It’s all about culture! Institutional context and ownership concentration across Europe

It is widely recognised that the formal institutional context affects firm ownership concentration. However, the impact of the informal institutional context has received less research attention. Drawing from institutional theory, we tested our hypothesis that both the formal and informal (cultural) institutional contexts simultaneously influence firm ownership concentration. Based on a firm-level database of the largest 600 listed companies in 19 European countries for the period 2009–2015, we found that both formal and informal institutional contexts, considered independently from each other, affect the level of firm ownership concentration. However, when these institutional contexts are considered together, the significance of the formal institutional context's effect on ownership concentration disappears while the informal (cultural) institutional context remains significant. Specifically, our findings indicate that high power distance, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, restraint, and short-term orientation favour firm ownership concentration. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the diversity in European cultures explains firms' different levels of ownership concentration across European firms, signalling that the European Union's efforts towards a common regulatory frame may not necessarily lead to a convergence of European firms' ownership structures and, consequently, of corporate governance practices.     

The effect of informal and formal institutions on foreign market entry selection and performance

We investigate the impact of informal institutional distance and formal institutions on a key decision (namely location choice) of multinational enterprises (MNEs) when they expand abroad through foreign direct investment. The findings of the research that has analyzed these decisions have been non-conclusive, and this study aims to provide further theoretical and empirical evidence by considering the interaction effect of informal institutional distance and formal institutions in the location choice and its performance implications. Through an analysis of the internationalization of mobile telecommunications carriers, we demonstrate that formal institutions in a host country positively moderate the negative relationship between informal institutional distance and the likelihood of an MNE entering that country. Moreover, we find that those location choices that can be predicted through the institutional lens obtain higher performance than those entries that cannot be predicted through the interaction of informal and formal institutions.     

Investment attributes and learning from failure in foreign direct investments

This study examines the learning effect of multinational enterprises' (MNEs) failure experience in foreign direct investment (FDI). We also examine the contingent effects of two key investment attributes: cultural distance between the host countries and the MNE's home country and entry mode. Using a longitudinal dataset of Korean foreign direct investments during 1990–2011, we find that an MNE's prior FDI failure experience is negatively related to the failure likelihood of a focal subsequent FD, indicating a learning effect of FDI failure experience. Our results show that this learning effect weakens, as the cultural distance between the host countries of prior failed FDIs and South Korea, or the joint venture percentage among prior failed investments increases; however, those interaction effects become insignificant when a focal subsequent FDI is in a culturally different country, or a JV. This study enriches the literature on learning from failure and research on experiential learning in FDI by demonstrating the boundary conditions of the learning effect of the FDI failure experience of MNEs.     

家族企业的对外直接投资与职业化管理

基于制度同构理论,探究家族企业通过对外直接投资嵌入到国内和国外互不兼容、甚至相互冲突的制度逻辑时对其治理结构的影响,提出对外直接投资给家族企业带来制度同构压力,进而影响其职业化管理水平。运用中国沪深上市家族企业2005~2019年的面板数据,研究发现:家族企业对外直接投资的规模和广度越大,高管团队的职业化水平越高;东道国与母国之间的制度距离会增强家族企业对外直接投资对职业化管理的促进作用;企业所在地区的外商投资水平则会削弱家族企业在对外直接投资中提升职业化管理的动力。通过研究组织同时嵌入不同制度逻辑时对治理结构的影响,深化制度同构行为的分析框架,对家族企业的国际化成长和治理转型具有实践意义。     

The illusion of independence: Spun-off firms’ risk-taking as a function of status and attachment to the parent firm

This paper examines the post-divestiture behavior of spun-off firms. Drawing on the spin-off literature and middle-status conformity theory, we argue that spun-off firms—as newly independent and publicly traded firms—tend to limit their risk-taking behavior to match the expectations of a crucial audience, i.e., security analysts. Following the logic of middle-status conformity theory, we hypothesize that firms with mid-level status are particularly susceptible to analysts' pressures, whereas high- and low-status firms are free to take greater risks. Crucially, however, we propose that this relationship is less pronounced for spun-off firms that are more attached to their parent firms, as formal and informal linkages between these two types of firms can endure beyond the separation and limit spun-off firms' independence. Using a dataset of 102 spin-off transactions occurring between 1995 and 2010, we find empirical support for a U-shaped relationship between spun-off firms' status and risk-taking. This relationship is attenuated when spun-off firms are more attached to their parents. We contribute to the spin-off literature by demonstrating that a spun-off firm's post-divestiture behavior is determined by the capital market audience's expectations and the attachment to the parent firm. In so doing, we also contribute to the literature on middle-status conformity theory by identifying a boundary condition of the theory. Additionally, we make a methodological contribution by combining ideas from the spin-off and institutional theory literature to develop a particularly comprehensive measure of attachment.     

