Fernando Ribeiro Serra

The transaction costs theory in international business research: a bibliometric study over three decades

Transaction costs theory (TCT) has long been an important conceptual lens for examining International Business (IB) phenomena and perhaps especially relevant for the study of multinational corporations, entry mode choices and location selection. In this paper we examine the extent to which TCT been used and has impacted IB research. Methodologically, we conduct a bibliometric study of the articles published on nine top journals for publishing IB-related research. We use Jean-François Hennart’s research as the key marker for TCT in IB research given that Hennart’s work has been a hallmark in the discipline. On a sample of 377 articles published between 1982 and 2010, and using the works rather than the authors as the unit of analysis, we analyze citations, co-citations and a spatial visualization of the intellectual research themes delved into. Our analyses provide insights on the influence of Hennart but more broadly of TCT on IB research over the past three decades. We conclude that the TCT has a pervasive influence on a large array of IB research and that Hennart’s work is boundary-spanning, connecting several research themes.

Make or buy in a mature industry? models of client - supplier relationships under TCT and RBV perspectives

In this paper, we use the transaction cost theory [ TCT] and the resource-based view [RBV] to discuss three propositions on the models of client-supplier relat ionships in mature industries. The two theories see m to advance different organizational forms of the clien t-supplier relationships, and in some instances are contradictory. How should firms organize to prosper and grow, namely in the international markets? Thr ough the case study of three Portuguese packaging firms, wit h primary (interviews) and secondary data, we discu ss how the three firms deploy three distinct strategic org anization models in a mature industry. One firm uti lizes marketbased governance mechanisms, and concentrates its production in a few selected locations. Another firm vertically integrates almost the entire value chain of the product to provide full service to its clie nts. The third firm operates in a model of integrated outsourcing, with the installation wall to wall with its clients. The clientsupplier models adopted by these firms are based on efficient, stable, and trustworthy relationships t hat permit them to focus on their core competences and reduce transaction costs. The superior performance of firm s requires a proper alignment of hierarchical and rel ational governance, taking the dimensions of their transactions into consideration.

Será o ambiente internacional de negócios o contexto efetivo para a pesquisa em negócios internacionais

The International Business Environment (IBE) has been argued to be the essential context for international business (IB) studies and the distinguishing factor from other management studies and studies of large enterprises. Two content analysis show that many papers published in top tier IB journals either lack reference to any dimension of the IBE ortend to be uni-or bi-dimensional when addressing the IBE; it is not a surprise that the cultural dimension is the most often used. We suggest that: (a) there is need to developed more uni-and multi-dimensional environmental constructs; (b) a more holistic view of the IBE provides richer insights on the actual complexity underlying IB research. Future studies that provide more comprehensive models of the IBE that overcome the usual broad classifications of the international environment as undefined and uncontrollable factors are warranted to advance conceptual and empirical research.

Publicar é difícil ou faltam competências? O desafio de pesquisar e publicar em revistas científicas na visão de editores e revisores internacionais

Doctoral students and researchers worldwide face the publish or perish challenge. Given that the researchers are evaluated by their productivity, publishing in indexed and reputed journals is essential. However, this is not an easy task, as the rejection rates are increasing, as are the lead time between submission and acceptance for publication. In this paper we seek to identify the main motives for rejection of Brazilian articles in the business administration discipline by international academic journals. We also advance some clues on how the authors may improve their work towards future publication. This paper is descriptive and exploratory, and takes on a qualitative, reflexive and critical lens. We present some recommendations of both international referees and editors of well known academic journals, geared to the writing of higher quality papers and the creation of a research pipeline. We aim at contributing to understand how researchers may develop more relevant scientific research.

Innovation Environment in Small Technology-Based Companies

Innovation has been identified as a strategy to achieve competitive advantage, particularly in contexts of change and especially for technology-based companies - TBCs. Although the adoption of innovation strategies is not easy, small companies have an organizational environment more conducive to innovation. This article examines how managers and employees of small TBCs perceive aspects of the internal environment of innovation in the organization (culture, organizational structure, personnel and infrastructure) and their suitability for the innovation process. This is a qualitative research from a multicase study on five companies located in an incubator. Data were collected through open interviews, using a semi-structured script, with one of the managers and two employees from each company. Data were analyzed from preliminary content analysis. The results showed some discrepancies between the perceptions of managers and employees about the issues investigated and their suitability for the innovation system, as well as between reality and the theoretical basis used.

