High-Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance in Emerging Economies: Evidence from MNEs in Turkey

This study examines the association between the usage of high-performance work systems (HPWS) by subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Turkey and employee and subsidiary level outcomes. The study is based on a survey of 148 MNE subsidiaries operating in Turkey. The results show that the usage of HPWS has a significant positive impact on employee effectiveness. However, their impact on employee skills and development, and organizational financial performance are far less clear. Our findings highlight the extent to which HWPS need to be adapted to take account of context-specific institutional realities. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Dark Matter in the Milky Way's Dwarf Spheroidal Satellites

The Milky Way's dwarf spheroidal satellites include the nearest, smallest and least luminous galaxies known. They also exhibit the largest discrepancies between dynamical and luminous masses. This article reviews the development of empirical constraints on the structure and kinematics of dSph stellar populations and discusses how this phenomenology translates into constraints on the amount and distribution of dark matter within dSphs. Some implications for cosmology and the particle nature of dark matter are discussed, and some topics/questions for future study are identified.Comment: A version with full-resolution figures is available at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~mwalker/mwdsph_review.pdf; 70 pages, 22 figures; invited review article to be published in Vol. 5 of the book "Planets, Stars, and Stellar Systems", published by Springe

Trust Between International Joint Venture Partners: Effects of Home Countries

Trust is an important factor in interorganizational relations. Interorganizational trust in cross-border relationships is likely to be influenced by the home countries of both partners. Using data on 165 international joint ventures (IJVs), we show that the perceived trustworthiness of an IJV partner is influenced by the general propensity to trust in the trustor's home country. Moreover, the trustworthiness perceived by a focal parent firm is also affected by the home country of the other IJV partner. This second effect is mitigated by experience between the partners

Costs of partner search and selection in strategic alliances

This study examines the costs of alliance partner search and selection and their antecedents. Drawing on transaction cost economics and the network perspective on inter-organizational relationships, the findings drawing on survey-based data from a sample of 83 firms in the German telecommunications industry reveal that partner search and selection costs are closely connected but differentially affected by task- and company-related factors. When firms must make alliance-specific investments, search and selection costs increase. A firm’s number of current alliances decreases them, while neither alliance scope nor firm performance significantly affect search and selection costs. Additional analyses show that alliance-specific investments especially increase search costs but do not affect selection costs, while the initiating firm’s performance decreases search costs but it does not reduce selection costs

Revisiting multinational firms' tolerance for joint ventures: a trust-based approach

In spite of the increasing popularity of international joint ventures, managers express a high level of dissatisfaction with them. This paper argues that overemphasis on the outcome has resulted in a neglect of the social processes underlying the outcome. The paper elaborates upon the rationale for a cooperative approach towards interorganizational collaborative relationships based on trust, and discusses it in the context of joint ventures. This is then applied towards understanding multinational ownership preferences and tolerance for joint ventures. It is argued that trust-centered logic is largely consistent with approaches that emphasize the issue of ownership, and deepens and enriches the insights provided by the latter. A shift in focus from ownership to relational dynamics is encouraged. Journal of International Business Studies (2006) 37, 30–43. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400161

Competitive interactions: the international investment patterns of Japanese automobile manufacturers

Analyzing the timing, patterns, and competitive interactions of foreign direct investments (FDIs), we find evidence that Japanese automobile manufacturers compete selectively with their domestic rivals. While some firms appear to follow rivals’ investments, they also steer away from markets with incumbent Japanese competitors. Competing in some key markets, these firms also avoid unnecessary competition in other markets. This finding provides evidence that the “bandwagon effect” is not universal for FDI within oligopolistic industries. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 864–879. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400391

International joint venture partner selection: The role of the host-country legal environment

This study attempts to enhance our understanding of how a host country's legal environment influences international joint venture (IJV) partner selection criteria. Empirical results based on survey data collected on 169 IJVs revealed that host-country rule of law perceptions negatively influence appropriation and coordination cost concerns, which positively influence partner-related criteria. Furthermore, these concerns mediate the relationship between perceptions of host-country rule of law and partner-related criteria. Journal of International Business Studies (2009) 40, 779–801. doi:10.1057/jibs.2008.110