How do formal and informal institutions influence firm profitability in emerging countries?

Drawing from institutional economics, we examine how the quality of formal institutions (e.g. protection of property rights, efficiency of the judicial system and government regulations) and a particular aspect of informal institutions, trust, influence the profitability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) vis-à-vis large firms. Our theoretical framework, which is supported by an analysis of over 205,000 observations in 16 emerging countries in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, explains why informal and formal institutions have a considerably different effect on the profitability of SMEs and large firms, and indicates that while SMEs benefit from formal institutional quality more than large firms do, large firms benefit from trust in society more than SMEs. It further shows that formal institutions and trust substitute each other in influencing firm profitability and that this substitution effect is stronger for large firms.     

The Role of the State in Explaining the Internationalization of Emerging Market Enterprises

While the competitive advantages of firms from developed economies are well understood, knowledge of the advantages that enable emerging market enterprises (EMEs) to expand overseas remains limited. Our analysis goes beyond theorizing that focuses on firm resources, enhancing the understanding of how EMEs expand abroad by internalizing home‐country institutional advantages that extend beyond the firm boundaries. More specifically, we examine how the state and institutional idiosyncrasies in the home country help EMEs internationalize. We demonstrate that state ownership has a strong independent effect on the international expansion of EMEs. This effect, however, is contingent upon firms' own resources and other location‐ and industry‐specific forces pertaining to the market orientation of each subnational region and the institutional policies within a given industry.     

Internationalization of Developing Country Firms into Developed Countries: The Role of Host Country Knowledge-Based Assets and IPR Protection in FDI Location Choice

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing to developed countries is a widespread phenomenon in the global economy. The literature suggests that such investments frequently follow a motive to seek knowledge-based assets, with the goal of augmenting the firm's resource base through internationalization. We argue that the prevalence of this motive may direct developing country firms' FDI toward developed countries with relatively stronger knowledge-based assets and weaker intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and that this effect is amplified when both conditions coincide. Furthermore, we suggest that the respective importance of knowledge-based assets and IPR protection diminishes as developing countries augment their own knowledge-based assets and that the importance of asset seeking as an internationalization motive for the country's firms declines compared with other motives such as institutional escapism. We investigate our model with FDI data including investment flows from 85 developing countries to 35 developed countries during 2009–2014. We find that developing country firms prefer investing in developed countries with stronger knowledge-based assets and weaker IPR protection. These criteria attract even more FDI when both co-occur. Furthermore, the influence of weaker host country IPR protection on the location decision diminishes for firms originating from home countries with higher stocks of knowledge-based assets.     

Does International Economic Integration Lead to a Cleaner Production in China?

In contrast to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, the Trade‐Up Hypothesis holds that international integration helps improve firms' environmental performance in developing countries. Using firm‐level data from Shanghai, this article examines how international linkages, in the form of foreign direct investment or international trade, affect firms' environmental compliance and performance. We find that firms with international linkage via ownership exhibit better compliance with environmental regulation and emit less pollution than firms with no international linkage. We also find that firms with international linkage via market exposure are more likely to exhibit better compliance with environmental regulation than firms with no international linkage, but find no evidence that the former emit less pollution than the latter. This provides a piece of empirical evidence for the Trade‐Up Hypothesis.     

Investing in a Shared Supplier in a Competitive Market: Stochastic Capacity Case

When firms invest in a shared supplier, one key concern is whether the invested capacity will be used for a competitor. In practice, this concern is addressed by restricting the use of the capacity. We consider what happens when two competing firms invest in a shared supplier. We consider two scenarios that differ in how capacity is used: exclusive capacity and first‐priority capacity. We model firms' investment and production decisions, and analyze the equilibrium outcomes in terms of the number of investing firms and capacity levels for each scenario; realized capacity is a stochastic function of investment levels. We also identify conditions under which the spillover effect occurs, where one firm taps into the other firm's invested capacity. Although the spillover supposedly intensifies competition, it actually discourages firms' investment. We also characterize the firms' and supplier's preference about the capacity type. While the non‐investing firm always prefers spillovers from the first‐priority capacity, the investing firm does not always want to shut off the other firm's access to its leftover capacity, especially when allowing spillover induces the other firm not to invest. The supplier's preference depends on the trade‐off between over‐investment and flexibility.     