The International Entrepreneurial Firms’ Social Networks

This paper investigates theoretically the importance and impact of the international entrepreneurial firms’ (IEFs) social networks on selected firms’ strategies. We focus specifically on some core attributes of IEFs and the impact of social networks on such strategies as the choice of the foreign markets to operate and the foreign entry modes. The social networks are a major driver of the internationalization from inception and help in overcoming a variety of physical and social resource limitations as well as transactional hazards. We conclude that it is likely that both some fundamental characteristics of the IEFs and those of the foreign markets entered account for these firms reliance on their social networks.

International Business Research: Understanding Past Paths to Design Future Research Directions

In this chapter we examine the extant research in international business (IB) by conducting a bibliometric study of the articles published in three leading IB journals – International Business Review, Journal of International Business Studies and Management International Review, over their entire track record of publication available in the ISI – Institute for Scientific Information. In longitudinal analyses of citation data we ascertain the most relevant works of the IB field. We also identify intellectual interconnectedness in co-citation networks of the research published in each journal. A second-tier analysis delves into publication patterns of those articles that are not at the top citation listings. Our results permit us better understand and depict the extant IB research and, to some extent, its evolution thus far.

Transferência internacional de conhecimento na multinacional: quando o jogo competitivo multimercado se sobrepõe aos mecanismos internos de coordenação

Una parte importante de la investigacion existente sobre empresas multinacionales intenda explicar porque y como la transferencia de conocimiento -o de tecnologia- ocurre dentro de las multinacionales. La mayoria de esas investigaciones trata las transferencias en un contexto que presupone la cooperacion entre las subsidiarias geograficamente dispersas. En este articulo, explicamos como no siempre las subsidiarias cooperan, al contrario, a veces compiten, y exploramos algunas implicaciones de esa diferencia para que las transferencias de conocimiento efectivamente ocurran. Al examinar las relaciones de cooperacion y de competicion entre las subsidiarias de una misma multinacional, sugerimos que el exito de la transferencia de conocimiento depende del formato organizacional de la empresa multinacional, del alineamiento entre la estrategia internacional y la estructura organizacional, y del sistema de recompensas en practica. Ante la ausencia de estos, parece razonable sugerir que emerge una competicion multimercado entre las subsidiarias, que es originada por la superposicion en la cartera de productos, tecnologias y mercados de las subsidiarias.

Culture in international business research: A bibliometric study in four top IB journals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct a study on the articles published in the four top international business (IB) journals to examine how four cultural models and concepts – Hofstede’s (1980), Hall’s (1976), Trompenaars’s (1993) and Project GLOBE’s (House et al., 2004) – have been used in the extant published IB research. National cultures and cultural differences provide a crucial component of the context of IB research. Design/methodology – This is a bibliometric study on the articles published in four IB journals over the period from 1976 to 2010, examining a sample of 517 articles using citations and co-citation matrices. Findings – Examining this sample revealed interesting patterns of the connections across the studies. Hofstede’s (1980) and House et al.’s (2004) research on the cultural dimensions are the most cited and hold ties to a large variety of IB research. These findings point to a number of research avenues to deepen the understanding on how firms may handle different nationa...

Estratégia competitiva: Michael Porter 30 anos depois

Os estudos de estrategia tem sido muito influenciados pelos trabalhos de Michael Porter, em todas as suas fases, como as cinco forcas, as estrategias genericas, a cadeia de valor e as vantagens competitivas das nacoes. Neste artigo, analisou-se a influencia de Porter nos trabalhos brasileiros em estrategia, a partir dos trabalhos selecionados e apresentados no EnANPAD. No levantamento para a analise dos artigos, considerando 10 anos de EnANPAD (1997-2006), foram selecionados 46 artigos. A identificacao e selecao dos artigos envolveram os seguintes criterios: busca complementar por palavra-chave Porter na base de dados do EnANPAD; avaliacao dos titulos e resumos dos artigos apresentados na area de estrategia entre 1997 e 2006, bem como na integra quando necessario. Procedeu-se tambem a analise das referencias utilizadas nos artigos e o posicionamento dos autores em relacao as tipologias de Porter. Como resultado, verificou-se que Michael Porter e um autor com grande influencia nas pesquisas academicas de estrategia. Seus estudos mais utilizados sao os da analise da industria e das estrategias genericas, e tambem se verificou que a maioria dos estudos analisados e favoravel aos seus conceitos, mesmo existindo pesquisas contrarias.