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The objective of this chapter is to explore the experience of EU companies in the environmental protection sector in China focusing on their difficulties and the mitigating strategies mobilized.

We adopt a qualitative, case study approach, using interview data to explore the liability of foreignness (LOF) experienced by the companies studied and the strategies adopted to overcome LOF.

We found examples of all categories of LOF identified by Eden and Miller (2004), among our case study companies, but the most problematic and persistent were discrimination hazards. Companies adopted various strategies to cope with LOF, including maximizing the use of local employees, developing relationships with local and national government actors, and establishing partnerships with local companies. None had chosen a combative legalistic approach to the unfair treatment they had suffered.

The relatively small number of cases (six) limits the generalizability of our findings. However, we are convinced that the size of our case companies and their long experience in China mean our findings are well grounded, although more research is needed.

The experience of our case study companies can help to inform the strategy of companies interested in entering and developing the Chinese market.

Very few studies have explored LOF through a case study-based qualitative approach. This research therefore helps to supplement findings from more large-scale quantitative analyses. In addition, there is little research on the LOF of foreign companies in China. Given the growing importance of the market, we believe the question merits further analysis.

Political risk is a complex phenomenon. This complexity has incentivized scholars to take a piecemeal approach to understanding it. Nearly all scholarship has targeted a single type of political risk (expropriation) and, within this risk, a single type of firm (MNCs) and a single type of strategic mechanism through which that risk may be mitigated (entry mode). Yet “political risk” is actually a collection of multiple distinct risks that affect the full spectrum of foreign firms, and these firms vary widely in their capabilities for resisting and evading these risks. We offer a unified theoretical model that can simultaneously analyze: the three main types of political risk (war, expropriation, and transfer restrictions); the universe of private foreign investors (direct investors, portfolio equity investors, portfolio debt investors, and commercial banks); heterogeneity in government constraints; and the three most relevant strategic capabilities (information, exit, and resistance). We leverage the variance among foreign investors to identify effective firm strategies to manage political risk. By employing a simultaneous and unified model of political risk, we also find counterintuitive insights on the way governments trade off between risks and how investors use other investors as risk shields.

The belief-adjustment model has been an integral part of accounting research in belief revision, especially in the examination of order effects. Hogarth and Einhorn ((1992) Cognitive Psychology, 24, 1–55) created the belief-adjustment model to serve as a theoretical framework for studying individuals’ decision-making processes. The model examines several aspects of decision-making, such as encoding, response mode, and task factors. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive examination of the accounting studies that have used the theoretical framework of the belief-adjustment model in auditing, tax, and financial accounting contexts. Roberts’ ((1998) Journal of the American Taxation Association, 20, 78–121) model of tax accountants’ decision-making is used as a guideline to organize the research into categories. By using Roberts’ categorization, we can better sort out the mixed results of some prior studies and also expand the review to include a more comprehensive look at the model and its application to accounting. While many variables have been examined with respect to their effect on accounting professionals’ belief revisions, most studies examine them in isolation and do not consider the interaction effects that these variables may have. Our framework also identifies areas of the belief-adjustment model that need further research.

Since the emergence of the Internet in the twentieth century and the rapid growth of different types of information technologies (IT), our lives, either personal or professional, have become digitised. Adoption and diffusion of IT enhance individuals and organisational performance, yet scholars discovered a dual nature of IT in which IT usage may have negative aspects too. First, the inability to cope with IT in a healthy manner creates stress in users, termed technostress. Second, digitisation and adoption of new technologies (e.g. IoT and multi-cloud environments) have increased vulnerabilities to information security (InfoSec) threats. Although organisations utilise counteraction strategies (e.g., security systems, security policies), end-users remain the top source of security incidents. Existing behavioural research has approached technostress and InfoSec independently. However, it is not clear how technology-stressors influence employees’ security-related behaviours. This chapter reviews the interaction effect of these concepts in detail by proposing a conceptual model that explains that technostress is the main reason for employees’ non-compliance with security policies in which users with high-level perceptions of technostress are more likely to violate InfoSec policies. Counteraction strategies to mitigate technostress and security threats are also discussed.

