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The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

The Investment Development Path purports that foreign direct investment acts as a catalyst for economic development in a host country. In this article we conduct a theoretical investigation of the [...]

Drawing on the entrepreneurship perspective and the network‐based view on internationalisation, this exploratory study contributes to our understanding of why some exporters succeed while others do not, through an empirical examination of export readiness factors. The paper provides an operationalisation of export readiness for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on a sample of 96 New Zealand SMEs, we find that export readiness is a complex construct involving finance, trade and exchange, and marketing. The study provides evidence that internal export stimuli are important antecedents of export readiness, while factors traditionally assumed to be critical to export success, such as importing and pre‐export domestic expansion, may not be prerequisites to being export‐ready. Finally, the study examines the link between export readiness and subsequent, initial export performance and finds a strong, positive relationship. Our study contributes to the export literature by providing a deeper and more integrated understanding of the antecedents of export readiness in a small, open economy, and its implications for subsequent export performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Joanna Scott-Kennel, Michele E.M. Akoorie Increased merger and acquisition activity over past decades has been driven by changes to the operating environment of international and domestic firms, a consequence of the increased globalisation of industries and the liberalisation of national trade and investment policies. This paper integrates the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) and multinational enterprise (MNE) lifecycles into the organisational lifecycle literature and offers a conceptual model showing how 'new growth' trajectories are developed for both firms. Longitudinal case studies are used to determine the lifecycles of pairs of SMEs and MNEs in resource-based and non-resource based industries. Comparing the pre-acquisition motivations and contexts of the firms with the post-acquisition outcomes suggests that the critical event juncture for both sets of firms may occur at a stage where both SMEs and MNEs have reached a developmental stasis. The integration of their lifecycles then offers a path for redevelopment and institutional transformation.

This study investigates the role of Chinese-foreign linkages in the innovation trajectory of Guilin GFS Monk Fruit Corporation (Monk Fruit Corp.). Using the linkage-leverage-learning (LLL) framework as our starting point for analysis and integrating complementary theory, we build a relationally and contextually oriented framework for assessing innovation. Longitudinal analysis of archival data, and insights from key respondents, demonstrates that the firm's innovative and organizational development is inextricably entwined with the process of learning, achieved overtime by leveraging linkages with both domestic and foreign partners. The results also reveal how independent research and development (R&D), coupled with skill in relationship building, applied by the Chinese firm and the individuals within it, can provide an equally important support structure to Sino-foreign innovation. Our results reaffirm the importance of collaboration, but also demonstrate its limits as collaborative organizational relationships evolve from being socially to equity-based over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the role of psychic distance during the process of international market entry by software international new ventures (INVs) from small, open economies. Specifically, we investigate how home market and global industry contexts influence market-entry strategies, and how psychic distance influences initial then subsequent market-entry choice decisions. Design/methodology/approach - Using Atlas.ti7 software, this paper adopts a qualitative, multi-case analysis of ten software INVs based in New Zealand. Thematic coding of interview and secondary data revealed three core processes: pre-entry considerations, market selection criteria and post-entry evaluation, across the stages of initial and subsequent market entry. Findings - In the context of the global software industry, the key driver of proactive market entry by INVs from small, open economies is market size rather than psychic distance. During the process of market expansion, firms encounter the psychic distance paradox (PDP). A second paradox arises when, despite experiential learning, managerial perceptions of psychic distance increase, making entry into more distant markets less, rather than more, likely and reactive, rather than proactive. Originality/value - This paper addresses contextual differences in software versus more traditional sectors, and the influence of psychic distance on market entry rather than outcomes. Specifically, extending our understanding of the PDP, we find perceptual psychic and cultural distance ignored as criteria for initial market-entry decisions, and initial positive attitudes toward risk-taking become less apparent during subsequent entries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of knowledge and learning in the internationalisation process of a small, professional service firm. It investigates the relationship between key dimensions of knowledge, organisational learning, and knowledge leverage mechanisms and internationalisation. Our findings reveal internationalisation appears most influenced by internal, tacit knowledge. The firm's ability to learn via depth and diversity of employee's experience is moderated by the efficiency of the mechanisms that enable application of knowledge to further internationalisation. This is an interactive, iterative process that builds organisational wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is recognised as a mechanism by which a host country can upgrade the competitiveness of its resources and capabilities. In the extant literature, empirical assessment of the impact of FDI on development has tended to focus on the aggregate effects associated with capital, employment and technology transfer, without a corresponding emphasis on the longer-term impacts on firm upgrading. In this article, we investigate the effects of inward FDI at the level of the firm, within the context of a small, developed country. Statistical analysis highlights key relationships between resource flows from parent to affiliate, and a) competitive advantage of the affiliate, and b) resource transfer to local firms via linkages. The findings provide evidence that local firm development occurs as a result of direct resource transfer, both within the multinational enterprise and between the affiliate and host country firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]