Decoding the process of social value creation by Chinese and Indian social entrepreneurs: contributory factors and contextual embeddedness

Nowadays social entrepreneurship is recognized as a two-way process, addressing both social and economic concerns that can bring social inclusion, equity, and development to disadvantaged groups in society. This aspect is particularly important and desirable within emerging economies. In these markets, which are constantly faced with profound economic and social challenges, we see the growing importance of social entrepreneurs as they take upon themselves the provision of welfare services and progressive activities. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the creation of social and economic values in social enterprises, and the factors contributing to the establishment of these value creation objectives, is still rather fragmented. Our article contributes to this gap in the literature by decoding the process via which for-profit social entrepreneurs from China and India create social and economic value. In addition, by combining a deductive and an inductive approach of analysis, we offer novel insights into the context-dependent processual patterns deciphered within the two countries. A new entrepreneurial process framework that reflects the contextualized social value creation process by social entrepreneurs is thus provided

Mapping the trading behavior of the middle class in emerging markets: evidence from the Istanbul Stock Exchange

Predicted to grow above 4.9 billion by 2030, with an overall spending capacity of $56 trillion, the rise of the middle class in emerging markets has attracted global practitioner and academic attention. How this new wealth will be invested is a central question; yet our understanding still remains fragmented. Drawing on the literatures of international business, behavioral economics and finance and using high-frequency stock market data, we examine and map the trading behavior of the middle class in Turkey, one of the fastest rising economic powers of the East. We find that middle class traders exhibit discernible differences to professionals, with respect to risk attitudes and stock preferences (e.g. prefer lower-risk, smaller-size and ‘value’ stocks). In addition, while they typically hold small portfolios and tend to realize lower gains than professionals, their role has become considerably influential to the direction of the entire market

Internationalization orientation in SMEs: the mediating role of technological innovation

This study examines the relationship between internationalization orientation and international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the mediating effect of technological innovation. Prior research suggests that internationalization is a prominent strategic choice for SMEs growth and profitability. However, there is still no explicit agreement on how internationalization affects international performance. Similarly, the role of innovation on performance has long been emphasized, but the implications of technological innovation on international performance are still eluding us. Our investigation of 116 SMEs in the United Kingdom reveals that internationalization orientation has a significant effect on their international performance, with SMEs adopting simultaneously an inward and outward international orientation achieving superior results. We further demonstrate that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between technological innovation and international firm performance among SMEs. Meanwhile, we find that technological innovation positively mediates the effect of internationalization orientation on international firm performance, particularly for the SMEs exhibiting moderate levels of technological innovation activities. The findings of this study suggest that managers can improve international performance by combining inward and outward internationalization orientation with technological innovation activities in their strategic decisions

The role of competencies in shaping the leadership style of female entrepreneurs: the case of North West of England, Yorkshire, and North Wales

This study investigates linkages between personal competencies and leadership style among female small and micro business owners. Although prior research suggests that leadership style is shaped according to a leader's traits and abilities, few empirical studies corroborate this, particularly among female owners. Using survey data from the North West of England, Yorkshire, and North Wales, we reveal that transformational leadership style is the most dominant style adopted, and it is linked to perceived human and personal competencies as well as entrepreneurial competencies

Foreign vs domestic ownership on debt reduction: an investigation of acquisition targets in Italy and Spain

This paper examines the role of foreign versus domestic ownership in reducing the debt levels of acquired firms in Italy and Spain over the period 2002–2010. Acknowledging that lower debt levels can mitigate the risk of failure and thus enhance the chances for a positive post-acquisition performance and survival, we particularly examine the causal effect of foreign and domestic acquisitions on two firm-level debt measures: gearing and short-term leverage. To estimate causal relationships, we control for selection bias by applying propensity score matching techniques. Our results indicate that foreign acquisition leads to a significant and steady reduction in the debt ratios of the target companies. In contrast, the relationship between domestic acquisition and debt reduction appears to be smaller and statistically less robust

Information asymmetry, disclosure and foreign institutional investment: an empirical investigation of the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Do foreign institutional investors (FII) regard the introduction of rigorous disclosure requirements as a major incentive to invest in U.S. equities? We investigate the role of information asymmetry and the impact of firm-level disclosure on FII decisions. We use a unique context for analysis -- the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and find that foreign institutional investors increase their equity holdings in U.S. listed firms following the passage of SOX. The increase in U.S. equity holdings is largely accounted by passive, non-monitoring FII, who have the most to gain from the SOX-led reduction in the value of private information

Defying the industry trend : factors for countering the negative impacts of operating in declining industries

In this study we investigate the factors and strategies which facilitate organizational overperformance in adverse contexts, such as declining industries, saturated markets or even an economy in recession. A preliminary statistical analysis of 13,000 UK firms operating in declining industries revealed that many of them defy the negative industry trend with some even presenting remarkable growth rates throughout a four-year period. Motivated by the above results, the lack of past research on this phenomenon and the significance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) for the economy, we employ an exploratory multiple case study methodology to examine 25 high growth UK SMEs in 22 declining sectors. We reveal that SMEs which positively diverge from a negative industry trend are run by managers with long firm tenure and high output experience in the industry. These firms also invest in human capital with high levels of firm-specific skills, promote vigorous training within and outside the company and encourage employee participation in the decision making process. In terms of social capital, over-performers tend to foster multiple informal and formal external networks by building long-term personal relationships with external actors and participating in industry-related events. We further illustrate that over-performing SMEs in declining industries concurrently pursue multiple strategies: most of them focus on differentiation via innovation and/or product-service customization along with complementary strategies, such as cost focus, marketing differentiation etc. Yet, none of these SMEs is found to pursue a pure cost leadership or differentiation strategy, while, contrary to our expectations, instead of pursuing the prescribed for SMEs market niche strategies, industry over-performers target the entire market quite aggressively. These findings challenge conventional wisdom that pure strategies are superior to mixed strategies and that 'stuck-in-the-middle' firms cannot lead the market and excel. Overall by developing and testing an integrative model of SME overperformance under adverse conditions we address an overlooked gap in the literature, set the foundations for further research in the area and provide practical value to SME managers.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Does business group affiliation help firms achieve superior performance during industrial downturns? An empirical examination

Does affiliation with a business group enhance a firm's performance? What is the potential effect of this affiliation especially in declining economic periods? The literature provides contradictory results on this proposition. In this study, the authors explore the role of business group affiliation as a firm-specific factor and its impact in different environments, adding to our understanding of the firm-growth phenomenon. The empirical context is a large sample of firms registered in the United Kingdom, drawn from the FAME database. The analysis provides evidence for significant impact of business group affiliations on firm growth, especially during adverse economic conditions. However, the business group–firm growth relationship is moderated by firm-specific characteristics (e.g. firm size), and group specific characteristics (e.g. type of ownership and country of origin). Regarding the latter, it is specifically revealed that the impact of group affiliation is not uniform across all countries, a possibility that has been ignored in the international business literature. Among its contributions, this research introduces a novel typology of firms in growing and declining industries. The proposed typology enables us to advance propositions with respect to varying trajectories of business affiliations for firms of different size and nationality/region of origin of business groups

Risk in international business and its mitigation

While risk mitigation and management preparedness of MNEs have escalated to the top of the corporate agenda, international business literature is lacking pertinent conceptual and empirical studies. As an opener to this special issue, we offer several perspectives on country risk and its mitigation. We discuss conceptual and empirical challenges in researching risk in international business. We conclude with a commentary on the six papers included in this special issue on international business risk