"The role and significance of institutions in home and host countries in the process of firm internationalization has recently attracted the ever increasing attention of scholars and practitioners in the area of international business. Though some publications have been in circulation there still is a scarcity of appropriate insights concerning the impacts and the role of institutions in the diverse home and host contexts in which firms internationalize.Institutional Impacts on Firm Internationalization addresses various aspects of the investigated phenomenon, providing an insight in the role of the varieties of capitalism on the globalization of business activities worldwide. As a key way of internationalization, outward foreign direct investment process is critically analysed from home countries' perspective focusing on emerging economies contexts. Furthermore, the role of national government as a major institution is investigated and how this role will vary depending on the contextual specifics of firm internationalization processes. The impact of institutions on the formation of firm internationalization is put under scrutiny, while special attention is devoted to particular industries, namely retailing and pharmaceutical. The book concludes with unifying remarks on the role of institutions in the processes of firm internationalization giving theoretical as well as practical perspectives"--
"The role and significance of institutions in home and host countries in the process of firm internationalization has recently attracted the ever increasing attention of scholars and practitioners in the area of international business. Though some publications have been in circulation there still is a scarcity of appropriate insights concerning the impacts and the role of institutions in the diverse home and host contexts in which firms internationalize. Institutional Impacts on Firm Internationalization addresses various aspects of the investigated phenomenon, providing an insight in the role of the varieties of capitalism on the globalization of business activities worldwide. As a key way of internationalization, outward foreign direct investment process is critically analysed from home countries' perspective focusing on emerging economies contexts. Furthermore, the role of national government as a major institution is investigated and how this role will vary depending on the contextual specifics of firm internationalization processes. The impact of institutions on the formation of firm internationalization is put under scrutiny, while special attention is devoted to particular industries, namely retailing and pharmaceutical. The book concludes with unifying remarks on the role of institutions in the processes of firm internationalization giving theoretical as well as practical perspectives"--
Johtajat ja heidän kognitiot ovat kriittisessä roolissa yrityksen kansainvälistymisprosessissa ja sen muotoutumisessa ajan myötä. Vaikka keskeisimmät kansainvälistymistä koskevat teoriat tiedostavat tämän, ymmärrys ja aiempi tutkimus johtajien ja heidän kognitioiden roolista yrityksen kansainvälistymisprosessissa on yllättävän vähäistä. Aikaisempi tutkimus on keskittynyt tarkastelemaan yrityksen kansainvälistymisprosesseja erityisesti yrityksen ja toimialan tasoilla. Johtajat on nähty rationaalisina toimijoina eikä päätöksentekoa olla nähty merkityksellisenä osana yritysten kansainvälistymisprosesseja. Tutkimukset, jotka ovat huomioineet johtajien päätöksenteon roolin, ovat lähestyneet kysymystä hyvin rajallisista tieteenfilosofisista ja metodologisista lähtökohdista. Tämä on johtanut kapeaan ja yksipuoleiseen ymmärrykseen aiheesta, minkä vuoksi päätöksentekijöiden rooli on jäänyt epäselväksi. Puutteellinen ymmärrys päätöksentekijöiden roolista vaikeuttaa yrityksen kan-sainvälistymisprosessin ymmärtämistä kokonaisuutena, koska kansain-välistymisprosessia ohjaavat päätökset syntyvät lopulta aina johtajien toimesta. Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii avaamaan johtajien päätöksentekoprosessien roolia yrityksen kansainvälistymisessä ensiksi tutkimalla, kuinka kognitiiviset perustat vaikuttavat yrityksen kansainvälistymiseen ja toiseksi esittämällä keinoja, kuinka yrityksen kansainvälistymisen kognitiivisia perustoita voidaan tutkia tulevaisuudessa entistä paremmin. Näitä kysymyksiä lähestytään hyödyntämällä kahden kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja kahden tapaustutkimuksen tuloksia, jotka tarkastelevat yrityksen kansainvälistymisen kognitiivisia perustoita erilaisista teoreettisista tulokulmista. Ensimmäinen kirjallisuuskatsaus avaa kognitiivisesti suuntautuneen kansainvälistymis- tutkimuksen tilaa selvittämällä sekä tutkittuja että vähemmälle huomiolle jääneitä tutkimusalueita näin luoden yhtenäisempää ymmärrystä aiheesta. Toinen kirjallisuuskatsaus tutkii, miten aikaisempi kirjallisuus kansainvälisestä liiketoiminnasta on tarkastellut niitä kognitiivisia eroja, jotka nousevat johtajien kulttuurillisista, kansallisista, etnisistä ja geografisista taustatekijöistä. Kirjallisuuskatsaus integroi nämä löydökset osaksi laajempaan johtajien ja organisaatioiden kognitioihin liittyvää kirjallisuutta. Väitöskirjan ensimmäinen tapaustutkimus tarkastelee heuristisen päätöksenteon kehittymistä yrityksen kansainvälistymisen aikana sekä kontekstisidonnaisen