This study estimates the home country effect on multinational firm performance using data from 117 home countries (28,079 firms) and 123 host countries (85,579 affiliates) from 2010 to 2019. Using a variance decomposition approach, we find that the effect explains a sizable portion of variance between firms but is mostly trivial for performance differences among foreign affiliates within firms. These

This study investigates how multinational enterprises (MNEs) navigate sanctioned regimes using the Myanmar context following a 2021 military coup. We find that without formal institutional pressures, MNEs exit voluntarily due to informal stakeholder pressures. However, such exits are often considered irresponsible as MNEs transfer assets to unethical buyers or the sanctioned regime, thus potentially

Foreign-born entrepreneurs are crucial for new ventures and regional growth. A key driver of their success is selection into business accelerator programs. We theorize that foreign-born founders with local residency and work experience are more likely to be selected by these programs. However, the institutional distance between an entrepreneur's host and the birth country reduces their likelihood of

The impact of primary sanctions on firms has been well-documented in the literature. However, the impact of secondary sanctions on businesses in third countries and their strategic responses has been under-researched. This study explores this issue by investigating Vietnamese timber exporters in the context of US-China economic sanctions. Taking a case study approach, interviews were conducted with

Multinational corporations (MNCs) adeptly manage Liabilities of Foreignness (LOF) and Assets of Foreignness (AOF) to their advantage, and central to this endeavor is the strategic management of their foreign identity. Our research identifies a critical context where foreign identity remains a liability: organizational crises. Drawing on organizational identity and legitimation process theories, we

International entry research rarely examines strategies affecting entry performance in a target country, largely due to data limitations in the traditional multinational enterprise setting. However, the emergence of digital business with trackable international performance data helps address this gap. We utilize digital freemium products as our research context to examine the effect of two major demand-side

Drawing on neo-institutional and contingency theory, we argue that firms are more likely to use and benefit from a high-potential program when it is accepted and legitimate in and fits with the cultural environment. Drawing on a sample of 1,808 firms from 23 countries, our results provide evidence that the use of high-potential programs is subject to cross-cultural variations, but the pattern is largely

This inductive study explores on the basis of 134 semi-structured interviews for the case of Germany, the impact of cultural identity on highly qualified migrants’ cultural and language bridging skills. A particular focus is put on the differentiation between first and second generation migrants. We find that cultural identity impacts migrants’ cultural and language bridging skills, prompting differences

The purpose of our study is to examine how the sanctions imposed on Russia influence talent management. To do so, we review the macro talent management (MTM) framework alongside the literature on sanctions. In addition, we have collected data from 419 media publications discussing the effects of sanctions and analyzed them using critical discourse analysis (CDA). Our findings highlight the predominantly

Economic sanctions can adversely affect target countries. We study how regions withstand these sanctions amid the US-China trade war. Adopting a geographic relational perspective, we posit that regional resilience hinges on global connections and local networks. Analyzing nightlight data, we find that regional resilience is closely tied to the nature of global connections: cities prioritizing high-value-adding

Freeloading, a challenge faced by all workgroups but particularly acute in global virtual teams (GVTs), is an increasing concern as GVTs become increasingly ubiquitous in international business settings. This study employed a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of different strategies grounded in equity theory for mitigating freeloading behavior in GVTs. The study used

Using a historical lens to investigate sanctions against Apartheid South Africa, we found foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) lost out repeatedly during sanctions, almost always to the local economic elite. When MNEs departed, they often sold their assets to the local economic elite to salvage some value. To ensure continued operations (and thus payments to them), MNE continued supporting buyers

The development of an entrepreneurial strategic orientation is of growing concern for global corporations. Through a human capital lens, we probe how and when firms can develop and cultivate managerial entrepreneurial resources; by explicitly encouraging cross-cultural experiences that stimulate systematic shifts in mindset and behavior. Drawing on paradox theory and intercultural psychology, we put

A strong critique of the international business field is that it has been “running out of steam” because IB scholars have failed to engage with emerging paradigm shifts in IB practice and management theory. IB research requires rejuvenation with timely, unique, controversial, and challenging new research questions. IB scholars need to move beyond incremental improvements to existing research agendas

