The recent acceleration in the international expansion of digital platform-based firms (DPFs) is changing the global business landscape. A limited but growing number of studies have begun exploring the nuances of DPFs and their unique internationalization processes. However, looking across research domains, the body of literature is substantial, albeit fragmented. With this paper, we provide a systematic

Achieving lateral collaboration benefits across multinational enterprise structures is elusive. Especially amid increasing international environmental complexities, prior research suggests that less hierarchical and more agile global collaboration arrangements are critical for organizational success. Drawing on extant work and six essays in this collection of recently published papers, we advance theory

Addressing missing values in empirical research is a longstanding issue and challenge for scholars in all disciplines. In International Business, the challenge has typically been met with an array of strategies, ranging from listwise deletion to more sophisticated approaches, including regression-based imputation. Current models for addressing missing values where data is bounded have several limitations

Does greater social inclusion and diversity lead to better commercial outcomes in cultural industries? We explore this research question in the context of Hollywood by examining how gender representation and ethnic diversity in movie casts influence international box office success. Our findings, based on data from 2000 to 2021 for >3000 Hollywood movies, suggest that gender diversity positively impacts

Entrepreneurial ventures benefit from breaking out of structural localism to access external supports as they scale their businesses. However, there is limited theory development on how internationally scaling businesses access external supports. By adopting an entrepreneurial network perspective to study the support system for internationally scaling businesses located in Ireland, we identify an international

Applying resource dependence and process theory to an in-depth case study of a French MNE that maintained operations in Syria despite the civil war, we provide a processual and multilevel analysis of how political strategies evolve in response to civil war dynamics and complexity. We show that strategies are mainly conditioned by the firm's interactions and interdependencies with non-state armed groups

How do firms in emerging economies react to competitive contexts shaped by the temporal advancement of pro-market reforms? With multi-country analysis, this research shows that as the pace of reforms increases in emerging economies, the incumbent firms engage in strategic renewal actions of internal development and external sourcing through acquisitions. Furthermore, this study integrates the problemistic

Drawing primarily upon institutional theory, we examine the impact of the target country context on the abandonment of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). We focus on four inter-related but distinct dimensions of target country context – the quality of formal institutions reflected in the regulatory ease of doing business, the quality of informal institutions assessed as the level of corruption, the

This paper explores the factors that influence the internationalization of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from clusters, with a particular focus on the use of tax havens. Institutional Theory is used as our theoretical framework, with mimetic isomorphism highlighted as a primary mechanism connecting cluster characteristics to MNE internationalization. By analyzing firm-level data for the UK and Germany

We argue that national security concerns can be an important driver of market exit decisions of MNEs. Drawing on institutional theory and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 196 MNEs from 26 home countries, we find that two factors expressing pressure arising from national security concerns combined with three organizational boundary conditions account for 88 % of

This study aims to advance the understanding of the effectiveness of strategies addressing the country of origin (COO)-based stigma of a multinational enterprise (MNE), a persistent form of liability of the COO. On the basis of integrated insights from research on stigma by association and identity salience, we propose that when an MNE's home country is implicated in a negative global event, similar

Culture is often viewed as a value system that shapes cultural practices. Frameworks like Hofstede, GLOBE, and Schwartz identify and quantify various cultural dimensions; however, these rely on surveys that are criticized for limited country coverage, lack of psychometric robustness, small sample sizes, and cultural biases. This article presents an empirical experiment designed to quantify cultural

In this paper, we investigate how CEO power moderates the relationship between inconsistent performance feedback and family firm internationalization. We argue that when faced with such ambiguity, internationalization is contingent on the CEOs’ ability derived from their sources of power. We test our hypotheses using a sample of Indian family firms from 2008 to 2015. We find that powerful CEOs choose

Threats from patent litigations are a major roadblock for the internationalization strategies of MNCs from emerging markets (EMNCs). While existing theory focuses on weak patent systems in emerging economies as an obstacle for multinational corporations from developed economies, we conceptualize them as experiential learning contexts that shape the patent litigation routines of local firms. We reason

