Determinants of foreign firms' collective action in emerging economies: evidence from India

Emerging economies are increasingly becoming long-term investment locations for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) from developed countries. An important facet of foreign firms’ strategies in emerging economies is to engage in the policymaking process of these economies, as a means to reduce the negative impact of uncertain institutional environments and to shape host-government policy in a way that is conducive to their long-term business operations (Ahuja and Yayavaram, 2011; Li, Zhou and Shao, 2008; Luo, 2001, 2006; Sun, Mellahi and Thun, 2010; Zhou, Poppo and Yang, 2008). A key decision for firms in this regard is about their nature of participation in the policymaking process (Hillman and Hitt, 1999; Hillman, Keim and Schuler, 2004). While some firms may choose to participate in the policy process on an individual basis — that is, without co-acting with other firms, others may decide to participate collectively, or in a collaborative manner, such as through associations of firms belonging to the industry/sector or with those that collate the voices of firms across industry verticals (Astley and Fombrun, 1983). By engaging in collective action, foreign firms can influence policy and governance issues such as product quality standards, codes of conduct and environmental protection that are of collective interest (Boddewyn and Doh, 2011)

Global gatekeeping, representation, and network structure: a longitudinal analysis of regional and global knowledge-diffusion networks

This paper argues that structural characteristics of knowledge-diffusion networks, such as density levels, centralization levels, and the presence of global knowledge brokers, contribute to the emergence of dominant designs and the competitiveness of countries' firms and industries. It further suggests that national institutional structures and firm-specific attributes influence the development of these knowledge-diffusion networks. Six propositions, developed from examination of one industry's networks and previous scholarly literature, specify these arguments. Journal of International Business Studies (2003) 34, 428–442. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400039

Balancing private and state ownership in emerging markets' telecommunications infrastructure: country, industry, and firm influences

Bargaining between host states and investors over the terms of investment in sensitive sectors of the economy generates political and economic tensions. In this study, we investigate the factors that contribute to the outcomes of those negotiations as measured by the private (vs state-owned) share of newly consummated telecommunications infrastructure projects. We find that private ownership is positively associated with overall economic development and investment liberalization in the host country and with greenfield (vs divestiture) and joint venture (vs wholly owned) projects. Private ownership is negatively associated with existing telecommunications infrastructure, higher levels of state ownership of foreign investing firms, and the technological sophistication of the projects. Our analysis also shows a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship between investment policy hazards and private ownership. This finding supports the insight from transaction cost economics that potential gains from internalization are greatest at intermediate levels of uncertainty. Journal of International Business Studies (2004) 35, 233–250. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400082

Separable but not equal: The location determinants of discrete services offshoring activities

In this paper we explore the question of why firms offshore particular services to specific geographic locations. We draw on research related to the unique characteristics of services in trade and commerce, and more recent analyses of the transnational unbundling and spatial dispersion of business processes. We move beyond a simple assessment of the cost sensitivity or relative sophistication of offshoring services and develop a typology emphasizing the degree to which offshoring services activities are interactive, repetitive, or innovative. We suggest that the location of offshoring projects will depend on the particular mix of these attributes, and test this assertion using a data set of 595 export-oriented offshore services projects initiated from 2002 to 2005 by US and UK company parents in 45 developed and developing countries. We find that offshore location choices greatly depend on these services characteristics, and in sometimes surprising ways, and draw implications from our findings for international business theory, policy, and practice. Journal of International Business Studies (2009) 40, 926–943. doi:10.1057/jibs.2008.89