Search

If we look to the uniqueness of IB/IM scholarship and ask where it stands separate from standard and traditional management and business research we really have only two differentiating, but exceedingly important, factors that justify discussing IB/IM as a separate research paradigm (See, e.g., Devinney, Pedersen, & Tihanyi, 2010).

Although R&D is at the core of knowledge-intensive industries like Pharma, outsourcing parts of its activities hold considerable efficiency and effectiveness potentials. That means managers must understand, which R&D activities can be outsourced and which need to stay in-house in order to ensure competitiveness. Nevertheless, systematic approaches for understanding the finer details of the decision-making process on R&D outsourcing are lacking. To address this gap, we present a framework developed in the context of a multinational company, Bayer. The combination of literature studies and the study of the decision process in the pharmaceutical division at Bayer HealthCare allows us to unfold an outsourcing process model—the filter approach—that includes appropriate decision phases and proper tools. The underlying logic of the model is that outsourcing decisions are rather a learning process with different stages than a rational one-off decision.

Introduction Given our concern with the ways in which organization and management contribute to corporate success, we find ourselves squarely in the universe of strategic management. Fundamentally, strategic management is about coordinating activities related to the delivery of value to customers in a way that is not only supportive of success but also different from the competition – perhaps even unique. In fact, the former (success) is largely derived from the latter (differentiation). While strategists and strategic management academics may agree on this basic view, there are numerous paths to differentiation and success may be assessed in a variety of ways. In this chapter, therefore, we briefly survey some of the key ideas on superior firm performance, heterogeneity, and strategic management that have emerged in recent decades. Specifically, we discuss a range of perspectives on how resources and capabilities contribute to competitive advantage, and argue that such ideas need to focus more on understanding the interplay between resources and capabilities on the one hand and organization and management on the other. We show that: (1) The organizational design and management processes of a firm may be a distinct resource for that firm; and that (2) improvements and changes in these factors may contribute to sustaining competitive advantages; not least because (3) they may assist in the process of building new strategic resources and capabilities.

The search for competitive advantage serves as the basis for organizational strategy. This book argues that there are four key sources of competitive advantage and financial success that have not been given the attention they deserve. Firstly, that organizational design and management processes may be strategic resources in their own right. Secondly, that organizational design and management processes can be deployed to create new strategic resources. Thirdly, that managers have begun to think of organizational design and management processes in a proactive way rather than seeing them more passively as necessary facilitators of success. Fourthly, that this new way of looking at organization and management requires a search for new ways of structuring organizational design and managerial processes. These points are driven home through case studies of the Danish firms LEGO Group, Vestas Wind Systems, Coloplast, Chr. Hansen, IC Companys and NKT Flexibles.

One of the most important trends that supporting the rise of institutional theory research is the increasing number of leading multinational enterprises headquartered in a greater number of countries. Although early international business studies focused on multinationals from the United States, the developed countries of Western Europe and Japan, some of the largest multinational enterprises today are from non-Triad countries, including Brazil, China, Korea, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Taiwan. These new multinationals exhibited behaviours different from those of established Triad multinationals and, in many cases, competed with distinctly different strategies. The result was that international business scholars, who traditionally concentrated on studying host country factors as the key to understanding corporate behaviour began to pay much more attention to the characteristics of the multinationals’ home institutional environments as a potential determinant of the multinationals’ internationalization strategy. For example, a growing number of studies have examined the variance in corporate governance systems around the world and their implications for the strategies of multinational enterprises (La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, & Shleifer, 1999; Pedersen & Thomsen, 1997). The shift in the population of leading multinationals has also led to the emergence of research on business groups. Although Japanese multinational enterprises had the kereitsu structure and some European firms were parts of conglomerates these structures were considered by most scholars to be inefficient. However, this viewpoint is changing as the body of new multinational enterprises originates from countries where business group membership has been the norm, rather than the exception (Guillen, 2000; Khanna & Palepu, 2000; Khanna & Rivkin, 2001).

