The impact of international business education on career success—Evidence from Europe

In today's globalized world, career paths are becoming increasingly international, and so managers need respective cross-cultural strengths in order to act effectively in various cultural environments. Even though education—especially business education—is progressively becoming more international to meet these organizational demands, little is known about whether the extent of international business education influences careers, and in particular career success. In addressing this research deficit, we explore whether and how international business education affects career success. As the major contribution of this paper we suggest a conceptual framework which posits global identity and international experience as mediators of this relationship. The assumptions of this framework are confirmed by an investigation amongst 450 alumni of a European business school. Additional contributions include that we extend the limited body of research on the construct of international business education and its measurement, by providing an all-encompassing definition and much-needed operationalization. Furthermore, we contribute a European perspective on international business education through our empirical evidence.     

Uncovering the factors behind new ventures’ international performance: Capabilities,alertness and technological turbulence

This research is based on the perception that the explanation of International New Ventures' (INVs) performance demands a process view, going deeper than the standard approach, in empirical papers, of testing a direct relationship between company-level antecedents and performance. A three-tier model was developed to investigate the process leading to INVs international performance, emphasizing the role of entrepreneurial alertness. Based on the dynamic capabilities framework, entrepreneurial alertness was envisaged as the mediating element between firms' capabilities and their international performance. Empirical research confirmed the hypothesized model. Firms' capabilities (entrepreneurial orientation, foreign market knowledge, and absorptive capacity) significantly influence the level of entrepreneurial alertness, which impacts on the levels of self-reported satisfaction with the company's international performance. The paper makes four contributions to International Entrepreneurship literature. First, it highlights the key role played by entrepreneurial alertness in explaining INVs' international performance. This is convergent with the dynamic capabilities view on firms' ability to sense and seize specific international business opportunities. Second, this study considers entrepreneurial alertness as a capability that is not limited to the entrepreneur, but it is an organizational capability. Third, it shows that entrepreneurial alertness does not exist in the vacuum, is based on a set of base capabilities, namely entrepreneurial orientation, foreign market knowledge, and absorptive capacity, that simultaneously leverage the INVs to sense possible opportunities and constrain the focus of opportunities to international markets, as a key element to foster INVs' higher performance. Fourth, it underlines the role of technological turbulence as a moderator of the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and INVs' international performance.     

国际物流系统运作研究

国际物流的发展与经济全球化密切相关。国际物流跨越不同国家和地区,与国内物流相比,具有特殊性。国际物流系统一端联结着生产,另一端联结着消费,是一个复杂开放的运作系统。国际物流系统运作要对国际物流进行系统整合、系统分析和系统管理。国际物流中心是国际物流系统运作的集中区,发挥着集散、控制和协调等核心作用。     

Global myopia: globalization theory in International Business

This paper critically evaluates some shortcomings in the handling of the globalization concept in International Business (IB). In particular, the paper identifies disciplinary isolation (and its consequences) and lack of a general, theoretically satisfying, definition for the concept as key culprits driving the often myopic views of globalization in IB. Some remedies are proposed, and a general definition of globalization is offered in the hope of stimulating a wider discussion.     

Understanding Drivers of Risk‐Adjusted Performance for Service Firms with International Operations*

This article investigates whether international operations of service firms increase performance while reducing risk. The article draws on a longitudinal dataset of 584 internationally operating service firms from the United States. Analysis indicates that international diversification is negatively related to risk‐adjusted performance. However, it is established that international diversification interacts with internationalization and positively influences risk‐adjusted performance. This finding offers significant promise for firms, as it indicates that international operations (if managed well), through exposure to varied foreign markets coupled with adequate global scope, can lead to firms’ increased risk‐adjusted performance. The results provide a mechanism for decision‐makers to better understand international operations of service firms and present a strategy for achieving success in international markets by effectively managing two important levers: internationalization and international market diversification.     

International work experience and compensation: Is more always better for CFOs?

The CFO is increasingly considered the second most important executive in the firm after the CEO. Still, little is known about the factors that determine CFOs' compensation. Recently, it has often been claimed that, in MNCs, CFOs should have international work experience. But is a CFO's international work experience also reflected in his or her compensation? We combine human capital and social capital perspectives to account for both the upside and the downside of international work experience. We suggest that working abroad provides CFOs with valuable knowledge and skills which increase compensation; however, staying abroad for too long has an adverse effect due to losses in social network ties. We thus propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between CFOs' international work experience and their compensation. Furthermore, we suggest that this relationship is contingent on the characteristics of the CEO. In testing our hypotheses on a sample of the largest MNCs in Europe, we find support for the proposed relationships. Our study contributes to the literature on top management characteristics and executive compensation, specifically by providing a comprehensive understanding of how and when international work experience pays off for CFOs.     

