Should Small,Young Technology-Based Firms Internalize Transactions in Their Internationalization?

该文以加拿大初创小企业为研究对象，探讨其“公司治理结构”(governance　structure)的理论和实践问题，即初创小企业在国际化的进程中究竟是选择“内部化”或“外部化”的经营方式，分析影响其选择的关键因素，得出重要的实证结果。论文发表时间虽短，其所提出的观点及结论已得到学界的广泛关注。【Abstract】Small, young entrepreneurial firms' governance structure across countries has generated an interesting debate in recent years. That is, should these firms internalize or externalize transactions in their internationalization? Existing studies suggest that there are advantages and disadvantages to both structures, but the findings are mixed. This study explores the factors that determine the governance structure of small, young technology-based entrepreneurial firms (SYTEFs). Evidence collected in this study indicates that choice of governance structure by SYTEFs is determined by a specific set of conditions, specifically, their choice of governance structure depends on their strategic assets, industry dynamism, and business scope

The Belt and Road Initiative and international business policy: a kaleidoscopic perspective

In this editorial, we take stock of the nature and scope of China’s global development strategy named the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), and how it influences international business (IB) policy. We build on the state of the current IB literature on the BRI and the findings of the Special Issue articles to suggest the need for complex integrative thinking on the initiative. We show that the BRI – like a kaleidoscope – elicits vastly different patterns of opportunities and challenges as we turn the perspective from policymakers in China, to governments in BRI host countries, and to officials in third countries. We illustrate how the application of integrative thinking to these perspectives allows for the identification when BRI projects generate tensions between countries and how this influences their IB policies. We further discuss under which circumstances BRI projects may benefit all sides and which IB policies can help promote these types of projects. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions

THE PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS OF INTRA- AND INTER-REGIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION

Engaging the debate regarding the appropriate level of geographic diversification for multinational enterprises (MNEs), we examine a critical, yet unresolved, question: How is performance impacted by the MNE's level of intraand inter-regional diversification versus the total level of geographic diversification? Using data from 123 U.S.- based MNEs over a seven-year period and leveraging both sales-based and subsidiary-based measures for diversification, we find that performance increases at an increasingly higher rate as firms concentrate more heavily on intro-regional diversification. Regarding inter-regional diversification and total geographic diversification, we find inverted-U relationships to exist between firm performance and the level of geographic diversification. Different from recent research on multinationality, our robustness checks indicate no evidence of a sigmoidal relationship between the degree of regional diversification and performance

Multinationality, global market diversification, and risk performance for the largest U.S. firms,

This article analyzes both geographic scale and scope of foreign operations for the largest U.S. firms and especially their strategic combinations by relating to the risk of profits. The test results indicate that the combination of high geographic scale and medium geographic scope of foreign operations outperformed other strategic combinations. This particularly suggests that the heavy or light geographic scope of foreign operations may possibly cause a downturn in the risk performance. The implication is that firms preparing themselves for overseas activities should consider the use of this strategic combination.multinationality global market diversification risk performance

The performance of small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises: Do product diversity and international diversity matter?

This paper examines the individual and interaction effects of product diversity and international diversity on the performance of small- and medium-sized technology-based enterprises (SMTEs). We measure international diversity by geographic spread and geographic concentration, and also divide product diversity into related and unrelated dimensions. Several important findings are revealed. First, profitability is insignificantly associated with both related diversification and unrelated diversification. Second, both geographic spread and concentration have a curvilinear relationship with performance. Third, some interaction effects between product diversity and international diversity are highly significant in comparison with their individual effects. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Does Culture Affect Behavior and Performance of Firms? The Case of Joint Ventures in China

This study applies a resource-based view of the firm to analyze data from a sample of 898 joint-venture firms in China, including both joint ventures established by overseas Chinese and by firms from Western cultures. It is hypothesized that culture could influence the timing of entry of joint ventures, their investment preferences, and performance. ANOVAs and regressions were conducted, and the results suggest the impact of cultural as well as technological resources. This paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the findings.© 2001 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (2001) 32, 115–131