Felipe Mendes Borini

A relevância das iniciativas de subsidiárias para as multinacionais brasileiras

The purpose of this paper is to analyze relationship patterns between headquarters and subsidiaries of Brazilian Multinationals Enterprises (BrMNEs). The key construct for that investigation is Subsidiary Initiative, which comprises Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Orientation, Autonomy, Integration, Local Competitive Context and Business Network. A survey was carried out in a sample of 65 subsidiaries of 29 BrMNEs. The main outcome is that subsidiaries are highly integrated and receive Entrepreneurial Orientation from Headquarters (HQs), but Initiative is limited. Actually, the main determinants of subsidiary’s initiatives are Local Context and Business Networking in the host country. This apparent paradox may be explained by what we call ‘rebellious subsidiaries’, which take initiatives based on their business environment and connections, regardless of their HQs’ directions or delegation of autonomy.

Development of non‐local competences in foreign subsidiaries of Brazilian multinationals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discover whether factors responsible for the existence of non‐local competences in emerging multinationals are different from those of traditional multinationals.Design/methodology/approach – Survey of 66 subsidiaries of Brazilian multinationals (BrMNes). This represents 70 percent of the 93 subsidiaries originally sampled.Findings – The factors responsible for the development of non‐local competences in BrMNes are: the relationship between subsidiaries and business networks, the initiatives of subsidiaries and the support of the entrepreneurial orientation of subsidiaries by the headquarters.Research limitations/implications – Even though emerging multinationals require more resources developed abroad and although some studies revealed that different management models had been adopted during the internationalization process, the factors required to develop non‐local competences in BrMNes are very similar to those required by traditional multinationals.Practical i...

Accelerated Internationalization in Emerging Markets: Empirical Evidence from Brazilian Technology-Based Firms

This paper offers an analysis into the external factors influencing the accelerated internationalization of technology-based firms (TBFs) in the context of an emerging country, Brazil. This type of firm is typically called born global and has been reported mainly in high technology sectors and from developed countries. A survey was applied to small and medium Brazilian TBFs. Logistic regression was used to test the research hypotheses. The results suggest that new and small Brazilian technology-based firms, which followed an accelerated internationalization process, are most likely to be integrated into a global production chain. Results also show that TBFs which take more than five years to enter the international market, benefit more from the location in an innovation habitat, the partnerships in the home country, and the pro-internationalization government policies. Therefore, this research contributes to a better understanding of the phenomenon and points to new perspectives of studies.

A autonomia de marketing das subsidiárias estrangeiras no Brasil para desenvolvimento de novos produtos em multinacionais

RESUMO Neste artigo, analisa-se a autonomia de marketing para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos em corporacoes multinacionais. O objetivo e verificar a relacao entre as estrategias de integracao global e adaptacao local ante a autonomia de marketing nas subsidiarias estrangeiras no Brasil. O tema e enfocado a partir de uma revisao teorica, considerando tres topicos – decisoes sobre o desenvolvimento de novos produtos, autonomia no contexto das multinacionais, autonomia da area de marketing das subsidiarias estrangeiras –, os quais dao origem as hipoteses a serem testadas. Na pesquisa de campo, de natureza quantitativa, utiliza-se o metodo survey e sao entrevistados 104 gestores de subsidiarias estrangeiras no Brasil. Os resultados mostram que existe uma correlacao negativa entre o grau de integracao global da multinacional e do alinhamento estrategico global com a autonomia de marketing em novos produtos. Por outro lado, quanto maior for a adaptacao local, maior a autonomia de marketing para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Conclui-se que embora exista um dilema entre integracao global e adaptacao local para a autonomia no desenvolvimento de novos produtos, esse dilema, quando analisado dentro de um processo evolutivo das estrategias das subsidiarias, explica por que algumas subsidiarias garantem uma vantagem competitiva superior a de outras da unidade corporativa.

Reverse Transfers of Innovation and National Development: Evidence from Brazilian Subsidiaries

The search for innovation has become an important motivation for the internationalization of companies in emerging countries. In that context, this study tests the impact that a nation’s development has on whether subsidiaries transfer innovation of products or that of processes. Survey data collected from 73 subsidiaries of Brazilian companies indicate that companies located in developed markets tend to transfer more product-oriented innovations than do those based in emerging countries. Furthermore, the size and age of a subsidiary has an impact on the transfer process. The larger and younger the subsidiary, the more likely a company is to favor the flow of product innovation into its headquarters. The level of national development was not identified as an influence on the flow of process innovation.