高科技人才国际争夺态势分析与对策

新一轮高技术人才争夺战正在全球范围内展开,并呈现为三大态势：对信息技术人才的国际争夺异常激烈;发达国家“争抢”发展中国家的高科技人才;发展中国家高科技人才严重流失。培养人才、吸引人才、善待人才,是我国科学技术实现跨越式发展的需要。本文从高科技人才的特点出发,从企业的角度提出我国企业在全球高科技人才争夺战中取得主动权,构建新世纪企业竞争力的对策建议。     

The effect of trust on international joint venture performance in China

The role of trust between the parent companies of international joint ventures (IJVs) is re-examined, and it is suggested that trust between parents is not only a major predictor of the achievement of financial and non-financial goals by IJVs as reported in the literature, but also moderates the relationship between IJV performance and certain contextual factors.Based on the responses of senior executives of IJVs and their parent companies in China, it is confirmed that trust influences IJV performance. The moderating effects of trust on the relationships between IJV performance and local reliance and the experience of executives were confirmed for the senior executive sample, but the moderating effect of cultural distance was not consistent between the firm-level and country-level measures. There was no significant result regarding these moderating relationships for the parent sample, except local reliance.     

国际营销的两个流派：标准化观点对适应性观点

本文对有关国际营销中的标准化观点和适应性观点的研究论文进行了分析和综述,讨论了这两种观点的支持性论点,解释了各自成立的假设条件和理论基础。最后,讨论了本研究的管理学含义并指出了今后的研究方向。     

The emerging CEO agenda

This article identifies and articulates the major challenges facing CEOs of large multinational firms. Analysis of recent surveys and interviews highlights eight challenges: 1. Developing growth avenues, 2. Raising productivity, 3. Competing for talent, 4. Managing diverse risks, 5. Tightening corporate governance, 6. Incorporating sustainability, 7. Creating new innovation models, and 8. Building out new infrastructures. This large and broad set of issues involves new twists on known challenges and the emergence of new challenges. These challenges are demanding because they require new types of non-business expertise, their rules are not yet clear, and they are interdependent. CEOs need to craft an agenda for dealing individually and collectively with these issues.     

Equity versus non-equity international strategic alliances involving Danish firms: An empirical investigation of the relative importance of partner and host country determinants

A substantial literature has evolved focusing on the ownership structure of international strategic alliances (ISAs). Most of the relevant studies are theoretical in nature and concentrate on the conceptual factors that influence the choice between equity and non-equity structures. A smaller number of studies provide some empirical evidence on the importance of some of the conceptual factors. The theoretical literature highlights the potential influence of relational capital and transaction costs as determinants of ISA structure; however, there is little empirical evidence on the relative importance of these potential determinants. Moreover, there is only limited and indirect evidence bearing upon the impact of host country governance attributes on ISA ownership structure. In this study, we provide statistical evidence on the importance of potential determinants of governance mode choice for a sample of ISAs involving Danish firms. Our study documents how the determinants of governance mode choice vary in importance depending upon the “quality” of the governance infrastructure of the host country.     

Conquering ‘the tyranny of distance’: Australian–European economic and geopolitical relationships past,present and future

Australia today remains a continent adrift in a rapidly transforming world. It is economically dependent on China, aligned militarily with the US and yet socio-culturally still profoundly European in outlook. In this article, we reflect on the trends, challenges and opportunities that are likely to define and redefine Australia's interaction with Europe at a macro-level. We focus on eight key macro-level themes: historical connections, labour and migration, geopolitics and security, macro-economic relations and prospects, business relations and investment, technology and innovation, entrepreneurship, and environment and sustainability. We find that while Europe and Australia remain poles apart regarding several pressing global matters, from military and security alliances to official policy on climate change, there are also areas in which the potential for closer engagement are increasingly promising, including trilateral trading relationships with Asia, foreign direct investment and business-to-business relations, digital business, innovation and entrepreneurship, and business-driven innovation to combat global warming.     