Existing research offers limited understanding of how foreign acquirers enhance their chance of success in cross-border acquisition (CBA) deals. Engaging and extending signaling theory, this paper argues that during the bidding stage of an acquisition deal wherein information asymmetry is heightened between the bidder and seller, reputation of foreign bidders can serve as a signal of quality, increasing

This study examines the impact of soft and hard infrastructure deficiencies on foreign firms’ investments in emerging markets and firm strategies to mitigate such impact. infrastructure refers to intangible components such as institutions and regulations, while infrastructure encompasses tangible physical components like transportation, energy systems, and water supply. Drawing on resource dependence

This study distinguishes heterogeneity and inequality by exploring how nationality diversity influences leadership perceptions in multinational teams. Using two studies that assessed 105 (Study 1) and 40 (Study 2) teams comprising 4,120 and 2,180 dyads respectively, we find that nationality-based status influences leadership perceptions directly and indirectly through perceptions of higher-status peers

Promoting women's empowerment in institutionally fragile contexts has been overlooked in global value chain (GVC) analysis, despite the recognition of its importance by UN SDG 5. Building on GVC governance and feminist institutional theories, we evaluate three aspects of an intervention led by an international non-governmental organization to empower women within socially and economically fragile environments

This study applies a recruitment lens to examine how the proactive internationalization of new ventures might influence job seeker perceptions of organizational attractiveness. Using signaling theory and person-environment fit theory to develop our hypotheses, we employ a metric conjoint experiment with 209 job seekers (making 3344 decisions). Our multilevel regression results suggest that the international

Our study addresses an inconsistency in the literature on whether a lack of knowledge in early internationalizing firms is an obstacle or an advantage. We integrate learning, capabilities, and improvisation literature to reveal how case firms from New Zealand and Finland internationalize early under uncertainty and time pressure. We develop a process model and propositions to show how firms develop

Over the past decade, a consensus has crystallized recognizing the significance of family firm internationalization in international business (IB) research. This recognition comes with substantial opportunities, yet it also presents challenges, such as the pressing need for a more cohesive integration of the family business and IB domains. In this article, we (re)emphasize the relevance of family firm

We compare migrant professionals’ experiences of language-based discrimination across physical and virtual spaces. The minority status of these professionals stems from their foreign origin and lack of proficiency in the local language of their new country of residence. We conducted a case study of a multinational corporation after a shift to remote work triggered by COVID-19. Our findings indicate

The purpose of this editorial, and the special issue, is to initiate a dialogue about the role of time in international business (IB) scholarship. While time is inherent in IB phenomena, it has, to date, received limited attention in IB research and theorizing. When IB scholars do account for time, they generally adhere to assumptions representing time as linear and objective. We discuss the importance

Organizational unlearning occurs when organizations cast-off knowledge, beliefs, or routines. A key assumption is that the discarded information inhibits organizational performance. This view ignores the possibility that organizations may intentionally unlearn practices that are useful for some stakeholders. Using qualitative methods over eight years, we studied the processes by which a subsidiary

Existing empirical studies of cross-border acquisition completion by emerging market multinational enterprises remain highly contextual, yielding inconsistent evidence regarding the determinants of deal success or failure. We apply machine learning to expose underlying complexities. The learning results of LightGBM, from data on 24,693 cross-border acquisition deals involving 29 emerging countries

Using socioemotional wealth, this study advances our understanding of the various internationalization strategies family businesses adopt by exploring the governance and resource configurations that exist when family firms pursue distinct internationalization strategies. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA) on a sample of 775 Colombian family firms, our findings reveal a distinct

Much research on family business internationalization centers on the firm but is inattentive to the family behind the firm. We examine how business families internationalize from unstable and fragile institutions. Based on a qualitative multi-case study, we theorize business families as institutional arbitrageurs who facilitate international transactions between incompatible institutional contexts

This study investigated how the liability of outsidership affects emerging-market multinationals. We argue that besides lack of access to local networks, lack of access to leadership positions in global value chain networks is another possible source of the liability of outsidership, and it affects emerging market firms more than multinationals from developed countries. Accordingly, multinationals

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly expected to make their global operations sustainable, while overcoming important obstacles in a rugged global landscape. In this perspective article, we argue that a focus on their corporate governance (CG) actors – i.e., owners, directors, and executives – is key for understanding the premises of MNEs’ sustainable value creation. We develop an actor-centered

In this paper, using institutional and organizational learning theories, we argue that institutional fragility within India impacts the internationalization of Indian firms such that firms from more fragile regions are likely to have lower internationalization levels. We also suggest that this effect is moderated by inward (industry-level) foreign direct investment (FDI) and inward (firm-level) linkages

We theorize that linguistic grammar structures related to gender, pronoun use, and politeness distinctions influence individuals’ cultural values toward diversity, including masculinity, collectivism, and power distance, respectively. Based on first-handed data collected from a large sample of individuals (N = 9,058) who speak various native languages, our analysis shows that languages require speakers

The benefits of having an internationally diverse alliance portfolio are well known. However, the challenges remain overlooked, especially the potential to curb firms’ international expansion beyond such alliances. Building on global connectivity literature, we study how firms’ international footprint through their foreign subsidiaries is affected by the geographical spread of their international alliances

Inclusion is an important consideration for international firms to fully realize their strategic human resources, yet there is limited research on how international business competencies relate to perceived inclusion. This study proposes and tests a social identity-based framework about how cultural intelligence relates to perceived inclusion through the mediating effects of synchrony preference and

Abstract not available

This study examines how collaboration within top management teams (TMTs) composed of family owner-managers (FOMs) and nonfamily managers (NFMs) influences internationalization decisions. Based on a qualitative multi-case study, we identify four roles taken by TMT members: drivers (typically FOMs), experts (both FOMs and NFMs), boundary spanners (typically NFMs), and administrators (typically NFMs)

To ‘escape the rut’ of narrowly focusing on expatriate adjustment as a psychological state, we look to the literature on the adjustment of organizational newcomers. From this perspective, we extend theoretical and empirical concepts regarding dynamic social and proactive development processes into the study of expatriate adjustment. Our integrative review of both literatures provides the basis for

Exogenous shocks have long been a feature of the global economy, yet they have become particularly salient in recent years. This Special Issue of the Journal of World Business addresses the shift to a New Normal characterized by frequent events that disrupt the international business context, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In this Introduction to the Special Issue, we

We introduce this Journal of World Business special issue on methodological advances in international business (IB) research. Due to technological advances and the availability of bigger, deeper, and multi-level data, there is a need to reconsider, refashion, and reconceptualize IB research methodology. To do so, we discuss ethnography, multilevel modeling, textual analysis and multimodal data, visual

Abstract not available

We explore multinationals’ de-internationalization at the onset of the 2022 Russia/Ukraine crisis, based on their CEO's political ideology. Using motivated cognition logic, we propose that the differences between conservative- and liberal-leaning CEOs regarding their attitudes toward change and social justice influence their receptivity to stakeholders’ demands regarding divestment. Using a sample

Exogenous shocks have become more frequent in recent years. Responses to one major crisis have often been discussed though there has been little research on now firms can handle multiple shocks, sometimes back-to-back ones. Using Lebanon as a strategic research site, we explore how MNEs’ CSR practice helps them to adapt to multiple exogenous shocks over a period of time. First, employing a process

Building on the mixed gamble perspective, we examine family versus nonfamily firms’ propensity to increase or decrease their internationalization in response to different sources of risk. Our framework explains how a firm's mixed gamble calculus of internationalization can change as it adjusts to business, industry, and institutional circumstances. Using an unbalanced panel of 1031 publicly traded

Methodological developments are critical for driving theoretical advancements in international business (IB) due to the field's diversity regarding disciplinary, theoretical, and conceptual bases. We provide an accessible introduction to two methodological approaches—one related to design and one to analysis—that are currently underutilized in IB despite their great potential: (a) field and quasi experiments

Inpatriation experience (i.e., working at headquarters) for host-country national (HCN) subsidiary managers is supposed to be beneficial for foreign subsidiaries’ knowledge transfer and financial performance. Applying upper echelons theory, we investigate whether HCN subsidiary CEOs with inpatriation experience promote knowledge transfer from multinational corporation (MNC) headquarters to their subsidiaries

Based on insights from the spillover, international business, and knowledge management literatures, we study factors that enhance multinational enterprise (MNE) scaling and growth. Viewing MNEs and their employees as potentially rich knowledge sources, we draw attention to MNE-to-MNE knowledge spillover which fuel MNE scaling throughout organizations and employ panel data spanning 44,256 foreign and

Deploying small world representation logic, we examine the context-specific factors that inform managerial decision-making in conflict-torn countries. Drawing on insights from thirty-one managers, we spotlight nine higher-order heuristics that commonly inform MNEs’ mental representations and their managers’ decision to exit or stay. These heuristics were identified by categorising the commonalities

Disasters – natural or manmade – are on the rise with far-reaching implications for international business (IB) actors and transactions. While the Covid-19 pandemic has generated much academic interest for its impact on business in general, little effort has been made to consolidate the fragmented research on disasters more broadly in the field of international business. Therefore, it is important

This study investigates whether a digital business model helps firms internationalize faster. It tests the hypothesis that a digital business model accelerates the rate of internationalization because economies of scale enabled by digitalization exceed those offered by a non-digital business model. Based on analysis of foreign digital and non-digital entrants in the U.S. financial advice industry,

Time has significant implications for the functioning of international strategic alliances. Drawing on a systematic review (1943–2022), we consolidate the literature around types of time (i.e., clock, event, cyclical, and life-cycle) and time facets (e.g., duration and speed) in international strategic alliances. This review's findings aid us in developing a temporal-relational framework that intends

Building on emerging debates on the ‘dark’ and ‘bright’ side of digital globalization, and calls for considering its environmental and social implications in more detail, this perspective article seeks to ‘unravel’ these components of ‘the digital age’ for International Business (IB). Inspired by the affordance perspective developed in Information Systems research, we offer IB scholars a new approach

Abstract not available

While positive psychological capital (PsyCap) is a significant antecedent of favorable work outcomes, it is unclear whether this is true for global employees during an exogenous shock. Applying conservation of resources theory, we found that, under conditions of crisis-induced role novelty, global employees leveraged PsyCap to follow a resource-gain route to job satisfaction, whereas their ability

The extant literature highlights a threshold productivity level firms are required to attain ex-ante in order to successfully undertake FDI. The current paper extends this framework by modelling a threshold productivity range which is below the required threshold productivity level. Firms in this range can successfully venture abroad when learning allows these firms to rise above that threshold productivity

The cross-border transfer of practices lies at the heart of how multinational enterprises (MNEs) coordinate their international business activities. Research on transfer has increased substantially over the last three decades and now constitutes a well-established literature. For a systematic analysis, we review a sample of 167 articles published in 18 top journals. We structure these past contributions

We analyze the determinants of firm-based inventors’ collaborations with universities abroad, comparing them with collaborations with national universities. We propose a micro-founded theoretical framework that introduces the role of personal linkages and global organizational pipelines as drivers of international academic collaborations, and we empirically investigate collaborations with national

A limited idea of what ethnography involves, and dominant disciplinary ideas of rigour and validity stand in the way of International Business studies engaging more deeply with ethnography. For higher managerial and scholarly relevance, we propose the use of “reflexive engagement”. Reflexive engagement involves the researcher (ethnographer), the research subjects (actors) and those reading the study

This study examines how large family firms react to a macroeconomic shock in terms of their internationalization depth and breadth. Building on new internalization theory and acknowledging the dysfunctional manifestations of bifurcation bias in large family-owned MNEs, we argue that an unexpected shock induces family firms to recombine their family firm-specific resources with their thus far underutilized

Sanctions are a tool used by political actors to induce foreign countries, firms or individuals to alter their behavior. As nonmilitary coercive measure, they have the potential to disrupt the international business environment, often on short notice, and change the rules of the game. Synthesizing the available evidence on the economic and political impacts of sanctions, we explore how sanctions disrupt