We build on the Linkage, Leverage, and Learning (LLL) framework to develop theory on how business group (BG) affiliation enables knowledge sharing and resource leveraging across affiliates to facilitate global expansion via overseas subsidiary formation. We use a sample of 3,204 Indian BG affiliates from 2006 to 2014 modeled with zero-inflated negative binomial regression to examine this relationship

The article examines how firms' institutional environments influence rivals' expected performance following horizontal M&A announcements of competitors. Grounded in institutional economics, we propose that institutional distance affects M&As' economic efficiency by influencing deal completion and creating subsequent differential costs and benefits post-deal completion. Our analysis of 124 international

Food-delivery platforms seemingly confound the organizational logic that firms, upon internationalization, must gain legitimacy. We contribute to the literature on HRM in multinational enterprises by studying how Deliveroo and Uber Eats expanded into Australia and the Netherlands. Using an organizational legitimacy lens, we trace how these platforms navigate the legitimacy challenges arising from their

We re-examine and advance the landscape of academic journal publishing, specifically focusing on international business (IB) journals. While previous journal rankings have identified sixteen domain-specific IB journals, a renewed look at the journal space shows that the landscape of publications for IB has grown, while at the same time, mostly, retained or even improved its quality propositions. Utilizing

The microfoundations perspective offers promising avenues for advancing theoretical and empirical research in international business (IB). However, two key challenges have limited progress so far: first, uncovering micro-macro relationships in complex, often nested, IB phenomena; second, applying the multiple theoretical lenses offered by IB to coherently explain relationships. This paper addresses

How does a multinational enterprise (MNE) monitor and regulate the working conditions of a multi-tiered global value chain? Literature based on internalization theory focuses on the role of an MNE as the sole regulator, assuming the passivity of suppliers within the chain. We challenge this approach as it is not feasible for a single firm to monitor and regulate hundreds of independent suppliers. We

There is a lack of consensus on what the international product adaptation (IPA) concept involves, and only a partial understanding of its outcomes. Our analysis of the IPA-performance link uncovers, for the first time, the multidimensional nature of IPA. We show how the operational approaches used to explore IPA change its meaning across studies, demonstrate that IPA has different impacts across performance

This study estimates the home country effect on multinational firm performance using data from 117 home countries (28,079 firms) and 123 host countries (85,579 affiliates) from 2010 to 2019. Using a variance decomposition approach, we find that the effect explains a sizable portion of variance between firms but is mostly trivial for performance differences among foreign affiliates within firms. These

This study investigates how multinational enterprises (MNEs) navigate sanctioned regimes using the Myanmar context following a 2021 military coup. We find that without formal institutional pressures, MNEs exit voluntarily due to informal stakeholder pressures. However, such exits are often considered irresponsible as MNEs transfer assets to unethical buyers or the sanctioned regime, thus potentially

Foreign-born entrepreneurs are crucial for new ventures and regional growth. A key driver of their success is selection into business accelerator programs. We theorize that foreign-born founders with local residency and work experience are more likely to be selected by these programs. However, the institutional distance between an entrepreneur's host and the birth country reduces their likelihood of

The impact of primary sanctions on firms has been well-documented in the literature. However, the impact of secondary sanctions on businesses in third countries and their strategic responses has been under-researched. This study explores this issue by investigating Vietnamese timber exporters in the context of US-China economic sanctions. Taking a case study approach, interviews were conducted with

Multinational corporations (MNCs) adeptly manage Liabilities of Foreignness (LOF) and Assets of Foreignness (AOF) to their advantage, and central to this endeavor is the strategic management of their foreign identity. Our research identifies a critical context where foreign identity remains a liability: organizational crises. Drawing on organizational identity and legitimation process theories, we

International entry research rarely examines strategies affecting entry performance in a target country, largely due to data limitations in the traditional multinational enterprise setting. However, the emergence of digital business with trackable international performance data helps address this gap. We utilize digital freemium products as our research context to examine the effect of two major demand-side

Drawing on neo-institutional and contingency theory, we argue that firms are more likely to use and benefit from a high-potential program when it is accepted and legitimate in and fits with the cultural environment. Drawing on a sample of 1,808 firms from 23 countries, our results provide evidence that the use of high-potential programs is subject to cross-cultural variations, but the pattern is largely

