In: Sinkovics, Rudolf R. and Noemi Sinkovics (2020), "The internet and international marketing – from trigger technology to platforms and new markets," International Marketing Review, 37 (3), 437-446. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-07-2019-0185
In: in International business and sustainable development goals, Rob van Tulder, Elisa Giuliani, and Isabel Álvarez (Eds.). Progress in international business research Vol. 17. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, 309-323, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220230000017016
In: Research handbook on international corporate social responsibility, Anthony Goerzen (Ed.). Cheltenham, England, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 391-407, 2023 https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207040.00034
Purpose This paper aims to propose an integrative framework that enables the mapping of firm activities along two dimensions of responsible business behavior: a width and a depth dimension. Width includes associative, peripheral, operational and embedded responsibility. In terms of depth, we identify delinquent, neutral, nascent, enhanced and advanced levels of responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach The responsibility matrix is developed by drawing on the literature and the ambition to provide a more nuanced map of a firm's activities and its contributions toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Findings The matrix enables the classification of firm activities into different functional categories based on how they relate to a firm's business model. Further, the meaningfulness of each activity can be identified by determining its depth.
Research limitations/implications Mapping all the relevant activities of a multinational firm onto the responsibility matrix enables managers and policymakers to identify areas where transformation is most needed. Further, multinational firms can use the matrix to map the activities of their value chain partners and design more effective standards and interventions.
Practical implications The business responsibility matrix represents a diagnostic tool that enables the detailed mapping of firm capabilities and the identification of areas where further capacity building is necessary and where pockets of excellence exist.
Social implications The responsibility matrix offers a benchmarking tool for progress that can be used in conjunction with existing guidelines and initiatives such as the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.
Originality/value The responsibility matrix acknowledges that firms can engage with the SDGs through different types of activity (width dimension). Simultaneously, it recognizes that activities in the same category can have varying levels of effectiveness (depth dimension).
In: in International business in times of crisis: Tribute volume to Geoffrey Jones, Rob van Tulder, Alain Verbeke, Lucia Piscitello, and Jonas Puck (Eds.). Progress in international business research Vol. 16. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, 431-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220220000016
In: In Kenneth Husted & Rudolf R. Sinkovics (Eds.), Management perspectives on the covid-19 crisis: Lessons from New Zealand (pp. 71-82). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800882096.00014
This paper contributes to theory building efforts around the concept of knowledge connectivity and its relevance in buyer-supplier relationships in global value chains. We use the Pakistani IT industry as our study context. Pakistan suffered a significant adverse perception bias following terror attacks in 2008-09. We based our illustration on the experiences of 12 Pakistani offshore service providers (OSPs) who succeeded in offsetting the negative implications of the country's adverse political environment. The case firms link into two distinct value chain configurations. In each configuration, we observe a distinct course of strategic action, which we term step-up and break-out, respectively. While these observations emerged from the Pakistani context, the implications of the resulting dynamic framework for theory and practice go beyond this particular adverse country setting.
This paper contributes to theory building efforts around the concept of knowledge connectivity and its relevance in buyer-supplier relationships in global value chains. We use the Pakistani IT industry as our study context. Pakistan suffered a significant adverse perception bias following terror attacks in 2008-09. We based our illustration on the experiences of 12 Pakistani offshore service providers (OSPs) who succeeded in offsetting the negative implications of the country's adverse political environment. The case firms link into two distinct value chain configurations. In each configuration, we observe a distinct course of strategic action, which we term step-up and break-out, respectively. While these observations emerged from the Pakistani context, the implications of the resulting dynamic framework for theory and practice go beyond this particular adverse country setting.