331 research outputs found
Entrepreneurial orientation and international performance: the moderating effect of decision-making rationality
This research examines how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) influences international performance (IP) of the firm taking into account the moderating effect of decision-making rationality (DR) on the EOâIP association. Such an investigation is significant because it considers the interplay of strategic decision-making processes supported by the bounded rationality concept in the entrepreneurship field. Drawing from a study on activities of 216 firms in the United States and United Kingdom, the evidence suggests that DR positively moderates the EOâIP association. The findings suggest that managers can improve IP by combining EO with rational (analytical) processes in their strategic decisions
Problem-solving dissension and international entry mode performance
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine international decision making, information
processing, and related performance implications. The authors aim to explore the relationship between
international decision making and problem-solving dissensions related to entry mode decisions. In
addition, they aim to investigate the effects of dissension on entry mode performance, and the
moderating effect of the foreign direct investment (FDI) vs non-FDI decision as it relates to dissension-
mode performance. Despite their significance from an information processing perspective, these issues
have not been sufficiently explored in international entry mode research.
Design/methodology/approach: This research presents data collected from 233 privately owned
internationalized Chinese firms. The analysis in this investigation includes hierarchical ordinary least
squares regression.
Findings: The findings suggest an inverse U-shaped relationship between dissension and entry
mode performance, as opposed to a linear one, and a moderating effect of FDI vs non-FDI decisions on
this curvilinear dissension-performance association. These findings support and refine the rationale of
the information processing perspective.
Originality/value: These findings add realistic elements to the alleged
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rational
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international
decision-making doctrine assumed in previous entry mode literature. The findings show the
importance of the heterogeneity of information processing in entry mode strategic decision-making
processes (SDMPs), and its effects on specific decision types. The authors believe that this is the first
empirical study to use an information processing perspective to examine the effects of SDMPs on entry
mode performance
The mediating role of alliances in the international market orientation-performance relationship of SMEs
Enhancing international performance is a critical issue for internationalizing SMEs. Researchers have suggested that firms need to enhance their international market orientation (IMO) in order to increase performance; but the way this association works is rather unexplored. This is important for both theory and practice since its exploration would lead to a better understanding on how SMEs can effectively enhance their international performance. In this paper, we examine whether alliances through which firms access knowledge and resources play a mediating role in the IMO and performance relationship. We investigate our hypothesis on a sample of 94 companies based in the United Arab Emirates. We discovered that alliances mediate the IMO-performance relationship and we extend the knowledge- and resource-based views of the firm
The qualitative case research in international entrepreneurship: a state of the art and analysis
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how qualitative case research (QCR) has been conducted in the field of international entrepreneurship (IE) in terms of onto-epistemology and methodology. QCR can serve as an umbrella approach for contextualizing and capturing the complexity of IE opportunities, events, conditions and relationships, and to illuminate and enrich the understanding of related IE processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A thorough literature review was conducted of IE journal articles published between 1989 and mid-2017. This paper identified and analyzed 292 journal articles in terms of theoretical purpose and research design.
Findings
The findings suggest that the âpositivisticâ QCR is the customary convention of QCR in IE. âExploratoryâ and âtheory buildingâ are the two most commonly pursued objectives. There have also been atypical practices and increased methodological rigor in recent years. Alternative paradigmatic QCRs that depart from positivistic assumptions are in an early stage of development in IE.
Originality/value
To the best of the authorsâ knowledge, this is the first research examining QCR onto-epistemology and methodology approaches in IE, providing a useful state of the art that has been hitherto lacking in the literature. Based on this paperâs findings, the authors suggest that the IE field would benefit from greater methodological transparency in the reporting and writing of QCR. Also, the breadth of knowledge and legitimacy of the IE area would be enhanced through more studies involving unconventional (beyond positivistic) QCR
Computational Studies on Microreactors for the Decomposition of Formic Acid for Hydrogen Production Using Heterogeneous Catalysts
Sustainable alternatives to conventional fuels have emerged recently, focusing on a hydrogen-based economy. The idea of using hydrogen (H2) as an energy carrier is very promising due to its zero-emission properties. The present study investigates the formic acid (FA) decomposition for H2 generation using a commercial 5 wt.% Pd/C catalyst. Three different 2D microreactor configurations (packed bed, single membrane, and double membrane) were studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Parameters such as temperature, porosity, concentration, and flow rate of reactant were investigated. The packed bed configuration resulted in high conversions, but due to catalyst poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO), the catalytic activity decreased with time. For the single and double membrane microreactors, the same trends were observed, but the double membrane microreactor showed superior performance compared with the other configurations. Conversions higher than 80% were achieved, and even though deactivation decreased the conversion after 1 h of reaction, the selective removal of CO from the system with the use of membranes lead to an increase in the conversion afterwards. These results prove that the incorporation of membranes in the system for the separation of CO is improving the efficiency of the microreactor
The adsorption of Cu on the CeO2(110) surface
We report a detailed density functional theory (DFT) study in conjunction with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments on the geometrical and local electronic properties of Cu adatoms and Cu(II) ions in presence of water molecules and of CuO nanoclusters on the CeO2(110) surface. Our study of (CuO)n(=1,2&4) clusters on CeO2(110) shows that based on the CuâO environment, the geometrical properties of these clusters may vary and their presence may lead to relatively high localization of charge on the exposed surfaces. We find that in the presence of an optimum concentration of water molecules, Cu has a square pyramidal geometry, which agrees well with our experimental findings; we also find that Cu(II) facilitates water adsorption on the CeO2(110) surface. We further show that a critical concentration of water molecules is required for the hydrolysis of water on Cu(OH)2/CeO2(110) and on pristine CeO2(110) surfaces
UK export performance research - review and implications
Previous research on export performance has been criticized for being a mosaic of autonomous endeavours and for a lack of theoretical development. Building upon extant models of export performance, and a review and analysis of research on export performance in the UK for the period 1990-2005, an integrated model of export performance is developed and theoretical explanations of export performance are put forward. It is suggested that a multi-theory approach to explaining export performance is viable. Management and policy implications for the UK emerging from the review and synthesis of the literature and the integrated model are discussed
Extracting structural information of Au colloids at ultra-dilute concentrations: Identification of growth during nanoparticle immobilization
Sol-immobilization is increasingly used to achieve supported metal nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable
size and shape; it affords a high degree of control of the metal particle size and yields a narrow particle
size distribution. Using state-of-the-art beamlines, we demonstrate how X-ray absorption fine structure
(XAFS) techniques are now able to provide accurate structural information on nano-sized colloidal Au
solutions at mM concentrations. This study demonstrates: (i) the size of Au colloids can be accurately
tuned by adjusting the temperature of reduction, (ii) Au concentration, from 50 mM to 1000 mM, has little
influence on the average size of colloidal Au NPs in solution and (iii) the immobilization step is
responsible for significant growth in Au particle size, which is further exacerbated at increased Au
concentrations. The work presented demonstrates that an increased understanding of the primary steps
in sol-immobilization allows improved optimization of materials for catalytic application
Supported metal nanoparticles with tailored catalytic properties through sol immobilisation: applications for the hydrogenation of nitrophenols
The use of sol-immobilisation to prepare supported metal nanoparticles is an area of growing importance in heterogeneous catalysis; it affords greater control of nanoparticle properties compared to conventional catalytic routes e.g. impregnation. This work, and other recent studies, demonstrate how the properties of the resultant supported metal nanoparticles can be tailored by adjusting the conditions of colloidal synthesis i.e. temperature and solvent. We further demonstrate the applicability of these methods to the hydrogenation of nitrophenols using a series of tailored Pd/TiO2 catalysts, with low Pd loading of 0.2 wt%. Here, the temperature of colloidal synthesis is directly related to the mean particle diameter and the catalytic activity. Smaller Pd particles (2.2 nm, k = 0.632 minâ1, TOF = 560 hâ1) perform better than their larger counterparts (2.6 nm, k = 0.350 minâ1, TOF = 370 hâ1) for the hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol, with the catalyst containing smaller NPs found to have increased stability during recyclability studies, with high activity (>90% conversion after 5 minutes) maintained across 5 catalytic cycles
Controlling the Production of Acid Catalyzed Products of Furfural Hydrogenation by Pd/TiO2
We demonstrate a modified sol-immobilization procedure using (MeOH)x/(H2O)1-x solvent mixtures to prepare Pd/TiO2 catalysts that are able to reduce the formation of acid catalyzed products, e. g. ethers, for the hydrogenation of furfural. Transmission electron microscopy found a significant increase in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) deposition at the metal-support interface and temperature programmed reduction found a reduced uptake of hydrogen, compared to an established Pd/TiO2 preparation. We propose that the additional PVA hinders hydrogen spillover onto the TiO2 support and limits the formation of Brønsted acid sites, required to produce ethers. Elsewhere, the new preparation route was able to successfully anchor colloidal Pd to the TiO2 surface, without the need for acidification. This work demonstrates the potential for minimizing process steps as well as optimizing catalyst selectivity â both important objectives for sustainable chemistry
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