Reverse innovation as an inducer of centres of excellence in foreign subsidiaries of emerging markets

This paper aims to understand how autonomy and integration influence reverse innovation in foreign subsidiaries in Brazil. Furthermore, this paper supports the idea that reverse innovation is associated with the formation of centres of excellence in subsidiaries in emerging markets and that autonomy and integration are relevant for centres of excellence, albeit indirectly, i.e., intermediated by reverse innovation. A survey was applied to 172 foreign subsidiaries in Brazil. The results confirm the association between autonomy and integration in the development of reverse innovation and the association of the latter with centres of excellence. Results also indicate that the rationale of centres of excellence in emerging markets is different from developed countries, demonstrating the importance of the structure of the multinational corporation to the occurrence of reverse innovation. The finds indicate managerial implication in terms of adjusting the structure of the relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries in favour of reverse innovation.

Subsidiary Characteristics and Impact on Subsidiary Strategic and Operational Autonomy

The study draws on survey evidence from 332 foreign subsidiaries in a developed (New Zealand) and a developing (Brazil) economy to examine the relationship of MNE subsidiary characteristics (age and size) to subsidiary strategic and operational autonomy. It is found that subsidiary age and size do not affect subsidiary strategic autonomy, but subsidiary size may affect subsidiary operational autonomy. It is concluded that subsidiary size affects subsidiary operational autonomy if the subsidiary has a local market focus. The study suggests that for multi-country studies the heterogeneity of headquarter-subsidiary relationship and subsidiary national context be considered.

O desenvolvimento de competências organizacionais em diferentes modelos gerenciais de subsidiárias de empresas multinacionais Brasileiras

The aim of this paper is to understand the models for developing managerial competences in different types of Brazilian multinationals. The main premise is that Brazilian multinationals need to develop non local competences in their subsidiaries in order to compete on equal terms with established multinationals in the global market. The article is based on a research survey conducted with sixty-six foreign subsidiaries of thirty multinationals of Brazilian origin. The results show that the development of non local competences is associated with four essential factors. Subsidiaries with non local competence show greater insertion of the subsidiary in foreign business networks, location in dynamic competitive contexts, greater intensity of initiatives and a strong integration between headquarters and subsidiaries. The lack of initiatives and location in adverse contexts characterize the development of specific competences. Lower insertion of the subsidiary in foreign business networks and less integration with the internal network characterize the development of local competences.

Inovação global de subsidiárias estrangeiras localizadas em mercados emergentes

The purpose of this paper is to show that global innovation in foreign subsidiaries located in emerging markets depends directly on the international competitive context and indirectly on the national competitive context. This requires subsidiaries participate in networks external to the host country to benefit from a domestic competitive context. For this reason, the article uses foreign subsidiaries installed in Brazil as the object of research, as a representative sample of subsidiaries located in emerging markets. Structural equation modeling was applied to a survey conducted with subsidiaries in Brazil to test proposed hypotheses. The results show that foreign subsidiaries that carry out activities of global innovation while located in emerging markets use differentiated strategies to access resources in the external environment. In order to benefit from the host countrys national competitive benefits, subsidiaries need to get involved in technical networks as a means of learning to operate in an emerging market and overcome domestic market challenges. Subsidiaries integrated in global supply chains make direct use of the international competitive contexts located in developed countries.

INTERNATIONALIZATION OF BRAZILIAN FRANCHISE CHAINS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

El principal objetivo del articulo es comprender las diferencias organizacionales fundamentales entre redes de franquicias brasilenas solo con operaciones domesticas en comparacion con las redes que tienen operaciones internacionales. Como criterio para la seleccion de la muestra fueron elegidas 96 redes de franquicias con operaciones domesticas y 67 redes de franquicias brasilenas con operaciones internacionales. En los analisis de datos se utilizo la regresion logistica. Los resultados sugieren que es estrategico el desarrollo de una marca en las operaciones internacionales. Parece ser un recurso escaso para muchas redes de franquicias que pueden ser desarrolladas por medio de operaciones internacionales. Con relacion a las tasas cobradas, los resultados muestran que las cadenas brasilenas con operaciones internacionales cobran tasas mas bajas para sus franquiciados para la instalacion. Con relacion al monitoreo y control de franquicias se verifica que la capacidad de monitoreo es uno de los factores determinantes para las franquicias brasilenas con operaciones internacionales.The primary goal of this paper is to comprehend the fundamental organizational differences between Brazilian franchise chains that only operate in the home market and Brazilian franchise chains that operate internationally. The sample chosen for this study comprehends 96 Brazilian franchises operating in the home market and 67 franchises with international operations; logistic regression was used to analyze data obtained from these sources. Our findings suggest that the development of a brand in international operations can be strategic for certain Brazilian franchise chains; this seems to be, however, a scarce resource for many franchises and it could be developed through international operations. With regard to the fees charged, the outcomes demonstrate that Brazilian franchises with international operations tend to charge lower fees from its franchisees to install new units. Regarding the monitoring and control of franchises, there is evidence that the monitoring capability is one of the determining factors in the development of Brazilian franchises international operations.