Internationalization Orientation in SMEs: The Mediating Role of Technological Innovation

This study examines the relationship between internationalization orientation and international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the mediating effect of technological innovation. Prior research suggests that internationalization is a prominent strategic choice for SMEs growth and profitability. However, there is still no explicit agreement on how internationalization affects international performance. Similarly, the role of innovation on performance has long been emphasized, but the implications of technological innovation on international performance are still eluding us. Our investigation of 116 SMEs in the United Kingdom reveals that internationalization orientation has a significant effect on their international performance, with SMEs adopting simultaneously an inward and outward international orientation achieving superior results. We further demonstrate that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between technological innovation and international firm performance among SMEs. Meanwhile, we find that technological innovation positively mediates the effect of internationalization orientation on international firm performance, particularly for the SMEs exhibiting moderate levels of technological innovation activities. The findings of this study suggest that managers can improve international performance by combining inward and outward internationalization orientation with technological innovation activities in their strategic decisions.     

Relationship between job control, work pressure and strain: studies in the USA and in The Netherlands

The purpose of this study was to test a model of job control, work pressure and strain in two samples in the USA and in The Netherlands. According to the proposed model, work pressure has a mediating role between job control and worker strain. The present model specifies three types of job control: task or instrumental control, conceptual or resource control, and decision organization control. Task and resource control are assumed to reduce the stressor of work pressure which, in turn, is related to high strain. Organization control is assumed to be positively related to work pressure. The model was tested in two samples : one US sample of 273office employees and one Dutch sample of 958 employees in a variety of jobs. The same measure of job control was used in both samples. Resultspartially confirm the proposed model. As predicted by the proposed model, high task control was related to low work pressure, whereas high organization control was related to high work pressure. The effects of task control and organization control on strain were mediated by work pressure for the measure of anxiety in the US sample and for the measure of stress in the Dutch sample. However, the mediating effect of work pressure was not found for job satisfaction in both samples, for the measure of mood disturbances in the US sample and for the measure of sick days in the Dutch sample. The proposed model is only partially confirmed by the results. These results confirm the importance of differentiating between different dimensions of job control.     

中国纺织业国际竞争力的实证分析

本文采用纵向分析法对我国纺织业的国际竞争力进行深入分析,首先,用历史数据对我国纺织业竞争力在过去的数量表现进行实证分析,得出我国该产业已经具有很强的竞争力,但这主要是出口量增加的结果,在产品质的提升上发展相对缓慢;接着从供需两方面对产业的未来发展潜力进行了分析,得出我国具备良好的发展该产业的基础和潜力,但产业整体素质不高的结论。这样导致的结果是我国纺织业将会继续走以量取胜的老路,这种套路在未来不可能走得太远,因此,我国纺织业应从产业整体素质上下功夫,努力提高产品的质量和附加值。     

Relationship between job control,work pressure and strain: Studies in the USA and in The Netherlands

The purpose of this study was to test a model of job control, work pressure and strain in two samples in the USA and in The Netherlands. According to the proposed model, work pressure has a mediating role between job control and worker strain. The present model specifies three types of job control: task or instrumental control, conceptual or resource control, and decision organization control. Task and resource control are assumed to reduce the stressor of work pressure which, in turn, is related to high strain. Organization control is assumed to be positively related to work pressure. The model was tested in two samples : one US sample of 273office employees and one Dutch sample of 958 employees in a variety of jobs. The same measure of job control was used in both samples. Resultspartially confirm the proposed model. As predicted by the proposed model, high task control was related to low work pressure, whereas high organization control was related to high work pressure. The effects of task control and organization control on strain were mediated by work pressure for the measure of anxiety in the US sample and for the measure of stress in the Dutch sample. However, the mediating effect of work pressure was not found for job satisfaction in both samples, for the measure of mood disturbances in the US sample and for the measure of sick days in the Dutch sample. The proposed model is only partially confirmed by the results. These results confirm the importance of differentiating between different dimensions of job control.     

企业国际化经营中关键风险的识别研究

风险识别是企业从事国际化经营时进行风险管理采取的首要步骤,也是进一步实施风险防范与规避的前提和基础.本文以中国企业的国际化经营为研究背景,在对国际风险分类与识别进行理论推导的基础上,通过实证研究,对企业在采取不同国际市场进入模式时所面临的各类风险加以识别,并对关键风险进行聚焦探析.     

中欧纺织品贸易障碍分析与国际市场营销策略研究

近几年来,我国与欧盟纺织服装进出口贸易不断增长,中国业已成为欧盟纺织服装进口消费的第一大供应国,同时也是欧盟诸国纺织服装原材料出口的第二大市场。随着中国加入WTO日期的逐渐临近,中欧纺织品贸易也面临着众多的机遇与挑战。本文从分析中欧纺织品贸易发展障碍入手,着重研究了影响中欧贸易发展的障碍因素,并从国际市场营销的角度,探讨开拓欧盟市场的国际营销策略。