Joanna Scott-Kennel

Foreign Direct Investment: A Catalyst for Local Firm Development?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is recognised as a mechanism by which a host country can upgrade the competitiveness of its resources and capabilities. In the extant literature, empirical assessment of the impact of FDI on development has tended to focus on the aggregate effects associated with capital, employment and technology transfer, without a corresponding emphasis on the longer-term impacts on firm upgrading. In this article, we investigate the effects of inward FDI at the level of the firm, within the context of a small, developed country. Statistical analysis highlights key relationships between resource flows from parent to affiliate, and a) competitive advantage of the affiliate, and b) resource transfer to local firms via linkages. The findings provide evidence that local firm development occurs as a result of direct resource transfer, both within the multinational enterprise and between the affiliate and host country firms.Les investissements directs étrangers (IDE) sont reconnus comme étant un mécanisme utilisé par le pays daccueil pour améliorer la compétitivité de ses ressources et capacités. Dans la littérature existante, les estimations empiriques concernant limpact des IDE sur le développement se concentraient jusquà présent avant tout sur les effets secondaires liés au capital, à lemploi et au transfert technologique, sans prendre en compte les effets à long terme sur le développement des entreprises. Dans cet article, nous analysons les effets des IDE internes au niveau des entreprises, dans le contexte dun petit pays développé. Lanalyse statistique démontre quil existe un lien essentiel entre les flux de ressources du centre aux filiales et a) les avantages concurrentiels des filiales et b) le transfert de ressources vers des entreprises locales à travers des liens particuliers. Les résultats de la recherche démontrent que le développement dentreprises locales est une conséquence du transfert direct de ressources, autant à lintérieur de lentreprise multinationale quentre les filiales et les entreprises du pays daccueil.

The role of knowledge and learning in the internationalisation of professional service firms

This paper explores the role of knowledge and learning in the internationalisation process of a small, professional service firm. It investigates the relationship between key dimensions of knowledge, organisational learning, and knowledge leverage mechanisms and internationalisation. Our findings reveal internationalisation appears most influenced by internal, tacit knowledge. The firms ability to learn via depth and diversity of employees experience is moderated by the efficiency of the mechanisms that enable application of knowledge to further internationalisation. This is an interactive, iterative process that builds organisational wisdom.

The New Zealand Dairy Board: A Case of Group-Internalization or a Monopolistic Anomaly in a Deregulated Free Market Economy

This paper examines the New Zealand dairy industry and in particular the pivotal role of the New Zealand Dairy Board which, historically, has had sole responsibility for the international marketing of dairy industry output. The structure of the dairy industry is examined identifying the links between the dairy cooperatives and the Board using the concepts of the ownership, location, internalization (OLI) paradigm and alliance capitalism. The paper concludes that the structure of the New Zealand dairy industry and the New Zealand Dairy Board, more closely resembles the network structures of alliance capitalism, rather than being a monopolistic anomaly in a hierarchical capitalist system.

Paradoxes of psychic distance and market entry by software INVs

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the role of psychic distance during the process of international market entry by software international new ventures (INVs) from small, open economies. Specifically, we investigate how home market and global industry contexts influence market-entry strategies, and how psychic distance influences initial then subsequent market-entry choice decisions. Design/methodology/approach – Using Atlas.ti7 software, this paper adopts a qualitative, multi-case analysis of ten software INVs based in New Zealand. Thematic coding of interview and secondary data revealed three core processes: pre-entry considerations, market selection criteria and post-entry evaluation, across the stages of initial and subsequent market entry. Findings – In the context of the global software industry, the key driver of proactive market entry by INVs from small, open economies is market size rather than psychic distance. During the process of market expansion, firms encounter the psychic distance parado...

Cycling in tandem: an exploratory study of MNE and SME integration

Increased merger and acquisition activity over past decades has been driven by changes to the operating environment of international and domestic firms, a consequence of the increased globalisation of industries and the liberalisation of national trade and investment policies. This paper integrates the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) and multinational enterprise (MNE) lifecycles into the organisational lifecycle literature and offers a conceptual model showing how new growth trajectories are developed for both firms. Longitudinal case studies are used to determine the lifecycles of pairs of SMEs and MNEs in resource-based and non-resource based industries. Comparing the pre-acquisition motivations and contexts of the firms with the post-acquisition outcomes suggests that the critical event juncture for both sets of firms may occur at a stage where both SMEs and MNEs have reached a developmental stasis. The integration of their lifecycles then offers a path for redevelopment and institutional transformation.

New Zealand and the Challenge of Global Competition

This unique, extensive Handbook illustrates that multinational enterprises can contribute substantially to the competitive advantage of small countries. It advances the notion that small nations increasingly need to rely on both home-grown and foreign multinational enterprises to achieve domestic economic success in industries characterized by international competition.