Role of overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties and firm activity in the home country in the internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms

Using a sample of 210 Chinese returnees' entrepreneurial firms, we examined how the overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties of the returnee entrepreneurs affected their firms' internationalization in the returnees' former host countries. We found that both types of overseas ties were correlated with increased levels of internationalization and they interact positively. We then investigated whether the impacts of overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties on firm internationalization were moderated by the length of the firms' domestic operations. We found that longer domestic operations were correlated with increased positive impacts of overseas ethnic ties, but decreased positive impacts of overseas non-ethnic ties on firm internationalization. These findings indicate that the returnees' host country ties and firm activity in home country had joint effects on returnee entrepreneurial firms seeking to internationalize their businesses.     

Exploring the Impact of Cross-side Network Interaction on Digital Platforms on Internationalization of Manufacturing Firms

This study aims to explore how manufacturing firms utilize the benefits of network externalities on digital platforms and how they co-create value with foreign customers to expand internationally through their interactions with customers across the sides of the platform-mediated network. Building on the demand-side perspectives, we develop and empirically test a theoretical model explaining the effect of cross-side network interaction on digital platforms upon manufacturing firms' international intensity, as well as adding critical boundary conditions of industry structure and firm size. Based on a sample of 4197 Chinese manufacturing firms, our empirical findings indicate that manufacturing firms' cross-side network interaction on digital platforms could improve international intensity. We also find that industry growth at home country and larger firm size negatively moderate the relationship between cross-side network interaction and international intensity, while regional industry agglomeration has no significant moderating effect. This study contributes to research on firms' international intensity in the digital age and also extends the demand-side perspectives literature in an IB context.     

“We open doors others do not!”: Position and power of foreign institutional networks

Foreign institutional actors (INAs) can act as a liaison between firms and authorities and other power players to navigate bureaucratic structures, both as resource and legitimacy providers in the host market. Building on institutional theory, this study draws from broader organizational sociological literature, to explore the structural position of INAs in a host country context, and engages with fundamental questions of legitimacy, status, and power. It responds to repeated calls that more studies in international business research are needed on the impact of institutional differences, how to obtain legitimacy, and enhance the home country support networks. To understand INAs' position, specifically within the social structure of a bureaucratic host environment, our study uses in-depth interviews with elite actors from the support networks. Japan is chosen for this study as a host market, because it is the European Union's second largest trading partner in Asia, has a strong central bureaucracy, and historically and currently remains a challenging market for Westerners due to complex market entry barriers. The findings provide a new theoretically derived empirical model demonstrating the positional leverage of these INAs, to “open-doors” into a complex environment and offer a nuanced understanding of their formal and informal structural positions of power. The findings also demonstrate a significant overlap between organizational legitimacy and the exemplary status of these INAs in the bureaucratic environment, which enhances and empowers their leverage to reach authorities, press, and other important actors in the market.     

The Distinctive Patterns of Dynamic Learning and Inter‐firm Differences in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Technological or institutional change has proven to be a major cause of the failure of established firms, and history is full of examples. In a globalized world the capability of a firm to reconfigure existing competencies and create new knowledge for innovation has emerged as a dynamic capability to succeed. I examine the learning processes involved in the development of innovative R&D capabilities in Indian pharmaceutical firms as a response to the strengthening of patent law. The strong patent law represented a major institutional change for Indian firms which had grown in a weak patent era. The analysis shows that the development of new capabilities involved the removal of rigidities and the acquisition of new knowledge, and reveals that Indian firms are adopting strategies such as hiring of Indian scientists educated or working overseas in pharmaceutical R&D and collaborative R&D to acquire innovative R&D capabilities. It further points out the inter–intra firm heterogeneity in learning processes and suggests that the move from basic to advance level capabilities is neither linear nor automatic. It requires a deliberate effort and investment by firms in different mechanisms of learning. The Indian pharmaceutical firms' responses provide important insights for firms from other developing countries.     

