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CEOs are often attributed the role of chief strategist and now, more than ever, they can reach their constituents through electronic means, using narrative to influence behaviour. In this study, we investigate the role and influence of CEO narrative using a historical approach. In our qualitative study on the last decade of Nortel, we define and characterize the narrative infrastructure created by three CEOs. Our analysis suggests that when textual relationships between sources of CEO narrative are strong (between types of narrative and over time), a dominant narrative emerges and constrains strategic choice. Based on our findings, we propose a theoretical model of the influence of CEO narratives in strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new comprehensive perspective to the country's institutional effects on firms' internationalization process by developing a new construct called Relative Institutional Challenge and testing its effects on foreign firms' ownership structure in host countries. We create the Relative Institutional Challenge Index that considers the combined effect of institutional differences (institutional distance), state of institutionalization (institutional development) and rate of institutionalization (institutional uncertainty) using extensive data from the Global Competitiveness Report, the Fragile States Index and Worldwide Governance Indicators. We then test the effects of this new index on ownership structure using extensive data extracted from the SDC platinum dataset. We conclude with a discussion on the potential role of Relative Institutional Challenge in the international business literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide an overview of Nortel's last decade through the lens of organizational path dependence theory. We argue that Nortel became locked in to a strategic path through four self-reinforcing processes. Using an historical analysis of 2500 documents, we discuss how these processes came into conflict, sending the firm into bankruptcy protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]