Antecedents of successful internationalization in family and non-family firms: How knowledge resources and collaboration intensity shape international performance

The internationalization of family firms has increasingly been recognized as an important field of inquiry for international business scholars. And yet, there is a noticeable paucity of original research on key issues, including the differences in antecedents of international performance between family and non-family firms. By drawing on the revised Uppsala model of internationalization from 2009 and the concept of socio-emotional wealth, the present study applies Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis as a methodological approach to identify different configurational sets of antecedents for international performance. Our results suggest that differences in causal configurations of certain antecedents (education, international market knowledge, international business experience, and collaboration intensity) between family and non-family firms exist. Furthermore, we found that the specific characteristics of family firms explain these differences

AWO setzt High-tech-schwerpunkt für Austro-unternehmen

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Corporate global culture as competitive advantage: learning from Germany and Japan in Alabama and Austria?

As cross-border corporate mergers and acquisitions find organizations outgrowing their cultural boundaries, transnational companies may try to capture the strengths of the best talent and technology that cultures offer. The Daimler Chrysler (DC) transatlantic merger foreshadows how industrial corporations may change 21st century work relationships and it raises questions about the complexities of cross-cultural collaboration to achieve competitive advantage. We analyze the cultural components of Mercedes-Benz's experiment that developed the award winning M-Class sports utility vehicle, initiated before the merger, originating in a "learning field" managerial philosophy. Originally manufactured in Alabama and soon extended to Austria, the M-Class, unexpectedly, became an early point of possible joint learning for DC but to date is a missed opportunity to further learn how to draw upon culture to enhance competitive advantage.

Implications of culture on learning and teaching: Management skills and business administration in the ‘Joint International IT Master program’ in Halmstad, Lemgo and Esbjerg

Mertens C, Doleschal R. Implications of culture on learning and teaching: Management skills and business administration in the ‘Joint International IT Master program’ in Halmstad, Lemgo and Esbjerg. In: Schmalzer T, Apfelthaler G, Hansen K, Singh R, eds. Intercultural communication competence . Learn international . Delhi: MacMillan; 2007: 92-109