kokemuksen roolia tässä prosessissa. Tutkimuksen löydökset osoittavat, että johtajat pystyvät valjastamaan heuristiikkojen hyödyt päätöksenteossa vasta, kun he ovat kerryttäneet riittävän määrän kontekstisidonnaista kokemusta ja kun sopiva ärsyke laukaisee kertyneen kokemuksen muutoksen käyttökelpoisiksi heuristiikoiksi. Toinen tapaustutkimus puolestaan käsittelee eri historiantutkimuksen menetelmien hyödyntämistä yritysten kansainvälistymisprosessien ja markkinoilta poistumisten temporaalisuuden ymmärtämisessä ja tutkimisessa. Tämä väitöskirja edistää kognitiivisesti suuntautunutta yrityksen kansainvälistymiskir-jallisuutta laaja-alaisesti. Se syventää ymmärrystä siitä, miten johtajien kognitiot muovaavat yrityksen kansainvälistymistä organisoimalla ja tuomalla yhteen aikaisemman tutkimuksen löydöksiä. Erilaisia tieteenfilosofisia tulokulmia hyödyntävät tapaustutkimukset puolestaan edistävät tutkimusta tuomalla esiin uusia piirteitä kognitioiden roolista yrityksen kansainvälistymisessä. Tämän lisäksi väitöskirja tarjoaa jatkotutkimukselle ideoita ja keinoja edistää alan tutkimusta tuomalla esiin kehityskohteita nykyisessä ymmärryksessä sekä havainnollistamalla, kuinka (1) subjektiiviset tutkimusotteet, (2) historialliset tutkimusmenetelmät ja (3) mikroperusteinen tulokulma tarjoavat hyödyntämättömiä mahdollisuuksia edistää alan tutkimusta. ; Individual managers and their cognitions play a crucial role in how a firm's internationalization process unfolds over time. While this is acknowledged in foundational theories of firm internationalization, our understanding of how managers and their cognitions shape the internationalization process remains surprisingly incomplete. This is because prior literature on firm internationalization mainly operates at the firm, industry, or national levels and assumes a relatively high level of managerial rationality, with few studies focusing on how managers and their decision-making processes shape firm internationalization. In addition, the studies that have addressed the cognitive foundations of firm internationalization have done so by drawing on a relatively narrow set of philosophical and methodological alternatives, thus generating a one-sided understanding of the matter. Consequently, scholarship on decision makers' roles in firms' internationalization processes remains underspecified and incomplete, which hampers the field's capacity to fully understand firms' international operations. This dissertation aims to unpack the black box of managers' roles in firm internationalization processes by investigating how cognitive foundations influence firm internationalization and showing how we can further advance the research on the cognitive foundations of firm internationalization in the future. The dissertation approaches these questions through two review studies and two case studies that explore the cognitive foundations of firm internationalization from different perspectives. The first review study investigates the current state of the research field by describing the research domains that have been studied and those that have been underexplored and thus provides an integrative understanding of the research on the cognitive foundations of firms' internationalization processes. The second review study explores how the existing literature has approached the cognitive differences that stem from decision makers' cultural, national, ethnical, and geographical characteristics and the influence that such differences have on firm internationalization processes and integrates these findings into the broader literature on managerial and organizational cognition. The first case study examines heuristic decision-making in firm internationalization and the role of context-specific experience in this process. It advances a theoretical model indicating that managers become able to harness the positive impact of heuristics in internationalization-related decision-making only after they have accumulated a certain level of context-specific experience and when this experience is triggered to transform into usable heuristics by a stimulus of an unexpected event. The second case study explores how different historical approaches can be used to analyze the temporal embeddedness of firms' internationalization and de-internationalization processes unfolding over time. This dissertation contributes to the literature on the cognitive foundations of firm internationalization in two ways. First, it improves the existing understanding of how cognitive foundations shape firm internationalization by reviewing the existing literature to generate integrative understanding of the topic and by empirically explicating novel ways of how cognitions drive internationalization via three philosophical perspectives— qualitative positivism, interpretivism, and poststructuralism. Second, it outlines ways to further advance the research on the cognitive foundations of firm internationalization by pointing out the research gaps that warrant further attention and by proposing that subjective approaches, historical research methods, and the microfoundational approach constitute productive avenues for future research.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of network relationships and institutional environment on premium winegrowers' internationalization process.
Design/methodology/approach This study uses a case study approach to examine two premium wine producers engaged in internationalization. The data sources consist of semi-structured interviews, observations at three major events and secondary data sourced from industry reports and materials that are available online.
Findings Findings illustrate that both personal and inter-firm networks help wineries to internationalize. Inter-firm networks play a significant role in gaining international legitimacy. Personal networks were found to be more important in establishing brand authenticity that facilitates wineries in their internationalization process. Gaining international legitimacy and establishing brand authenticity are crucial in the successful internationalization of premium wineries.
Research limitations/implications This study provides an explanation of how networks can be put into institutional context. Future studies could map out the formal and informal institutions within the wine industry and investigate the closer dynamics among the different actors in the whole network. A whole network is formally structured and governed, yet still built on the relationships among members, making it a very complex phenomenon. This would allow the evaluation of multilateral ties that link firms and actors within the network and how this affects the internationalization process.
Practical implications This paper provides managers with insights on how they can capitalize on their inter-firm and personal networks to help them deal with domestic and international institutional environments when embarking on internationalization activities.
Originality/value This paper adds to the existing literature on networks relationships and provides an important link between networks, institutions and internationalization.
This paper analyzes a new legislative instrument called "network contract" designed to support inter-firm cooperation. It aims to verify whether this type of formal cooperation is used by small firms to support their international strategies. Results indicate that internationalization is not the primary goal for firms who participate in network contracts: Italian small and medium-sized firms use this instrument to achieve different strategies of growth and long-term objectives. While we found that some firms have indeed increased their business activity abroad after joining the network, we also found that those with an international dimension do not seem to have changed their approach towards internationalization. Consequently, we argue that the network contract is not the most suitable tool for promoting internationalization among domestic firms, although internationalization may emerge as a by-product of inter-firm relationships.Keywords: Network Contract; Networking Strategies; Internationalization; Inter-Firm Relationships; Italian Small and Medium-Sized Firms
Purpose Despite agency theory and resource dependence theory suggesting that – albeit through different mechanisms – board independence positively influences firm internationalization, empirical evidence on this relationship has been mixed and inconclusive. Based on this, the purpose of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze and synthesize the existing empirical literature and, second, to develop new theoretical insights on the effect of board independence on firm internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach The authors used advanced meta-analytic techniques that allowed them, first, to synthesize the existing empirical literature on the board independence–firm internationalization relationship and, second, to examine the effect of several contingencies on such relationship. This study relies on data from 87 primary studies (published and unpublished) carried out in multiple academic fields in the period 1998–2021 and covering 49 countries.
Findings The results confirm the established agency and resource-dependence arguments, suggesting that higher board independence is associated with greater firm internationalization. Moreover, the results show that the focal relationship is moderated by home-country formal and informal institutional factors, and in particular, the legal protection of minority shareholders and family business legitimacy. The authors do not find evidence that CEO duality and board size moderate the focal relationship or that board independence has a stronger effect on breadth than on depth of internationalization.
Originality/value This study lies at the intersection of the literatures on corporate governance and firm internationalization and on comparative corporate governance of the multinational firm, shedding further light on the role played by institutional environments in determining the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms.
