories of IP systems that have not been conceptually, theoretically, or empirically captured in existing international management research. A review of the existing literature on indices measuring different aspects of national IP systems provides insights into how to improve future theoretical and empirical international management work that aims to study the effects of the context of IP systems in the post TRIPS era.

An overview of contemporary international human resource management studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the evolution of the intellectual structure of international human resource management (IHRM) studies and to propose a theory of an invisible network of knowledge (INK).Design/methodology/approachResearchers can also use this methodology to explore the knowledge network of their own fields so as to gain a vantage position with respect to their field and conduct seminal research.FindingsThe results help to profile the INK production in IHRM and provide important insights with implications for current and future research directions of IHRM studies for management scholars and practitioners.Originality/valueThis study examines the status of contemporary IHRM research over the last decade. This study examines the status of contemporary IHRM research over the last decade. With Social Sciences Citation Index citation data from the top IHRM journal, International Journal of Human Resource Management, this study used citation and co-citation analysis to identify the most important publications, scholars, and research themes in the IHRM area, and then mapped the intellectual structure of IHRM studies.

Taking the “culture” out of “culture shock” – a critical review of literature on cross-cultural adjustment in international relocation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to re-examine the use of the term “culture shock” in international management studies and cross-cultural research and to propose a paradigmatic shift in how the term is understood for future research. The experience of “culture shock” is an established concept within international management studies, engendering an industry of training designed to combat difficulties in relocation. This paper argues that the use of concept is based on a flawed understanding of “culture” and proposes an alternative perspective to help organisations prepare their employees for overseas assignments.Design/methodology/approachThe paper opts for a critical review of literature to examine models of culture shock through time and theories relating to success factors in cross-cultural adjustment. In so doing, the paper revisits the notion of culture shock from a social constructionist perspective within a dialectical framework.FindingsThe paper challenges the notion of culture as an essential, reified concept, arguing that culture shock is not about culture, but about the dynamics of context and how individuals deal with life changes to navigate the challenges that they face.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should focus on context-related, interactive behaviour, framed in discourse processes, rather than predetermined a priori typologies based on cultural stereotypes. This would recognise the discursive nature of social interaction within a dialectical framework, where relational tension emerges as a result of disparity.Practical implicationsThe paper contributes to an understanding of the complex range of factors influencing the success of relocation to guide international companies in their policies.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a paradigm shift in the treatment of culture shock towards a more discourse-based concept created through universal cultural and dialectical processes.

A Brand Culture Approach to Managing Nation‐Brands

The objective of this note is to formulate conceptual links between nation brands, international relations, and politics through the development of research questions that are underpinned by a brand‐culture approach. The focus is on the export of Turkey's soap operas to diverse locations around the globe, but in particular to the Middle East and the Balkans. The note calls for: (1) forging a dialogue across international relations, political science, media, and management studies through a brand‐culture lens which allows for a historical understanding; (2) focusing on historical and political discourses as resources in interpreting nation brands and cultural and creative goods; and, (3) focusing on nation branding between countries in the Global South. Forging a dialogue across disciplines and focusing on how consumers make use of historical and political discourses informs both commercial and diplomatic co‐creators of nation brands.