Subsidiary capability upgrading under emerging market acquirers

This article leverages a case study of a recent Chinese acquisition in the United Kingdom to explore the upgrading of capabilities in the subsidiaries in developed countries acquired by emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). The seemingly implausible upgrading phenomenon is explained by the EMNEs’ complementary assets, their GVC lead firm positions and the unique power relationship between the acquirer and acquired firms, which enables the EMNEs to ‘impel’ upgrading and encourage ‘co-learning’ in their acquired subsidiaries. The contributions to the literature on EMNEs, global value chains, and organizational learning are outlined and discussed

International Vertical Alliances within the International Business Field : A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

In cross-national teams, cultural differences can be an advantage

But leaders need to recognise when difference is a problem, and steer the team through the bumps, write Pamela Tremain Koch, Bradley James Koch, Tanya Menon and Oded Shenka

Working abroad, working with others: How firms learn to operate international joint ventures

Successful international joint ventures entail both learning to operate across national boundaries and learning to cooperate. Hypotheses grounded in organizational learning theory were tested with event-history analysis and data on 1,493 expansions of 25 large Dutch firms between 1966 and 1994. Experience with domestic joint ventures and with international wholly owned subsidiaries contributed to the longevity of international joint ventures, but prior experience with international joint ventures did not

The performance impact of informal and formal institutional differences in cross-border alliances

This study addresses the simultaneous and diverse effects of differences in informal and formal institutions on cross-border alliances’ financial performance. We utilize data from 405 microfinance institutions (MFIs), based in 74 developing countries, that have alliances with partners from developed countries. We find that the impact of informal institutional differences between MFIs and their cross-border partners is sigmoid-shaped, with performance first increasing, then declining, before improving again as informal institutional differences grow large. By contrast, formal institutional differences appear to be detrimental to MFIs’ performance. Consistent with our prediction, we find that MFIs’ cross-border experience moderates both formal and informal institutional effects