Expanding the boundaries of institutional analysis in the transitional periphery

Institutional theory provided scholars from various backgrounds with powerful and effective theoretical tools to probe into the post-socialist transition economies over the last two decades. Researchers, particularly in the fields of International Business and Small Business & Entrepreneurship, benefitted significantly by drawing on neo-institutional perspectives to explore and explain the various effects of unstable institutional settings and embedded institutional factors on firm behaviour in these environments. However, it is highlighted here that the neo-institutionalist approach, and in particular the new institutional economics lens, tends to represent the most dominant approach utilised by scholars with interest on post-socialist economies. While this perspective remains powerful and effective, this chapter proposes that research in this area can potentially benefit in important ways from expanding the boundaries of institutional analysis by integrating insights from two emerging but hitherto underexploited institutional perspectives, namely the varieties of transition approach, which is an alternative to the mainstream comparative capitalism, and a more actor-centred perspective on institutional change. It can be argued that the transition process in post-socialist states has not followed the once-anticipated linear progression towards Western models of capitalism. Despite the popularity of institutional approaches in studying transition economies, research on transitional periphery within the broader realm of business studies has remained largely silent in acknowledging the divergent transition paths and the possible implications of this institutional divergence on firm behaviour. Furthermore, limited attention has been paid on the role of actors as agents of institutional change, including the mechanisms they deploy to achieve such change. Thus, integrating insights from comparative capitalism and theory of institutional change can enrich the current thinking on institutions and the firm in the transitional periphery by shedding new light on these important issues

Industry 4.0 and circular economy in an era of global value chains: What have we learned and what is still to be explored?

This article reviews the industry 4.0 (I4.0) and circular economy (CE) literature from a global value chain (GVC) perspective. More specifically, it (1) summarizes the empirical findings on the applications of I4.0 and CE practices; (2) explores the previous literature and identifies several future research directions to advance the existing literature. In this respect, the interface between I4.0 and CE research is a relatively young field of inquiry that has been little concerned with developments in GVCs. We systematically review 112 peer-reviewed papers in the field of I4.0 and CE to distill key future research opportunities and trends in the GVC field. We develop three specific conclusions from our literature review. First, GVCs can vary widely within the various forms of I4.0 technologies with the various CE practices. Second, GVC research is underdeveloped with regard to I4.0 and CE. Third, our findings are congruent with previously published studies, which recognize the importance of GVC research that has generated a rich body of knowledge, mainly from a governance perspective in operations management, supply chain management, and international business. Likewise, our study offers promising avenues for future research studies at the intersection of I4.0, CE, and GVCs. Our systematic literature review suggests that there are many opportunities to advance the I4.0 and CE debates in the burgeoning field of GVC

Legal origin and crporate social responsibility around the world

A central concern within contemporary socio-economics has been on the relationship between national institutional configurations and firm-level and macro-economic outcomes. In this paper, we assess the relationship between legal origin and a range of correlated indicators of responsible behavior by firms. Specifically, we explore the relationship between national context and the relative tendency to engage in socially responsible investing and voluntary charitable giving. We found that in Common Law contexts, firms are less likely to be socially responsible than their counterparts in Civil Law contexts, other than in the area of charitable giving, where the converse was the case. We explore the reasons for this distinction, and for the different patterns encountered in post- socialist Central and Eastern Europe. Based on the findings, we identify directions for future research

Varieties of CSR : institutions and socially responsible behaviour

A central concern within contemporary socio-economics has been on the relationship between national institutional configurations and societal outcomes. In this paper, we assess the relationship between legal origin and a range of correlated indicators of social responsibility, focusing on socially responsible investing and voluntary charitable giving. We found that in Common Law contexts, lower levels of social responsibility than in Civil Law contexts, other than in the area of charitable giving, where the converse was the case. We explore the reasons for this distinction, and for the different patterns encountered in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe. Based on the findings, we identify directions for future research

Post-acquisition integration behaviour of nascent African multinational enterprises

This paper explores nascent African MNEs’ approach to integrating intra-regional acquisitions, including the theoretical link between such decisions and the acquirer’s resource position. It contributes by offering rare evidence of these firms’ preference for control-availing absorption-type integration approach and of how their resource profile, acquisition motives and target’s institutional environment affect this preference. The paper counsels newer MNEs to focus on developing mission-critical capabilities ahead of international acquisitions. Amidst concerns about the value-creating credentials of EMNEs’ up-market acquisitions, including their typical hands-off partnering approach, and the uncertain global economic order, our paper proffers absorption-type integration approach and Rugmanian intra-regional acquisitions, respectively, as a credible alternative and probable safer harbour for newer MNEs. A propositional checklist is additionally presented for future research