Purpose – The purpose of this contribution is to clarify some of the institutional approaches in international business research and to identify opportunities to extend research on the role of institutions in international business. Design/methodology/approach – Building on Douglas North's (1990) analogy of institutions as the rules of the game, we illustrate some of the differences between different institutional approaches in international business (IB) through a discussion of the rules and institutions surrounding the world of association football. We then briefly revisit the recent review by Hotho and Pedersen (2012) and compare and contrast three dominant institutional approaches in international business: new institutional economics, new organizational institutionalism and comparative institutionalism. Findings – Our discussion illustrates that different institutional approaches address and explain different facets of international firm behaviour. The ways in which institutions matter for international business are therefore greatly dependent on how institutions are conceptualized and measured. Originality/value – We highlight two recent developments in the literature on institutions which we believe offer important implications and opportunities for international business research. The first development is a move towards less deterministic approach to institutions. The second development is the recognition of institutional plurality and complexity, in the sense that organizations are often exposed to multiple logics with potentially contradictory prescriptions. These notions, we believe, offer important opportunities to advance our understanding of the relations between institutions and multinational enterprises (MNEs).

This research examines the differential impact of the importance of internally and externally sourced information and knowledge and their relationship to absorptive capacity and firm performance. In addition, this analysis deals directly with the unobservable heterogeneity amongst firms that is generally viewed as the raison d'être for a unique resource-based perspective of organizational performance. Latent class, finite mixture regression models are used that show that a single model relating knowledge sourcing, absorptive capacity and firm performance is inadequate in explaining even a minor portion of the variation which is seen between firms. Copyright © 2011 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Background Glutaraldehyde-treated bioprosthetic heart valves are commonly used for replacement of diseased heart valves. However, calcification and wear limit their durability, and the development of new and improved bioprosthetic valve designs is needed and must be evaluated in a reliable animal model. We studied glutaraldehyde-treated valves 6 months after implantation to evaluate bioprosthetic valve complications in the mitral position in juvenile pigs. Materials The study material comprised eight, 5-month old, 60-kg pigs. All pigs received a size 27, glutaraldehyde-treated, stented, Carpentier-Edwards S.A.V. mitral valve prosthesis. After six months, echocardiography was performed, and the valves explanted for gross examination, high resolution X-ray, and histological evaluation. Results Five pigs survived the follow-up period. Preexplant echocardiography revealed a median peak and mean velocity of 1.61 m/s (range: 1.17-2.00) and 1.20 (SD = ±0.25), respectively, and a median peak and mean pressure difference of 10.42 mmHg (range: 5.83-16.55) and 6.51 mmHg (SD = ±2.57), respectively. Gross examination showed minor thrombotic depositions at two commissures in two valves and at all three commissures in three valves. High resolution X-ray imaging revealed different degrees of calcification in all explanted valves, primarily in the commissural and belly areas. In all valves, histological evaluation demonstrated various degrees of fibrous sheath formation, limited immunological infiltration, and no overgrowth of host endothelium. Conclusions Bioprosthetic glutaraldehyde-treated mitral valves can be implanted into the mitral position in pigs and function after 6 months. Echocardiographic data, calcification, and histological examinations were comparable to results obtained in sheep models and human demonstrating the suitability of the porcine model.

We refine internationalization theory by hypothesizing that international expansion is a discontinuous process characterized by an initial ‘big step.’ Firms have to build an infrastructure (e.g., architecture, management systems, and mind-set) to support international operations the first time they venture abroad, and subsequent international operations are able to leverage this infrastructure. Thus, we hypothesize that the internationalization process is characterized by: (1) firms taking a long period to make their first international investment; and (2) firms taking shorter but constant periods for subsequent investments. We examine the international expansion activities of 176 Danish firms and find support for these arguments.

