The internationalization of Nigerian firms: motivations and location patterns

Despite the increased number of studies of the internationalization of emerging‐market multinationals (EMNCs), Latin American and Asian firms have dominated the focus of such studies, while the study of the internationalization process of sub‐Saharan African firms in the international business literature is quite limited. Therefore, this article examines the motivations and location patterns of the internationalization process of four Nigerian firms through a multiple case study approach. The findings show that the internationalization of the Nigerian firms is a recent phenomenon, but the foreign investment pattern reflects a pan‐African investment strategy. However, the findings also reveal that the firm‐specific advantages that had been accumulated in the domestic market, coupled with home‐country factors and regional‐/host‐market factors, were key determinants of the motivations and location patterns in the internationalization process of Nigerian firms

Transition Economies in the Middle East: the Syrian Experience

There have been no in depth studies of post Socialist transition in the Middle East. Syria’s experience is a useful one to explore given its historically important role in the region and its distinctive characteristics. The Syrian economic transition, from the early 1990s to 2011, was in two phases: an incremental liberalisation phase and a transition to Social Market Economy phase. During both phases, Syrian policy makers showed a preference for a gradualist approach to economic transition, rather than a big-bang approach. This was facilitated by oil revenues and subsidies from the Gulf States. The Syrian experience therefore has its own distinct characteristics, as well as elements in common with the transitions in other post Socialist economies

Managerial Practices of Political Risk Assessment in Jordanian International Business

The aim of this research is to examine critically managerial practices of political risk assessment (PRA) in Jordan. In this research, unlike most recent studies, the managerial practices of risk assessment are examined within a firm-specific characteristics framework. In line with the research objective, a survey strategy was adopted: quantitative and qualitative methods were combined and staged. A multi-methods approach was used to achieve different research purposes. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the entire target population of Jordanian international firms, while semi-structured interviews were held with managers in a subset of firms selected via a stratified sample of respondents to the self-administered questionnaires. In analysing the data, non-parametric statistics were used. The main findings of this research are that the majority of firms conduct PRA occasionally, and that the assessment is most often motivated by an internal need such as an investment proposal. Different sources of information are used by international firms, of which internal categories are the most important

Supervisors' perceptions of the value of the undergraduate dissertation

Dissertations are a common feature of final year undergraduate study. Although there is some research on students' perceptions of the dissertation, it appears there is less research concerning supervisors' perceptions of the value of the undergraduate dissertation. Data for the study was collected via a questionnaire administered to staff within two departments at the University of Huddersfield Business School in the UK; with follow-up interviews. Considerations of the study included whether lecturers perceived that students have the capacity to undertake a dissertation, the value and impact the dissertation may have upon student results, and the demands dissertation supervision places upon supervisors. Key findings are that the dissertation still has currency and offers transferable skills that may have value to employers. One emergent finding was to consider a ‘cut off’ point, in terms of previous academic performance, such that the dissertation route would be open only to the more able students

The use of political risk assessment techniques in Jordanian multinational corporations

This paper describes and explains the use of political risk assessment techniques in Jordanian multinational corporations (MNCs). A multi-method approach to collect data was followed. A self-report questionnaire was delivered by hand to the general managers of all Jordanian MNCs which were identified as operating internationally. Semi-structured interviews were used as a means of elaborating on the findings from the questionnaire. The study identified the extensive use of heuristic political risk assessment techniques (due to their flexibility, simplicity and low cost). Scientific techniques, on the other hand, were used by only a minority of MNCs. As has been the case in earlier studies, flexibility, simplicity and cost considerations were all found to be influential in this regard. However, the study also found that key decision-makers in Jordanian MNCs believe that official data are subject to censorship and are therefore not reliable. This undermines the efficiency of using highly sophisticated scientific techniques. Since there are a number of other countries in the Middle East - and elsewhere - in which these considerations also apply, this finding has important implications for international businesses which operate in these countries, whatever their home country

Business continuity management in Jordanian banks: Some cultural considerations

This article investigates the extent to which the Jordanian banking sector uses Business Continuity Management (BCM) as a way to manage organizational risk, disasters and crises, as well as business interruptions. The population in this study consists of the 17 Jordanian banks registered with the Amman Stock Exchange. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Eleven completed questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 64.7 per cent. Questionnaires were followed by three semi-structured interviews conducted with BCM managers from three Jordanian banks from different cultural backgrounds; local, Islamic and foreign. All the respondents have BCM programmes in place. There are no statistically significant differences in the practice of BCM between Jordanian banks in terms of organizational characteristics, such as size and age. However, the cultural backgrounds of the banks and culturally determined differences in their operations more generally have influenced the practice of BCM in significant ways