Olga Annushkina

How do emerging markets differ from developed markets? A conceptual and empirical analysis

the study of emerging markets (ems) is one of the most popular themes in international business research, at least in terms of the rise in published academic studies and those presented at conferences worldwide. despite the substantial increase in academic interest in ems, there is an alarming lack of consensus about what characterizes these markets as ‘emerging’. an important part of management theory is being built without an accurate revision of some of its key assumptions. implicitly the ‘emergingness’ is defined as the probability of the country achieving higher than average growth in the creation of economic wealth by including or attracting more resources or by using more efficiently existing factors of production. it appears that we academics view all countries that are not ‘developed’ as emerging—a problem that arises from the notable lack of a common definition of the term. We seem to be furiously investigating a phenomenon without really establishing its meaningful boundaries. our study redresses this crucial neglect by testing the correspondence between existing definitions of ems and countries that academics and practitioners deem to be ‘emerging’ markets. but who are these ems? and what differentiates them from markets that are not ‘emerging’? these are important questions to the extent that defining the boundaries of a phenomenon enables a shared understanding of the nature of the phenomenon itself. Without such consensus, even the most wellintended scientific endeavours devolve into studies of the ‘blind men and the elephant’ (a parable) variety in which different researchers ascribe very different meanings—with very different implications—to the same phenomenon (merchant & ford, 2011). yet, a closer scrutiny of em studies indicates a general reticence to define what the term ‘emerging markets’ actually means (Wilson & Ushakov, 2011)—and therefore who these markets really are, and what fundamentally characterizes them. While scholars have offered several working definitions of ems, there is no consensus about which, if any, of them most fully captures the essence

The Internationalization of Russian Mobile Telecommunications Operators

Abstract Purpose This study addresses foreign markets selection decisions by Russian mobile telecommunications operators and the impact of top management team composition on the degree of firms’ internationalization. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative exploratory study analyzed 24 foreign market entry decisions and the composition of the top management team of the two leading Russian mobile telecommunications operators, VimpelCom and Mobile Telesystems (MTS/AFK Sistema). Findings Russian mobile telecommunications operators adopted a gradual approach to foreign market selection, as the study revealed the positive impact of the target market’s geographic proximity to Russia on the investment decision. The international background of the top management team was positively related to the increasing distance of the selected foreign markets. Research limitations/implications Further studies may include quantitative evaluation of investment decisions by mobile telecommunications operators from other emerging-market firms, as well as a longer observation period and investment decisions by firms operating in other industries. Practical implications Russian and other emerging-market firms should evaluate the importance of the top management team composition and international experience prior to initiation of the internationalization process. Originality/value Russian multinationals represent a relatively understudied phenomenon, despite the importance of outward foreign direct investments from Russia among other emerging-market firms.

Exploring Processes and Capabilities in Offshoring Intermediation

The growing offshoring phenomenon has radically transformed the configuration of many industries: fewer rivals, more powerful retailers, transformation of previous manufacturers into marketing companies and emergence of new players. The main driver of offshoring in commodity markets is still today the possibility to benefit from low labour cost. However, cost savings are not enough: the performance of offshoring strategies is determined by outstanding capabilities in product selection, control of suppliers and logistics. This chapter highlights why and how offshoring intermediaries emerged as new players. Using evidence from a case study in small household appliances industry, we describe how intermediating offshoring roles fit with into the global reconfiguration of the value chain.