The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): an institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration

We explore the process through which MNE subsidiaries engage and retain a critical mass of small suppliers in Global Value Chains (GVCs) while addressing institutional voids in emerging markets. Using evidence from an interpretive inductive longitudinal case study in agribusiness, we draw on the GVC and institutional voids literatures to: (1) extend the GVC literature by offering a subsidiary-focused view of GVCs; and (2) demonstrate the dynamic process of void engagement through complementary institutional bridging activities. Our temporal sequencing of subsidiary institutional agency in response to different modalities of voids demonstrates a constellation of bridging activities that results from a dynamic interplay between voids and practice

The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration

We explore the process through which MNE subsidiaries engage and retain a critical mass of small suppliers in Global Value Chains (GVCs) while addressing institutional voids in emerging markets. Using evidence from an interpretive inductive longitudinal case study in agribusiness, we draw on the GVC and institutional voids literatures to: (1) extend the GVC literature by offering a subsidiary-focused view of GVCs; and (2) demonstrate the dynamic process of void engagement through complementary institutional bridging activities. Our temporal sequencing of subsidiary institutional agency in response to different modalities of voids demonstrates a constellation of bridging activities that results from a dynamic interplay between voids and practices

The effects of market economy and foreign MNE subsidiaries on the convergence and divergence of HRM

This study explores patterns of human resource management (HRM) practices across market economies, and between indigenous firms and foreign MNE subsidiary operations, offering a novel perspective on convergence and divergence. Applying institutional theorizing to improve our understanding of convergence/ divergence as a process and an outcome, data collected from nine countries at three points in time over a decade confirm that convergence and divergence occur to different extents in a non-linear fashion, and vary depending on the area of HRM practice observed. Patterns of adoption and convergence/ divergence are explained through the effect of institutional constraints, which vary between liberal and coordinated market economies, and between indigenous firms and foreign MNE subsidiaries. The study contributes a more graded conceptualization of convergence/ divergence, which reflects the complex dynamic reality of international business

Historical Research Approaches to the Analysis of Internationalisation

Historical research methods and approaches can improve understanding of the most appropriate techniques to confront data and test theories in internationalisation research. A critical analysis of all “texts” (sources), time series analyses, comparative methods across time periods and space, counterfactual analysis and the examination of outliers are shown to have the potential to improve research practices. Examples and applications are shown in these key areas of research with special reference to internationalisation processes. Examination of these methods allows us to see internationalisation processes as a sequenced set of decisions in time and space, path dependent to some extent but subject to managerial discretion. Internationalisation process research can benefit from the use of historical research methods in analysis of sources, production of time-lines, using comparative evidence across time and space and in the examination of feasible alternative choices