Multinational Enterprises and Investment Motivations: A Strategic Analysis of Inward Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland

From both a firm and country perspective understanding the nature of multinational investment decisions is an important topic in understanding the contribution it makes to the economic growth, development of national prosperity and wealth creation of individual countries. The corporate decision as to where to invest, the resources and core competences to commit to each location is crucial for the creation of a firm's sustainable competitive advantage. Understanding the process of corporate investment decisions contributes to generating effective managerial recommendations to be adopted by multinational enterprises and to generating appropriate economic policies for host countries to enhance their attractiveness as investment destinations. The objective of this thesis is to develop a conceptual framework that provides insights into the strategic decision-making behaviour of multinational firms. It seeks to advance the understanding of the link between multinationals' foreign direct investment behaviour and location-specific considerations, which influence their ultimate investment decisions. The underlying assumption of this research is that in a changing global economy, resources and core competences of the multinational firm drive its decision making process with respect to international investment; furthermore multinational investment decisions are influenced by the changes in the environment of the host country. The notion that the manner in which a firm utilises its resources contributes to the development of its core competences directly influences its strategic and investment decisions. As a consequence, firms must examine and understand the resources and capabilities that enable them to generate above-normal 'rates of return'; this process will help the organisation to compete in the most effective manner in dynamic global markets. This research adopts a resource-based view with relevant key insights drawn from International business theory to understand multinational foreign direct investment decisions and motivations. The development of a theoretical framework for . multinational investment motivations bridges the resource-based view and international business literature; additionally it addresses a key challenge for the two literatures by reducing fragmentation and synthesising different theoretical perspectives.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Political governance, civil liberties and human capital : evaluating their effect on foreign direct investment in emerging and developing economies

We study the influence of a country’s political governance on its attractiveness to foreign direct investors. We argue that democracy is not a unidimensional concept and that the effect of host country political governance on incoming Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) differs depending on whether FDI originates from a democratic or an autocratic country. We also hypothesize that the effect of civil liberties depends on the motivations of investing Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and that human capital moderates this relationship. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 35,000 investments in emerging and developing countries between 2003 and 2013

Exploring Perceptions of Customer Value: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in the European Telecommunications Industry

Purpose - This paper develops a framework that describes and explains how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are perceived by customers and links customer perception to the notion of customer value perception. In order to explore customer value conception firstly, the perception of CSR initiatives is investigated; secondly, indications for the value enhancing effects of CSR initiatives are studied, and finally, the varying effects which different value categories can have on customer attitudes and behaviour are extracted. Design/methodology/approach - The data consists of twelve semi-structured interviews with customers of European telecommunication companies. Findings - The results suggest that CSR initiatives, when communicated efficiently and considered as relevant by customers, will in the main enhance two customer value categories: (1) the extrinsic self-oriented value defined as efficiency and excellence and (2) the intrinsic other-oriented value pertaining to ethics or spirituality. Enhancement of extrinsic selforiented value imbeds the potential of CSR initiatives to affect customers’ purchase behaviour and thus strengthen ethical consumerism within the telecommunications industry. Research limitations/implications – The main implication for research is a better understanding of the relationship between customer perception and customer value perception in the field of ethical consumerism. Focusing on one industry for the study can be named as a limitation. Practical implications – As indicated by the research results by customers prioritised CSR initiative can affect the customer value perception, mainly the extrinsic/self-oriented value. If the company is aiming to change customer behaviour and to strengthen ethical consumerism, it is important that the customer experience of CSR initiatives improve excellence (quality) and/or efficiency of the product/service. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need of research on how CSR initiatives can influence consumer behaviour

An exploration of student learning for sustainability through the WikiRate student engagement project

The launch of the UN Global Compact\u27s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME1) in 2007 can be seen as a widespread acknowledgement that students of business and management need a form of education that enables them to make a positive contribution to both business and society. PRME\u27s aim of realising the United Nations\u27 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through responsible management education is built on six guiding Principles, designed to encourage business schools and universities to recognise their role as change agents and champions of sustainable development. Consequently over 700 signatories to PRME have committed to adapt their institutional strategies, curricula, research agendas, and external engagement activities to develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy (PRME, Principle 12)

Advancing the sustainable development goals: evidence from leading European banks

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflect grand challenges the global community needs to address in order to ensure economic welfare, environmental quality as well as social cohesion and prosperity for future generations. In this respect, the role of the banking sector, among other critical business entities and key stakeholders, is vital. The purpose of our paper is to examine how comprehensively the reported performance of banks aligns with the endorsement of the SDGs. We employ the well-established framework of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) performance indicators for a comparative assessment of the nonfinancial performance disclosed in the annual sustainability reports. Focusing on a small sample of leading European banks, we find an overall low contribution to the SDGs. Furthermore, each bank’s contribution remains particularly heterogeneous towards most individual SDG goals. Likewise, bank-specific strategies drive the most extensively addressed SDGs, overlooking any critical importance of certain GRI indicators with multifaceted impact across several SDGs. The study sets forth managerial implications for improving effective reporting of SDG performance. It concludes with emerging opportunities for enhancing disclosure of SDGs contribution and highlights future research perspectives towards industry-wide shared-value appraisal under the scope of these pressing grand challenges

Multinational enterprises and investment motivations : a strategic analysis of inward direct investment into Ireland

From both a firm and country perspective understanding the nature of multinational investment decisions is an important topic in understanding the contribution it makes to the economic growth, development of national prosperity and wealth creation of individual countries. The corporate decision as to where to invest, the resources and core competences to commit to each location is crucial for the creation of a firm's sustainable competitive advantage. Understanding the process of corporate investment decisions contributes to generating effective managerial recommendations to be adopted by multinational enterprises and to generating appropriate economic policies for host countries to enhance their attractiveness as investment destinations. The objective of this thesis is to develop a conceptual framework that provides insights into the strategic decision-making behaviour of multinational firms. It seeks to advance the understanding of the link between multinationals' foreign direct investment behaviour and location-specific considerations, which influence their ultimate investment decisions. The underlying assumption of this research is that in a changing global economy, resources and core competences of the multinational firm drive its decision making process with respect to international investment; furthermore multinational investment decisions are influenced by the changes in the environment of the host country. The notion that the manner in which a firm utilises its resources contributes to the development of its core competences directly influences its strategic and investment decisions. As a consequence, firms must examine and understand the resources and capabilities that enable them to generate above-normal 'rates of return'; this process will help the organisation to compete in the most effective manner in dynamic global markets. This research adopts a resource-based view with relevant key insights drawn from International business theory to understand multinational foreign direct investment decisions and motivations. The development of a theoretical framework for . multinational investment motivations bridges the resource-based view and international business literature; additionally it addresses a key challenge for the two literatures by reducing fragmentation and synthesising different theoretical perspectives.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo