Entering the base of the pyramid market in India: A corporate social entrepreneurship perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the international market expansion of multinational corporations (MNCs) to the base of the pyramid (BoP). The authors employ the corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) perspective to reveal how MNCs can enter this market, the key enabling factors and the benefits they can gain. CSE is related to entrepreneurial and marketing strategies that are inspired by social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory, qualitative multiple-case study has been employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers from three MNCs that have entered the BoP market in India. Findings – The findings of this research confirm that successful entry into the BoP requires the pursuit of social responsibility and the adaptation of marketing strategies. In addition, MNCs should identify the key environmental factors (demand conditions and socio-political actors’ expectations) and develop organisational characteristics (management support, network orientation towards non-governmental organisations and availability of financial resources) to match. The findings of this research show that engagement in CSE in countries with considerable BoP populations can bring firms legitimacy and sustainable profitability. Research limitations/implications – This research is based on interviews with a limited number of MNCs in India. Future studies could generalise the findings of this research to a larger number of corporations in other countries. Originality/value – This research brings new insights to the field of international marketing by integrating the corporate social responsibility, marketing and entrepreneurship disciplines. The findings of this research offer empirical support for CSE and its role in international marketing strategies

‘Caught in the middle’: Effects on and reactions of Vietnamese timber exporters in the context of US-China economic sanctions

The impact of primary sanctions on firms has been well-documented in the literature. However, the impact of secondary sanctions on businesses in third countries and their strategic responses has been under-researched. This study explores this issue by investigating Vietnamese timber exporters in the context of US-China economic sanctions. Taking a case study approach, interviews were conducted with key government and industry officials as well as firms in Vietnam. Using the key concepts from the realism school of thought and the stakeholder theory as the analytical lenses, we found that third countries’ businesses encountered both positive and negative impacts of the sanctions and employed four strategies, namely aligning, aspiring, influencing, and insulating to respond to the challenges and opportunities these sanctions presented. This study contributes to identifying the notion of temporality and explaining how and when third-country firms intertwine both reactive and anticipatory strategies

TRUST IN CROSS-CULTURAL B2B FINANCIAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS: THE ROLE OF SHARED VALUES

This is the accepted version of the following article: Houjeir, R. & Brennan, R. J, 'Trust in cross-cultural b2b financial service relationships: The role of shared values', Journal of Financial Services Marketing, June 2016, Vol 21(2): 90-102 The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2016.4Trust in business-to-business supplier–customer relationships in financial services is an area of considerable research interest. The bulk of prior empirical research in this field has concentrated on trust in business relationships within a Western cultural context. However, shared values are acknowledged to be an important antecedent to trust. The premise of this study is that in circumstances where there are substantial cultural differences between parties to a supplier–customer relationship, these differences will be reflected in shared values, which will in turn be reflected in differences in the nature of trust. A qualitative study was conducted among business bankers and their corporate clients in the context of the United Arab Emirates. In all 170 respondents were interviewed; of these, 160 were paired respondents, that is, where a client and banker from the same business relationship were interviewed (yielding 80 interview dyads). Substantial differences with respect to trust were found between relationships that involved only Emiratis, those that involved Emiratis and non-Emiratis, and those that involved only non-Emiratis. For Emiratis mutual trust is substantially based on family and clan ties and exhibits strongly affective characteristics. For non-Emiratis trust is largely based on business considerations, and exhibits strongly cognitive characteristics.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Brexit negotiations: from negotiation space to agreement zones

Brexit is decidedly a “big question”. We agree with International Business scholars who say that such questions need to be addressed using an inter-disciplinary approach. We use bargaining theory models of rational behavior and the negotiation literature to explain various Brexit options and predict their consequences. Considering the lack of relevant experiential knowledge, and the multidimensional high-stakes negotiations underway, it is little wonder that anxiety is growing across all 28 European Union member states. Our analysis supports a coherent approach from rational bargaining model to real-life international negotiation. We position outcome scenarios in different agreement zones and explore their ramifications

Developing the islamic financial services sector in Italy: An institutional theory perspective

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and the Author(s) 2016. The Islamic Financial Services (IFS) sector has experienced wider consumer acceptance and rapid growth since its commercial launch in the 1970s. This growth has primarily been in countries in Asia such as Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Middle East region. Although non-Muslim majority countries like Hong Kong and Singapore have taken positive strides in developing the sector, European countries have lagged behind their Asian counterparts (Daily Times, 2013). Europe is host to a large Muslim population, but the lack of developed Islamic financial institutions means that the potential of IFS product offerings is yet to be fully realized in the region (Volk and Pudelko, 2010)

