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The guest editors of this e-book feel that role of the internet is often unjustly exaggerated in relation to international business theory and application. For them the internet has a paradoxical nature, which is explored in the articles that comprise the issue. The aim of the e-book was to bring together research that provides a basis for understanding novel international business phenomena, facilitated by the emergence the internet. The papers which are included cover areas of firm internationalization, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) facilitated relationships between small an

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of "rising power firms" and how these firms offer developmental promises and challenges to the face of international business (IB). We suggest that rising power firms offer novel capabilities, connect IB to global value chains (GVCs) and then introduce the papers in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach - The papers in the special issue are grouped under two distinct themes, one considering the capabilities of rising power firms and how these are shaped broadly by the economic and socio political features of their home countries. The second theme clusters papers that have a GVC dimension in so far as they highlight failures in upgrading, flag the disconnect between economic and social upgrading and provide a novel conceptualisation of social value creation. Findings - The international business literature has paid growing attention to the emergence of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from rising powers, notably the 'BRICS'. One perspective, a dominant perspective in IB, sees RP MNEs as a manifestation of catch–up efforts by firms from emerging economies, another perspective suggests that rising power firms compete with distinct capabilities and business models. This special issue highlights the latter perspective. Originality/value - This paper introduces five diverse papers that deal with issues pertaining to rising power firms and developmental perspectives. Keywords - Rising powers, emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs), global value chains, development, upgrading, social value creation. Paper type - General review

ABSTRACTSocial systems play a pivotal role in shaping customers' views, the adoption process and subsequent product diffusion for novel products. Perceptions of Austrian consumers regarding payment systems were assessed in a cross‐sectional analysis applying social representations theory. Social representations help to unravel the sources of individuals' attitudinal or perceptual similarities and differences, which often stem from inter‐group differences. In short, they are useful for the investigation of 'deeper structure' aspects of consumer behaviour, as has been shown in previous studies. This may be seen as a further step forward for marketing research, which operates largely on social phenomena.This study addresses the shortage of non‐cognitive‐based research in marketing by offering a methodological approach that uses triangulation on the basis of associative answers from social groups. A four‐step analytic design revealed that consumer groups transpose the abstract concept of payment systems into tangible objects and processes in a similar way; however, their social background impacted which value was attached to established as well as new means of payment. Cash is still seen as the prototypical form of payment; newer forms, such as credit cards or ATM cards, appear already in the periphery of representations, urgently needing well‐concerted marketing efforts to become recognized as substitutes for cash. From a managerial view, the research employs social phenomena as a basis for segmenting natural rather than nominal groups in order to better serve consumers' needs in an increasingly connected social reality. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Applying a resource-dependency perspective to intra-multinational enterprise (MNE) power [55,56], this paper examines the effect of the deployment of advanced ICT and particularly the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Although subsidiaries in the multinational do not have authority-based or 'structural' power with respect to key strategic decisions [6,16], they may have 'resource-based' power in the form of knowledge and capabilities that is of value to the multinational as a whole. Business network analysis highlights the 'invisibility' of the external networks (often in the host country) to the upper echelons in the multinational through which valuable subsidiary knowledge and capabilities develop. It points out that this 'invisibility' undermines the headquarters' ability to control the subsidiary [3,28,36,44,70,74]. In this paper we argue that the deployment of ERP undermines the resource base of subsidiary power and thus helps to restore greater central authority in the MNE. The paper reports findings from studies in twelve MNEs which have implemented ERP and points out that from the perspective of subsidiary managers a key effect of ERP deployment is the reduction in their autonomy. This may have significant adverse implications for the futures of the MNE as a federative organizational form and the legitimacy of MNE operations abroad. © 2010.

This paper explores the paradoxical relationship between MNE current strategies and economic development. There is evidence that positive developmental impacts of FDI flows are conditional on high levels of human capital and thus on the existence of 'good' infrastructure in recipient countries. In this paper we suggest that current MNE strategies have a negative impact on the development of infrastructure in LDCs. The justification for this argument arises from the low developmental impact of current FDI patterns and from rising costs of attracting increasingly footloose investment. The overall effect is to aggravate government financial constraints on the development of basic infrastructure. We develop propositions for future empirical research. We also consider implications for MNE strategy and argue that current MNE strategies are not only ineffective for delivering poverty reduction but that current strategies in developing countries do not necessarily serve the interest of MNEs either. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (UK and Ireland Chapter) Published in association with the UK and Ireland Chapter of the Academy of International Business Covering the key issues in regionalism and globalization, this volume provides an in-depth review of topics such as outward FDI, internationalization and performance, human resources, knowledge and networks, corporate governance and international joint ventures. Through their selection of material, the editors present an overview of the most up-to-date research and aim to stimulate ideas and promote further research into this dynamic and exciting area. ELAINE HUTSON holds a PhD in finance from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia where she was a lecturer in finance for nine years. Subsequently she moved to Ireland to work at the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin. She has published over 30 articles in books and journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies, International Business Review, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of International Financial Markets Institutions and Money, Global Finance Journal, International Review of Financial Analysis and Venture Capital. RUDOLF R. SINKOVICS is Professor of International Business at Manchester Business School, UK, where he is currently head of the Comparative and International Business Group and director of the MBS-CIBER (Centre of International Business Research). His research centres on inter-organizational governance, the role of ICT in firm internationalization and research methods in international business. He received his PhD from Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (WU-Wien), Austria. His work has been published in international business and marketing journals. JENNY BERRILL is a lecturer in the School of Business Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her research interests are in the area of international finance and multinational companies (MNCs). She has published articles in the Journal of Economics and Business and Research in International Business and Finance.