Cross-border flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and ideas have substantially increased over the last decades. These developments have increased the interdependencies among previously separated economies, given rise to arguments regarding the flattening of the world. Yet, firms investing overseas continue to experience substantial liabilities stemming from their foreignness. At the same time new locations are appearing on the global map that offers very attractive location-specific advantages. In addition, the range of participants in international competition has widened, in terms of both the number of countries involved and the types of firms competing, to encompass developed market firms expanding beyond industrialized countries, and emerging market firms joining global competition. The focus of this volume is on how the interface between firm-specific advantages, liability of foreignness, and location-specific advantages are spelled out in the more global world.

As the chapters in this volume emphasize, the access to local resources in a given host country is not a free-for-all. Although the LOF has traditionally been understood as a phenomenon related to firms' performance in local markets, implicitly evoking a market-seeking motivation for entry, it applies equally well to strategic asset seeking (Dunning, 1993). Hence, foreign firms might suffer from discrimination and uncertainty relative to incumbent firms also in their attempts to get access to local resources such as labor and knowledge. The first chapter in this second section, by Nachum (‘Home-based Advantages and a Hierarchy of Location Resources: Foreign and Local Firms Dependency on Location Resources’), demonstrates these points and estimates a hierarchy of resources that differ in their degree of accessibility to foreign firms and fungibility within internal MNE networks. If the LOF thus inhibits MNEs' attempts to use LSA as a source of local competitiveness, we might assume a relationship of the form LSAM = LSA0(1 − e LOF), where e 0 captures, for lack of a better term, the local ‘resource embeddedness’, i.e. the extent to which local incumbents have an unfair advantage in sourcing LSA. These local firms, in contrast, do not suffer a penalty like the MNEs do and can freely access the local resources, so that LSAL = LSA0.

Purpose – The purpose of the chapter is to analyze the factors that lead firms to offshore advanced tasks. Methodology/approach – The study uses a 1,500-firm survey from Denmark to investigate the offshoring of 12 tradable manufacturing, technical, and service activities across different industries. Findings – Findings indicate that offshoring of advanced tasks is driven by a different set of strategic motives than previous waves of offshoring, which predominantly included simple and standardized routine tasks. While the lower cost of unskilled, labor-intensive processes is the incentive for firms that offshore less advanced tasks, a desire to broaden and deepen global networks of new knowledge spurs highly knowledge-intensive companies to offshore more advanced tasks. Originality/value of chapter – We propose that offshoring should be analyzed on a more disaggregated level of analysis than is the norm in mainstream offshoring literature. To reflect the trend whereby firms are “slicing” their value chain in finer and finer parts and locate these in various locations around the world, offshoring should be analyzed at the task level, since this paves the way for a richer understanding of offshoring strategies and processes.

Companies are increasingly asking which of their value chain activities are best performed within their own company and which may be outsourced. In addition, they are also considering which pieces of their value chain may be better performed abroad. These interrelated decisions concerning outsourcing and offshoring have not only changed entire industries, they have also transformed the lives of people across the world. Hundreds of millions of jobs in emerging nations have been the direct result of outsourcing and offshoring decisions. At the same time, many people in the developed world have lost their jobs because a company has been able to find a cheaper alternative. Featuring contributions from scholars in eleven different countries, this book was the first to examine the theory and practice of outsourcing and offshoring simultaneously. It includes studies of a variety of different industries, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, medical records, appliances, human resource management and telecommunications.

International business (IB) and international management (IM) are at a crossroads of sorts. The question is whether the roads emanating from this crossroad lead to somewhere or to nowhere and whether all roads lead to the same place.

A racemic aldehyde can undergo parallel kinetic resolution (PKR) by simultaneous reaction with two different chiral phosphonates, differing either in the structure of the chiral auxiliary or in the structure of the phosphoryl group (i.e., one (E)- and one (Z)-selective reagent). This strategy allows conversion of a racemic aldehyde to two different, synthetically useful chiral products with essentially doubled material throughput and similar or improved selectivities as compared to conventional kinetic resolution.

A new method for enantioconvergent synthesis has been developed. The strategy relies on the combination of an asymmetric Horner−Wadsworth−Emmons (HWE) reaction and a palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution. Different α-oxygen-substituted, racemic aldehydes were initially transformed by asymmetric HWE reactions into mixtures of two major α,β-unsaturated esters, possessing opposite configurations at their allylic stereocenters as well as opposite alkene geometry. Subsequently, these isomeric mixtures of alkenes could be subjected to palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles. In this latter step, the respective (E) and (Z) alkene substrate isomers were observed to react with opposite stereospecificity: the (E) alkene reacted with retention and the (Z) alkene with inversion of stereochemistry with respect to both the allylic stereocenter and the alkene geometry. Thus, a single γ-substituted ester was obtained as the overall product, in high isomeric pu...

The Wittig reaction and related methods for synthesis of C=C double bonds belong to the standard repertoire of the synthetic chemist. Studies of asymmetric versions of these reactions have been increasing in recent years and applications of such processes to complex molecule synthesis have begun to emerge. In this review, we will emphasise the recent advances in developing methods and synthetic applications of these reactions, but earlier results will be covered as well to place the recent results in context.

This article aims to review the large and growing literature on MNE subsidiaries, and to offer some perspectives on how it may evolve in the future. There is clearly some overlap between the content of this article — notably those concerned with the strategy and structure of the MNE as a whole, and the article about alliances and joint ventures in MNEs. What makes this article distinctive is its focus on the wholly-owned subsidiary company as the primary unit of analysis (where the subsidiary is defined as a value-adding activity outside the MNE's home country). The research reviewed here typically is concerned with the activities and/or responsibilities of the subsidiary company, and how the subsidiary company relates to other entities inside and outside the MNE. And from an applied perspective, it is typically directed towards the agenda of subsidiary managers.

This empirical study explores knowledge outflows from MNE subsidiaries and its impact on subsidiary performance. We develop hypotheses derived from literature on MNE knowledge flows integrated with an organizational economics perspective on knowledge-creating MNE subsidiaries. The hypotheses are tested using a simultaneous equation model applied to a unique data set encompassing a German MNE, HeidelbergCement. Enablers and impediments of knowledge outflows are assessed to explain why subsidiary managers share their knowledge with other MNE units. Our findings suggest that knowledge outflows increase a subsidiary's performance only up to a certain point and that too much knowledge sharing is detrimental to the contributing subsidiary's performance.

The study addresses the implications MNC strategies have for linkage effects in developing countries. Two contrasting MNC strategies, which reflect an integration-responsiveness dichotomy, are scrutinized in terms of their effects on jobs among local linkage partners in developing countries. It is hypothesized that the investments of MNCs pursuing local responsiveness create more jobs among local linkage partners, but imply less job upgrading, when compared to investments undertaken by MNCs following strategies of global integration. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of Danish MNCs with extensive investments in developing countries.

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Institutional and transaction cost theories highlight the idea that group-affiliated firms outperform unaffiliated firms in emerging economies. However, the persistence of superior performance among group-affiliated firms could be challenged by the recent, quick development of markets and institutions in these countries. This article explores the link between firm performance and the evolution of the institutional environment. Research Findings/Insights: We analyze how business group affiliation affected firm performance in India in the post-reform era, i.e., from 1990 to 2006. Our findings show that: (1) the performance benefits of group affiliation are evident in the early phase of institutional transition, but level out in the late phase; (2) older group-affiliated firms are better able to cope with institutional transition than younger group-affiliated firms; and (3) group-affiliated service firms are better able to cope with institutional transition than group-affiliated manufacturing firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our findings support institutional and transaction cost theories, as they show that: (1) when labor, capital, and products markets are characterized by large imperfections and weak supporting institutions business groups outperform independent companies; (2) when markets become more efficient and institutions grow stronger group-affiliated firms fail to show continued superior performance; and (3) heterogeneity among member firms may influence the appropriation of the benefits arising from group affiliation. These findings expand the traditional understanding of the relationship between firm performance and the institutional context in emerging economies, and provide further support for the idea that the relative performance of group-affiliated firms is contingent upon the characteristics of the institutional context and their particular features. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The article has implications for managers and policy makers. Managers of business groups should adapt the timing of strategies to the evolution of the institutional environment. Policy makers should focus on the consequences of their policies, as they may undermine the efficiency of large national companies.

This case was prepared by Professor Torben Pedersen and Research Assistant Marcus Moller Larsen of the Copenhagen Business School. We thank Vestas Wind Systems A/S for its helpful collaboration in developing this case. The case is developed solely as a basis for classroom discussion rather than to highlight effective or ineffective management in administrative situations. Some facts have been disguised to retain proprietary rights.

Knowledge and learning are ascribed pivotal roles in firms' internationalization processes: perceived market uncertainties, namely knowledge gaps related to business environments in foreign markets, may curb firms' inclinations to commit resources to these markets. This study explores whether knowledge gaps tend to increase or decrease with time when operating in the foreign market, and it discusses which learning components narrow – or widen – the perceived knowledge gap. A theoretical model is developed based on the internationalization process view and the more recent organizational learning perspective, including such concepts as overconfidence and absorptive capacity. The theoretical model is tested on a set of primary data covering Danish and Swedish firms and their foreign market operations. The results suggest a more subtle relationship between experience and perceived knowledge gaps than the “mechanical” relationship portrayed by the internationalization process view – a relationship in which absorptive capacity and, in particular, overconfidence play important roles. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 1097–1113. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400409

ECCO, a leading Danish manufacturer and retailer of footwear decided in 2004 to establish their Asia-Pacific headquarters (HQ) in Hong Kong for retail, sales, sourcing, distribution and general management functions. The German company, Atotech, has established RHQs in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA, and Yokohama, Japan. Corning from the United States has a RHQ and its shared centre for financial transactions in Shanghai and there are a number of other examples of establishment and relocation of RHQs. A report from UNCTAD (2003) suggested a “world market for corporate headquarter operations” is emerging and provided many recent examples of relocations of HQ operations. In fact, UNCTAD (2003) counted 829 establishments or relocations of HQ operations worldwide between January 2002 and March 2003, which clearly indicate that the relocation of HQ operations is on the rise, and as such it merits careful academic consideration.

Question/Issue: Institutional and transaction costs theories highlight the idea that group affiliated firms outperform unaffiliated firms in emerging economies. The persistence of superior performance for group affiliated firms is, however, questioned by the fast and recent development of markets and institutions in these countries. In this article, we explore this link between firm performance and the evolution of institutional environment. Research Findings/Insights: The setting of the empirical investigation is India in the post-reform era (post 1990). We test for effects of business group affiliation on firm performance over a 17 year time period from 1990 to 2006. Our findings show that (i) the performance benefits of group affiliation erode with the evolution of the institutional environment; (ii) older affiliated firms are better able to cope with institutional transition than younger affiliated firms; (iii) service-sector affiliated firms are better able to cope with institutional transition than manufacturing-sector affiliated firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our findings both support the institution - and transaction costs-based theory of business groups, and extends it by incorporating a dynamic and longitudinal component. They also demonstrate - in line with recent works - that the benefits of group membership differ for different types of member firms. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The article has implications for both managers and policy makers. Managers of business groups should timely adapt their strategy to the evolution of the institutional environment. Policy makers should, instead, devote attention to the consequences of their policies because they may undermine the efficiency of large national companies.

In a multicenter Phase III trial 264 patients with advanced prostatic cancer were randomized to either bilateral orchiectomy or treatment with zoladex supplemented by flutamide. Presently, median follow-up time is 30 months. A small difference in objective response was recorded in favor of the combination therapy, whereas no statistically significant difference was found in subjective response to therapy, time to progression, and overall survival. Adverse effects were more commonly encountered in the pharmacologically treated patients. It is concluded that the combination of zoladex plus flutamide is not clinically superior to orchiectomy in the treatment of patients with advanced carcinoma of the prostate.