EFEKTIVITAS PENGAWASAN UNIT KERJA ANTI FRAUD PADA BANK MUAMALAT INDONESIA

Perkembangan perbankan syari‟ah di Indonesia demikian pesat yang ditandai dengan berdirinya Bank Muamalat Indonesia. Perkembangan ini berimplikasi pada besarnya tantangan perbankan syari‟ah di Indonesia terutama dalam mempertahankan identitasnya sebagai perusahaan yang bergerak berlandaskan prinsip-prinsip syari‟ah. Sejak berdirinya perbankan syariah,berbagai kontroversi muncul dari masyarakat, masalah yang paling banyak disorot adalah pelekatan label syariah pada institusi keuangan Islam yang masih dianggap belum layak. Keraguan masyarakat tersebut seolah terjawab dengan munculnya kasus yang cukup menggemparkan yakni kasus fraud (tindak kecurangan) yang terjadi di lembaga syariah. Bank Muamalat Indonesia merupakan bank syari‟ah pertama yang muncul dengan gagasan bank murni syari‟ah. Akan tetapi, bank Muamalat Indonesia juga tak luput dari kasus fraud yang dilakukan oleh karyawan bank tersebut. Berdasarkan Laporan Tahunan BMI menyebutkan bahwa telah terjadi peningkatan kasus fraud dari tahun sebelumnya yang berjumlah 18 kasus menjadi 82 kasus pada tahun 2016. Padahal perusahaan yang menggunakan identitas syariah seharusnya dapat lebih meminimalisir bahkan meniadakan resiko terjadinya kasus fraud dengan adanya internal control perusahaan. Dari latar belakang tersebut, peneliti berusaha mendalami peran pengawasan Unit Kerja Anti Fraud dalam fraud preventive pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitin pustaka yang bersifat deskriptif analisis dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Adapun sumber bahan hukum primer yang dipakai yaitu berdasarkan Laporan Tahunan Bank Muamalat Indonesia Tahun 2016. Sedangkan sumber bahan hukum sekunder berupa buku-buku, jurnal,karya ilmiah, artikel, terkait dengan strategi anti fraud perbankan syariah. Dari hasil penelitian dikemukakan bahwa peningkatan kasus fraud yang terjadi pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia disebabkan kurang efektifnya pengawasan Unit Kerja Anti Fraud. Hal ini dikarenakan kegiatan yang dilakukan selama tahun 2016 belum menujukkan adanya usaha preventif terhadap kasus fraud. Sedangkan pencegahan merupakan pilar penting dalam keefektivan sebuah pengawasan. Tujuan perusahaan dalam mencegah fraud dapat tercapai, jika fungsi pengawasan dilakukan sebelum terjadinya penyimpangan-penyimpangan sehingga lebih bersifat mencegah (prefentive control). Oleh karena itu, keefektivan pengawasan Unit Kerja Anti Fraud diharapkan dapat meminimalisir tindak kecurangan demi mewujudkan perusahaan yang patuh terhadap ketentuan syariah sesuai dengan identitas perusahaan. vii Usaha pencegahan terjadinya kasus pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia diharapkan dapat menjadi bukti terlaksananya tatakelola perusahaan (Good Corporate Governance) pada Bank Syari‟ah dengan baik. Hal ini berdasarkan dalam dalam perbankan syariah dikenal adanya prinsip-prinsip syariah yang mendukung bagi terlaksananya prinsip GCG yakni keharusan bagi subjek hukum termasuk bank untuk menerapkan prinsip kejujuran (shiddiq), edukasi kepada masyarakat (tabligh), kepercayaan (amanah), dan pengelolaan secara profesional (fathanah)

The behaviour of international firms in socio-political environments in the European Union

Most of the earlier studies on international business ignore the influence of the political actors and the environment on the internationalisation of the firm. The focus of this study is on the interaction between business and political actors and the main question deals with how firms standing in different stages of their internationalisation manage their relationships with political actors. By using network theory. the study presents a conceptual framework and aims to augment the knowledge on the internationalisation of the firms' political activities. The variety in management actions are discussed by the two variables of influence and adaptation, which have become connected to the two fundamental variables in internationalisation of the firms, namely commitment and knowledge. By comparing the management behaviour of seven small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and three multinationals (MNEs), the study shows how smaller exporting firms vs. MNEs manage their relationships with political actors. The outcome of the analysis contains results elevating general aspects on the political behaviour of the firms in the European market. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved