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Bibliometric analysis is a popular and rigorous method for exploring and analyzing large volumes of scientific data. It enables us to unpack the evolutionary nuances of a specific field, while shedding light on the emerging areas in that field. Yet, its application in business research is relatively new, and in many instances, underdeveloped. Accordingly, we endeavor to present an overview of the bibliometric methodology, with a particular focus on its different techniques, while offering step-by-step guidelines that can be relied upon to rigorously perform bibliometric analysis with confidence. To this end, we also shed light on when and how bibliometric analysis should be used vis-a-vis other similar techniques such as meta-analysis and systematic literature reviews. As a whole, this paper should be a useful resource for gaining insights on the available techniques and procedures for carrying out studies using bibliometric analysis.

The rapidly growing literature on the internationalization strategies of emerging market firms (EMFs) has not paid adequate attention to the role that reputation may play in an EMF’s internationalization. This is an important limitation, as reputation’s tacitness and embeddedness mean that EMFs will likely face significant challenges in transferring it overseas. Using the literature on location-bound advantages and resource transfer, we argue that whether an EMF is known more for its capabilities or its character will likely affect the firm’s location choice, and whether it has a greater desire to exploit or to augment its reputation will likely affect its entry mode strategy. Finally, we offer a typology of EMF internationalization patterns based on the interaction of the different reputation types and motives held by these firms. Thus, we shed light on how the nuances of EMFs’ reputation influence their internationalization strategies.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being adopted by organizations, yet implementation is often carried out without careful consideration of the employees who will be working along with it. If employees do not understand or work with AI, it is unlikely to bring value to an organization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which employees and AI can collaborate to build different levels of sociotechnical capital. Accordingly, we develop a model of AI integration based on Socio-Technical Systems (STS) theory that combines AI novelty and scope dimensions. We take an organizational socialization approach to build an understanding of the process of integrating AI into the organization. Our framework underscores the importance of AI socialization as a core process in successfully integrating AI systems and employees. We conclude with a future research agenda that highlights the cognitive, relational, and structural implications of integrating AI and employees.

PurposeAs multinational companies enter different countries, the extent of cultural unfamiliarity they face depends on their most recent entry. We examine this pattern of added cultural distance between a newly entered target country and the closest previous one and its effect on ownership decisions in each cross-border acquisition (CBA). We also examine the combined effect of added cultural distance and time between successive acquisitions on such decisions.Design/methodology/approachThe sample came from the Thomson Financial Securities Data Corporation (SDC) Platinum database, which spans different source and target countries for a 25-year period (1980–2014). We collected firm- (acquirer and target), industry-, country-, and transaction-level variables from SDC. After merging information from the different sources, the final sample comprised 10,423 CBA observations from 138 target countries.FindingsOur findings reveal that the ownership share decision is affected negatively by added cultural distance but positively by the time between two successive acquisitions. In addition, prior ownership and geographic distance moderate the relationship between added cultural distance and ownership in CBAs.Practical implicationsOur findings suggest that MNCs' managers who consider CBAs need to carefully examine closest previous target information and CBA experience, rather than focusing on direct cultural distance between the focal firm and target firm. Additionally, they should also consider the relevance of key contingency factors.Originality/valueWe disentangle the effects of added cultural distance on CBA ownership decisions and explore the boundary conditions of this relationship.

In this paper we explicate the role of external knowledge search motives and host country context (local embeddedness) in driving different knowledge outcomes in offshoring. Drawing on the offshoring/offshore outsourcing literature, we develop a classification scheme based on different knowledge search motives (exploitation vs. exploration) and local embeddedness (low vs. deep). Utilizing this classification scheme, we discuss four important knowledge outcomes in offshoring: knowledge replication, refinement, renewal, and recombination. Additionally, we highlight how client-supplier relational governance, and offshoring knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may accentuate the effectiveness of various knowledge outcomes and value creation potential.

The literature on business groups (BGs) has identified reputation as a critical factor in their success and survival. However, most studies have assumed that BGs are well-known and well-regarded—an assumption that may not be tenable in the context of international expansion. We use signaling theory to explore the causes of an unacknowledged source of BG heterogeneity—variance in their reputation prominence (whether they are well-known or not) and reputation quality (whether they are regarded favorably or unfavorably)—and seek to understand how this heterogeneity may result in differences in BG affiliates’ geographic scope and location choices as they internationalize.

Drawing on the comparative ownership framework, we perform a comparative analysis of Chinese and Indian multinational enterprises (MNEs)’ ownership strategies in knowledge-intensive cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). Specifically, we claim that due to their lower comparative ownership advantage, and the consequent higher information asymmetry, Chinese MNEs are more cautious (than Indian MNEs) in their ownership strategy. We rely on a dataset of acquisitions undertaken by high and medium-high tech Chinese and Indian MNEs worldwide during the period of 2000-2014. Results confirm that Chinese MNEs prefer lower equity control than their Indian counterparts. However, such a preference for lower equity decreases with higher home-host institutional distance and host country-specific previous experience. These factors do not seem to modify the ownership preference of Indian MNEs in the same way.

Industrial clusters are a critical component of the competitive viability of economies around the world. However, clusters are not static but evolve in response to technology and competition. This process has garnered interest from scholars and from practitioners, with the focus primarily on local linkages and networks. Although global knowledge ties have the potential to fuel innovation, scant attention has been given to global knowledge connectivity in the context of cluster evolution. We analyze a comprehensive 30-year patent dataset (1975–2005) associated with the Akron industrial cluster in Northeast Ohio. The results also show that innovation in the cluster has survived in spite of a long-term decline in manufacturing activity and employment. The survival of innovation in the Akron cluster is driven by increasing specialization at the local level with an emphasis on technologies rather than products and growing connectedness to global innovation systems. A key implication of our study is the importance of anchor tenant multinational enterprises and research institutions in ensuring the persistence of local innovation through two key processes (a) orchestrating knowledge networks; and (b) spawning startup activity. We provide support for recent work in industrial marketing suggesting that network evolution has both deterministic and strategic aspects.