C. Christopher Baughn

Forms of Interorganizational Governance for Multinational Alliances

This study drew upon complementary work in transaction cost economics, organization theory, and international corporate strategy studies to examine governance forms for multinational alliances. An ...

Protecting intellectual capital in international alliances

Many firms have found that the benefits of interorganizational cooperation may be outweighed by costs arising from unintended leaks in product or process technology, market insight, and other knowledge-based assets to the alliance partner. Successful alliance management involves a process of designing, staffing, and monitoring the collaborative interface to balance the requirements for learning and information sharing with protection of intellectual capital. This work describes a framework for assessing and implementing this process.

The Normative Context for Women's Participation in Entrepreneruship: A Multicountry Study

Building on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research, this study examines the impact of specific norms supporting womens entrepreneurship on the relative rates of women to men engaged in entrepreneurship in different countries. These specific norms are themselves related to both a countrys general support for entrepreneurship and its level of gender equality. Countries with higher overall levels of entrepreneurial activity also tended to evidence higher relative proportions of female participation. These findings are still seen when controlling for the substantial effect of countries’ economic development in shaping patterns of entrepreneurial activity.

Culture and National Conditions Facilitating Entrepreneurial Start-ups

Culture shapes institutional practices and policies facilitating or constraining the formation of new start-ups. This study assesses the extent to which cultural parameters and economic conditions support the development of new business start-ups in 44 nations. Cultural and economic variables provided unique contributions in predicting a profile of environmental conditions (ease of obtaining financing for new ventures, administrative burdens, legal infrastructure, and labor flexibility) favoring entrepreneurship in different nations.

Economic Nationalism: Conceptual and Empirical Development

To the extent that economic security is seen as a more salient concern than military security in the post-Cold War era, economic nationalism becomes an increasingly critical component of nationalistic sentiment. The potential for zero-sum orientations regarding international economic relations to constrain and disrupt the flow of goods, services, capital, and information across national borders is quite evident. Through measurement of economic nationalism at the individual level, this study links support for nationalistic economic policies with other measures of national and international orientation. The readiness to support nationalist economic policy is a function of the perceived economic threat posed by foreign competition. Economic nationalism is linked with personal job insecurity, authoritarianism, and intolerance ofambiguity. Economic nationalism is alsofound to be negatively related to individual cosmopolitanism.

NORMATIVE, SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE PREDICTORS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INTEREST IN CHINA, VIETNAM AND THE PHILIPPINES

This study addresses normative, social and cognitive factors related to the interest in becoming an entrepreneur in China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The studys findings are based on surveys of 782 business students in these countries. A rather consistent pattern of country differences was found on most of the measures, which may reflect differences in the historical, cultural, economic and political contexts of these nations. The results of this study emphasize the importance of developing both self-efficacy and close social supports in enhancing potential for entrepreneurial activity in these countries.

SME exporting challenges in transitional and developed economies

Purpose – This research seeks to extend earlier work by Scharf et al. (2001) that examined the challenges faced by SMEs along their path of internationalization. In particular, the internationalization process in transitional and developed economies is examined.Design/methodology/approach – The central research methodology for the project uses a qualitative approach involving the in‐depth investigation of a “critical incident.” The incident explored is the firms “worst nightmare” or “biggest challenge” in conducting international business. Respondents are asked to “tell the story” of the “critical incident”, its nature and consequences.Findings – SME exporters in the transitional economy encountered export problems related to product quality acceptance and logistics management. In comparison, SME exporters in the developed economy faced issues such as country differences, general business risk, and logistics.Research limitations/implications – The research methodology provides both limitations and benefi...

International Management Skills for Success in Asia: A Needs-Based Determination of Skills for Foreign Managers and Local Managers.

Purpose – This paper identifies skills necessary in order to succeed in Vietnam and proposes a training program to develop such skills. Design/methodology/approach – To determine necessary skills, 74 managers were interviewed using critical incident methodology to identify training needs. Critical incident approach asks respondents to describe the incident, its nature and consequences to provide context for understanding the managers’ problems. Findings – Local Vietnamese managers cited professional development (42 percent), basic business skills (29 percent), communication and cultural skills (18 percent) and legal understanding skills (11 percent) as most critical to succeed in international business. Foreign managers cited cultural understanding and awareness (34 percent), professional skills (23 percent), personal skills (20 percent), and interpersonal skills, language and communication skills. For Vietnamese managers, training includes leadership, problem solving, interpersonal skills, business basics, communication and culture. For expatriate managers, training presents the particular aspects of the local culture in a way that allows the foreign manager to become more effective through understanding and awareness. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study and its training suggestions are based on findings from Vietnam. To be relevant outside Vietnam, the program may be adapted. Originality/value – This paper identifies the skills needed by Vietnamese and expatriate managers to be successful in international business. The findings and suggestions are valuable to managers and trainers involved in international business in Vietnam and Asia.

Social capital and human resource management in international joint ventures in Vietnam: a perspective from a transitional economy

This study highlights the importance of social capital in international joint ventures (IJVs), and examines human resource practices as a factor shaping such social capital. Comprehensive measures of social capital are developed and tested, which extend prior work on ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital. We also link social capital with its anticipated antecedents and consequences. The studys findings are based on data collected from 164 IJVs located in Vietnam. IJV performance was predicted by training and by the level of trust and cooperation between foreign and local personnel. Training (including acquisition of management skills, technology, and cross-cultural understanding) also was predictive of the measures of social capital. A key practical implication arising from this study is that the return on investment from training of joint venture personnel can stem not only from the transfer of technical and management skills needed for developing competitive advantage, but also from the positive impact on social capital, which further contributes to venture success. The establishment of written objectives and plans for the venture, as well as the IJVs level of control regarding its own HR functions also was found to be related to some components of social capital. The findings of this study reinforce the call to build on the contributions of local personnel in joint ventures, and in Vietnam in particular.

The role of technology in the formation and form of multinational cooperative arrangements

Abstract An analysis of new cooperative arrangements between U.S. and Japanese industrial firms suggests that technology plays an important role in linking firms, in facilitating strategic positioning, and in influencing the form of the linkage. Firms with a similar emphasis on R&D are more likely to engage in such alliances. Japanese firms appear more likely to use these alliances as ameans to enhance involvement in industries of high technological intensity. The form of the linkage appears to be influenced by the technological intensity of the arrangements product and the intention to conduct joint R&D.