Trojan Horses or Local Allies: Host-country National Managers in Developing Market Subsidiaries

We investigate a multinational corporation's (MNC) decision to appoint host-country national (HCN) managers to foreign subsidiaries based on the institutional context of and familiarity with the host country. HCN managers are commonly associated with specialized knowledge, superior responsiveness, and higher legitimacy. Yet, we argue that local familiarity of HCNs can also be perceived as risky or harmful by MNC parents. We analyze how formal and informal institutions affect the trade-off between positive effects and potential costs associated with HCN managers (“Local allies” vs. “Trojan horses”). We find that legal institutions protect foreign MNCs from potential costs, encourage the use of HCNs and reinforce their benefits. Corruption and corruption distance, however, increase perceived costs associated with HCN managers up to a point at which they outweigh their perceived benefits.     

Home–Host Country Distance in Offshore Governance Choices

This paper studies the effect of home–host country distance on the choice of governance mode in service offshoring. Using a Transaction Cost Economics approach, we explore the comparative costs of the hierarchical and contractual models to show that different dimensions of distance (geographic, cultural and institutional), because they generate different types of uncertainties, impact offshore governance choices in different ways. Empirical results confirm that, on the one hand, firms are more likely to respond to internal uncertainties resulting from geographic and cultural distance by leveraging the internal controls and collaboration mechanisms of a captive offshore service center. On the other hand, they tend to respond to external uncertainties resulting from institutional distance by limiting their foreign commitment and leveraging the resources and local experience of third party service providers. Finally, we find that the temporal distance component (time zone difference) of geographical dispersion between onshore and offshore countries plays a dominant role over the spatial distance component.     

The role of reference groups in international investment decisions by firms from emerging economies

Investments in China by firms from emerging economies were studied to determine how various reference groups affect their foreign market entry behavior. Imitation was shown to be an important factor, but the mechanism seems to vary depending on the institutional environments in the host and the home market. Firms from emerging economies seem to rely on copying the entry decisions of peers from their home country, especially in locations where the risk of government meddling is greatest. The example of firms from developed economies was found to be less influential.     

Survival of the foreign subsidiaries of TMNCs: The influence of business group affiliation

We investigate the survival rates of the foreign subsidiaries of multinational firms from India to test if affiliation to a business group affects a subsidiary's survival chances. Business group affiliation is an important organizational attribute of firms in emerging economies. Business groups are complex organizations with heterogeneous resources that evolve along with changes in the institutional environment of a firm's home country. We examine how business group affiliation and the development stage of the host country jointly influence the survival chances of foreign subsidiaries. Our results show that business group affiliation does not have an independent influence on a subsidiary's survival rates, but it does have a contingent effect, where the contingency emerges from the development stage of the host country. Our findings thus have implications for the theory of TMNCs, and business group strategy in emerging economies.     

Multinational firms' pace of expansion within host countries: How high rates of pro-market reform hamper the local exploitation of foreign expansion knowledge

Although increases in corporate ownership positions in foreign markets occur frequently, the factors that determine how quickly such increases occur are underexplored. Combining international business research on experiential learning, knowledge recombination, and pro-market reform, we hypothesize that a firm's international experience with ownership increases has a positive effect on the pace at which the firm implements an ownership increase in a host country, but that this effect is weaker during periods of quicker pro-market reform in the country. We find support for our hypotheses in an analysis of Austrian firms expanding in Central and Eastern Europe, suggesting that, rather than merely being beneficial to foreign investors, pro-market reform also poses a challenge to them.     

How do shareholders influence international firms’ environmental strategies? The differential impact of strategic and financial investors

Debates about the drivers of corporate environmental strategy as well as the influence of shareholders on environmental investments have grown exponentially in the last decade. This paper provides a novel perspective on the influence of investors on a firm's environmental strategy by theorizing how the shareholders' orientation may provide different resources for firms to outperform environmental institutional pressures, and further analyzing how foreign market exposure moderates this relationship. Our results, produced from a longitudinal sample of 2237 observations between 2007 and 2017 from 276 US firms in 11 industries, show that having a higher percentage of strategic shareholders positively drives firms' environmental proactivity. Meanwhile, having a higher percentage of financial shareholders is positively related to firms' environmental proactivity only at high levels of foreign market exposure, but is negatively related at low levels. Our results contribute to the ownership and environmental strategy literature by delimitating the different influences of strategic and financial investors on firms' environmental strategy and making a bridge between institutional and resource-based perspectives.