This inductive study explores on the basis of 134 semi-structured interviews for the case of Germany, the impact of cultural identity on highly qualified migrants’ cultural and language bridging skills. A particular focus is put on the differentiation between first and second generation migrants. We find that cultural identity impacts migrants’ cultural and language bridging skills, prompting differences

The purpose of our study is to examine how the sanctions imposed on Russia influence talent management. To do so, we review the macro talent management (MTM) framework alongside the literature on sanctions. In addition, we have collected data from 419 media publications discussing the effects of sanctions and analyzed them using critical discourse analysis (CDA). Our findings highlight the predominantly

Economic sanctions can adversely affect target countries. We study how regions withstand these sanctions amid the US-China trade war. Adopting a geographic relational perspective, we posit that regional resilience hinges on global connections and local networks. Analyzing nightlight data, we find that regional resilience is closely tied to the nature of global connections: cities prioritizing high-value-adding

Freeloading, a challenge faced by all workgroups but particularly acute in global virtual teams (GVTs), is an increasing concern as GVTs become increasingly ubiquitous in international business settings. This study employed a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of different strategies grounded in equity theory for mitigating freeloading behavior in GVTs. The study used

Using a historical lens to investigate sanctions against Apartheid South Africa, we found foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) lost out repeatedly during sanctions, almost always to the local economic elite. When MNEs departed, they often sold their assets to the local economic elite to salvage some value. To ensure continued operations (and thus payments to them), MNE continued supporting buyers

The development of an entrepreneurial strategic orientation is of growing concern for global corporations. Through a human capital lens, we probe how and when firms can develop and cultivate managerial entrepreneurial resources; by explicitly encouraging cross-cultural experiences that stimulate systematic shifts in mindset and behavior. Drawing on paradox theory and intercultural psychology, we put

A strong critique of the international business field is that it has been “running out of steam” because IB scholars have failed to engage with emerging paradigm shifts in IB practice and management theory. IB research requires rejuvenation with timely, unique, controversial, and challenging new research questions. IB scholars need to move beyond incremental improvements to existing research agendas

Existing research offers limited understanding of how foreign acquirers enhance their chance of success in cross-border acquisition (CBA) deals. Engaging and extending signaling theory, this paper argues that during the bidding stage of an acquisition deal wherein information asymmetry is heightened between the bidder and seller, reputation of foreign bidders can serve as a signal of quality, increasing

This study examines the impact of soft and hard infrastructure deficiencies on foreign firms’ investments in emerging markets and firm strategies to mitigate such impact. infrastructure refers to intangible components such as institutions and regulations, while infrastructure encompasses tangible physical components like transportation, energy systems, and water supply. Drawing on resource dependence

This study distinguishes heterogeneity and inequality by exploring how nationality diversity influences leadership perceptions in multinational teams. Using two studies that assessed 105 (Study 1) and 40 (Study 2) teams comprising 4,120 and 2,180 dyads respectively, we find that nationality-based status influences leadership perceptions directly and indirectly through perceptions of higher-status peers

Promoting women's empowerment in institutionally fragile contexts has been overlooked in global value chain (GVC) analysis, despite the recognition of its importance by UN SDG 5. Building on GVC governance and feminist institutional theories, we evaluate three aspects of an intervention led by an international non-governmental organization to empower women within socially and economically fragile environments

This study applies a recruitment lens to examine how the proactive internationalization of new ventures might influence job seeker perceptions of organizational attractiveness. Using signaling theory and person-environment fit theory to develop our hypotheses, we employ a metric conjoint experiment with 209 job seekers (making 3344 decisions). Our multilevel regression results suggest that the international

Our study addresses an inconsistency in the literature on whether a lack of knowledge in early internationalizing firms is an obstacle or an advantage. We integrate learning, capabilities, and improvisation literature to reveal how case firms from New Zealand and Finland internationalize early under uncertainty and time pressure. We develop a process model and propositions to show how firms develop

Over the past decade, a consensus has crystallized recognizing the significance of family firm internationalization in international business (IB) research. This recognition comes with substantial opportunities, yet it also presents challenges, such as the pressing need for a more cohesive integration of the family business and IB domains. In this article, we (re)emphasize the relevance of family firm

We compare migrant professionals’ experiences of language-based discrimination across physical and virtual spaces. The minority status of these professionals stems from their foreign origin and lack of proficiency in the local language of their new country of residence. We conducted a case study of a multinational corporation after a shift to remote work triggered by COVID-19. Our findings indicate

The purpose of this editorial, and the special issue, is to initiate a dialogue about the role of time in international business (IB) scholarship. While time is inherent in IB phenomena, it has, to date, received limited attention in IB research and theorizing. When IB scholars do account for time, they generally adhere to assumptions representing time as linear and objective. We discuss the importance

Organizational unlearning occurs when organizations cast-off knowledge, beliefs, or routines. A key assumption is that the discarded information inhibits organizational performance. This view ignores the possibility that organizations may intentionally unlearn practices that are useful for some stakeholders. Using qualitative methods over eight years, we studied the processes by which a subsidiary

Existing empirical studies of cross-border acquisition completion by emerging market multinational enterprises remain highly contextual, yielding inconsistent evidence regarding the determinants of deal success or failure. We apply machine learning to expose underlying complexities. The learning results of LightGBM, from data on 24,693 cross-border acquisition deals involving 29 emerging countries

Using socioemotional wealth, this study advances our understanding of the various internationalization strategies family businesses adopt by exploring the governance and resource configurations that exist when family firms pursue distinct internationalization strategies. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA) on a sample of 775 Colombian family firms, our findings reveal a distinct

Much research on family business internationalization centers on the firm but is inattentive to the family behind the firm. We examine how business families internationalize from unstable and fragile institutions. Based on a qualitative multi-case study, we theorize business families as institutional arbitrageurs who facilitate international transactions between incompatible institutional contexts

This study investigated how the liability of outsidership affects emerging-market multinationals. We argue that besides lack of access to local networks, lack of access to leadership positions in global value chain networks is another possible source of the liability of outsidership, and it affects emerging market firms more than multinationals from developed countries. Accordingly, multinationals

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly expected to make their global operations sustainable, while overcoming important obstacles in a rugged global landscape. In this perspective article, we argue that a focus on their corporate governance (CG) actors – i.e., owners, directors, and executives – is key for understanding the premises of MNEs’ sustainable value creation. We develop an actor-centered

In this paper, using institutional and organizational learning theories, we argue that institutional fragility within India impacts the internationalization of Indian firms such that firms from more fragile regions are likely to have lower internationalization levels. We also suggest that this effect is moderated by inward (industry-level) foreign direct investment (FDI) and inward (firm-level) linkages

We theorize that linguistic grammar structures related to gender, pronoun use, and politeness distinctions influence individuals’ cultural values toward diversity, including masculinity, collectivism, and power distance, respectively. Based on first-handed data collected from a large sample of individuals (N = 9,058) who speak various native languages, our analysis shows that languages require speakers

The benefits of having an internationally diverse alliance portfolio are well known. However, the challenges remain overlooked, especially the potential to curb firms’ international expansion beyond such alliances. Building on global connectivity literature, we study how firms’ international footprint through their foreign subsidiaries is affected by the geographical spread of their international alliances

Inclusion is an important consideration for international firms to fully realize their strategic human resources, yet there is limited research on how international business competencies relate to perceived inclusion. This study proposes and tests a social identity-based framework about how cultural intelligence relates to perceived inclusion through the mediating effects of synchrony preference and

Abstract not available

This study examines how collaboration within top management teams (TMTs) composed of family owner-managers (FOMs) and nonfamily managers (NFMs) influences internationalization decisions. Based on a qualitative multi-case study, we identify four roles taken by TMT members: drivers (typically FOMs), experts (both FOMs and NFMs), boundary spanners (typically NFMs), and administrators (typically NFMs)

To ‘escape the rut’ of narrowly focusing on expatriate adjustment as a psychological state, we look to the literature on the adjustment of organizational newcomers. From this perspective, we extend theoretical and empirical concepts regarding dynamic social and proactive development processes into the study of expatriate adjustment. Our integrative review of both literatures provides the basis for