Breaking away or holding on to the past? Exploring HRM systems of export-oriented SME in a highly uncertain context: insights from a transition economy in the periphery

This article advances understanding of the interplay between high levels of environmental uncertainty and HRM challenges and practices of exporting SMEs in the garment industry of Kyrgyzstan. Uncertainty in this post-Socialist country emanates from the complex, conflict-ridden and ongoing process of transition from planned to market-based economy, resulting in a volatile institutional environment with under-developed formal institutions at its core. Drawing on qualitative data and framed by a novel theoretical framework consisting of HRM systems theory, North’s institutional approach and the concept of path-dependency, the article advances knowledge of the distinctive set of HRM challenges faced by SMEs and the contrasting HRM systems adopted by them. The article draws particular attention to how the embeddedness of socialist-era norms and the diffusion of new market-oriented institutional features influence the utilisation of HRM systems in SMEs, whilst also revealing their evolutionary nature in a transition economy context. The article contributes by extending the scope of HRM research to the little-explored transitional periphery of Central Asia and adds to the nascent body of knowledge on HRM in SMEs by offering a more nuanced understanding of HRM systems in exporting SMEs in a highly uncertain context

Exploring the influence of the national institutional environment on SME exporters : comparative evidence from Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic

This chapter explores how the internationalization of indigenous SMEs from transition economies is influenced by the national (i.e., home country) institutional environment. Our study employs a comparative case study design and is based on original qualitative field research interviews with small business owners/managers and “expert informants” in two “less-developed” transition economies in Central Asia: Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Our evidence unveils and illustrates how the formal institutional environment (defined as a combination of formal rules, laws, regulations and government policies) influences the export behavior and performance of indigenous SMEs in the cotton sector. We find that businesses in both countries are affected by certain formal institutions, and provide several illustrations of this. However, comparative analysis of the Tajik and Kyrgyz cases also points to some interesting contrasts between the two countries, which we attribute to the particular nature, pace and extent of the transition process in each country

Global Value Chains and the Environmental Sustainability of Emerging Market Firms: A Systematic Review of Literature and Research Agenda

The globalization of production has brought significant growth and connectivity opportunities to firms and workers in emerging markets. However, research on the interplay between global value chains (GVCs) and emerging market firms’ environmental sustainability remains fragmented. A coherent picture of the dispersed body of knowledge on the environmental implications of global production vis-à-vis emerging market firms is lacking. This paper integrates research on GVCs and emerging market firms’ environmental sustainability through a systematic literature review. Findings reveal important descriptive and thematic characteristics of the current body of knowledge. They point to the increasingly important yet dual and multilayered role of GVCs in environmental sustainability of emerging market firms. They also highlight the importance of emerging market firms’ strategies, capabilities, and collaborative GVC relationships to enable the effective implementation of environmental practices in emerging markets and support the environmental sustainability of GVCs. The review highlights a lack of theorization in analyzing this topic and develops an appropriate research agenda

Prospective sensemaking and narratives : the role of collective mental time travel (MTT) in the prospective sensemaking narratives of a radically uncertain future

Future can be punctuated with various forms of uncertainties. Some recent studies have conceptualised it as the radical uncertainty, which is characterised by the events that can’t be allotted meaningful probabilities. Despite the perennial need to fathom and manage uncertainty, a comprehensive framework illustrating how the sense of radical uncertainty is made especially when the rationality-based probability models are only able to provide a very limited outlook of the future is missing. Harkening to these pressing concerns in the extant literature, this conceptual paper aims to depict the process of sensemaking of the uncertainty. Furthermore, the dimension of the prospective sensemaking is under researched in the literature of sensemaking. Therefore, the emphasis of this paper is to shed light on the prospective sensemaking of uncertainty by showing its linkages with the underexplored dimension of temporality (by discussing the novel concept of the collective mental time travel) and the narratives. This paper proposes a new comprehensive framework that shows that people make sense of a radically uncertain future with narratives and collective mental time travel is used to construct them