For many exporting firms, success in foreign markets hinges to a large extent on the performance of their foreign intermediaries (Albaum, Strandskov, & Duerr, 2002; Ellis, 2000; Root, 1987). In spite of the key role played by intermediaries in foreign markets – i.e. sales agents and independent distributors (Solberg & Nes, 2002) – exporters often regard them as temporary arrangements and second-best alternatives to conducting foreign marketing, sales, and service activities in-house. The typical assumption is that foreign intermediaries are low-control entry modes (Hill, 2003; Root, 1987) that do not have the potential of exploiting the full sales potential of export markets. In other words, foreign intermediary arrangements could have inherent limitations that foster mediocre rather than excellent market performance. Several studies report that exporters generally distrust foreign intermediaries and suspect them of shirking at any given occasion (Beeth, 1990; Nicholas, 1986; Petersen, Benito, & Pedersen, 2000). Poor performance is sometimes expected. On the other hand, foreign intermediaries often find that exporters put in place incentive structures that do not induce them to achieve excellent performance. Hence, it is asserted that foreign intermediaries may deliberately seek mediocrity rather than very poor or outstanding performance.

In this article, we explore the idea that offshoring of services and technical work should be regarded as a dynamic process that evolves over time. Firms gradually move from offshoring of simple, standardized activities towards offshoring of advanced activities when they accumulate experience with offshoring, and this type of offshoring comes with an entirely different set of characteristics compared to traditional, cost-seeking offshoring. Based on a unique survey among the total population of firms in the eastern region of Denmark, we analyze some of the dynamics of this process through a model that incorporates two different aspects of the process of offshoring. First, we approach the question of whether to offshore and establish a baseline that investigates the determinants of firms' participation - or lack thereof - in offshoring. Secondly, we approach the question of what to offshore and the subsequent process of offshoring, as we analyze the determinants of the offshoring of advanced, highend technical, and service activities. The findings are consistent with the notion of offshoring as a dynamic process as they show how some (cost-related) determinants play a role when firms first engage in offshoring, while rather different determinants matter for the subsequent process of offshoring of advanced activities. Although the model portrays a simplified expression of the offshoring process with two stages, the findings underpin our view that a process perspective on offshoring is a useful analytical framework.

and Key Results The IB literature informs us of several ways to measure firms’ degree of globalization. In this paper we make the argument that in fact none of the existing indices really measure firms’ degree of “global specialization”, that is, to what extent their allocation of resources is multidomestic or global. In order to remedy this we introduce a complementary index measuring how firms are configuring their value chains — whether they are replicating value chain activities from country to country or locating them in globally specialized units in order to exploit an international division of labor. We then test this “global specialization” index empirically on a sample of Danish MNCs. We find that the index is able to identify a distinct group of firms with significantly higher degrees of global value chain configuration. The firms in this group do not necessarily score high on conventional internationalization measures.

The strategic HRM literature suggests that HRM influences employees in combinations of practices that “fit” each other rather than as stand-alone practices; however, it pays little attention to the underlying individual-level mechanisms. In contrast, the HRM literature on knowledge sharing examines the influence of single practices on individual-level knowledge sharing, but fails to include the influence of combinations of practices. We link the idea of fit between practices to employee motivation for knowledge sharing by arguing that rewards may be ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but that such ambiguity may be reduced if rewards are combined with other aligned HRM practices, notably job design and work climate. Thus, fit is established through the ambiguity-reducing effect of combining specific HRM practices. Accordingly, we test for complementarities among rewards, job design, and work climate in the form of a three-way interaction among these variables with respect to their impact on knowledge-sharing motivation. Our analysis of 1,523 employees in five knowledge-intensive firms shows that employees who are exposed to knowledge-sharing rewards experience higher levels of autonomous motivation to share when they are simultaneously exposed to a noncontrolling job design and work climate that support knowledge sharing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.