Ample literature is available on the impact of socio-cultural and political conditions on corporate social responsibility (CSR), but the reverse has not been adequately studied. COVID-19 pandemic disrupted humankind and business, but CSR was resilient. COVID-19, an unprecedented crisis, developed into a disaster but had some positives too. In fact, it championed the businesses' role and relationships between businesses and regulators, society, stakeholders, environment at large. Some available literature analyses how CSR metamorphosised itself and disrupted and converged into all similar and associated phenomenon like philanthropy, charity, governance, sustainability, and as a regular business activity. The present research uses mixed methods to analyse the CSR data published by the government of India during COVID-19 years and refer to the firms' disclosures in the CSR reports. Findings offer a nuanced input to the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on CSR by studying it in a regulated environment where firms emerged as responsible corporate citizens attending to the needs of all the stakeholders. Firms acts of responsibility transcended law and contributed in form of funds (PM relief funds) and other necessary health equipment like PPE kits, oxygen cylinders, masks, sanitizers, vaccines, etc. Interestingly, the government amended the law to include contributions to COVID-19 mitigation as a part of CSR. While the current study is based on a data from a limited time, it lays a ground for future studies analysing the nature of shift (short term or long term) and how changes have impacted the policies (public and organisational policies).

This chapter explains the impact containerisation has on the various partners of the global supply chain and the challenges companies encounter and the solutions they use in dealing with empty container repositioning.

The phenomenon of imbalanced container flows and its impact on shipping lines, shippers, container haulage companies, port development and the economy are presented. Special attention is given to explain the many solutions companies use to reduce the impact of empty container repositioning, hence tracing out the past research that led to these solutions and pointing to potentially new research directions in the future.

Because of the widespread use of containerisation and the imbalanced container flows that results from globalisation, empty container repositioning will be an ongoing issue for the maritime logistics industry. Many solutions are being used, but there is room for improvement and more research is needed.

Empty container repositioning is an important issue but has not been deemed as such in the literature. This chapter explains the reasons it is important and that its impact is not limited to shipping lines only but affects the whole supply chain.

This study aims to critically review and analyse the classification of supply chain risks and disruptions and thereby suggest a suitable method for classifying maritime risks. It aims to discuss the propagation effects of port disruption on the supply chain and mitigation strategies.

In addition to secondary research, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with the management personnel of two terminal operators, two shipping lines and two insurance companies.

When a port disruption happens, the most immediate impact is the adverse effects on terminal operations. It also leads to a domino effect on other parties in the supply chain including shippers and consignees, shipping companies, inter-modal transport providers and other ports. Proper risk management needs to be embraced by the supply chain members. However, there is very little or no such collaboration between the supply chain members in practice.

This article proposes a more integrative approach in assessing various kinds of risks, and more research in this area to be done for Asia.

Risk management has been the concern for many stakeholders ranging from industry practitioners to the people who are affected by the maritime business throughout the world. The maritime industry should look into risk management in the maritime logistics and supply chain context instead of dealing with risk in isolation.

There is a serious lack of research for analysing supply chain disruptions with ports as a focal point. The paper contributes by filling the research gap.

In the current scenario, cybersecurity issues have emerged to be a major challenge for firms to deal with. The increased use of technologies has increased radically the volume and typology of information produced, exchanged, and managed by firms thus creating conditions for cybersecurity incidents or information breaches. In this situation, it becomes paramount for firms to recognize cybersecurity risks and be prepared to prevent them through the implementation of approaches and technologies able to ensure a high level of protection.

In this chapter, we provide a framework for analyzing and managing cybersecurity risks. We employed a case study strategy to understand how the risk analysis process is carried out within an Information Security company. The study and observations obtained from this case study have permitted to define a framework useful for SME to deal with cybersecurity issues.

The growing tensions related to overtourism and its influences, such as environmental harm to nature and residents' well-being, loss of authenticity and visitors' satisfaction, have triggered a rethinking of destination marketing strategies. Many destinations consider stricter measures to cope with this situation. Among others, demarketing initiatives, which aim at discouraging demand, are discussed as an alternative strategic orientation. Demarketing is not a new concept, but in complex tourism destinations with many attractions, stakeholders and tourists, its potential remains mostly unexplored. This chapter presents findings from two tourism destinations: one on a national scale, New Zealand, and one on a regional scale, the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Our results show that destination demarketing mix strategies are emphasised by both destinations. In an overtourism situation, it is surprising that general demarketing has limited relevance. Instead, we find evidence for a mix of mainly selective demarketing, but also synchromarketing initiatives (redistributing demand spatially and temporally) and counter-marketing efforts (tourists' code of conduct). Decisions related to the implementation of a demarketing mix depend not only on destination management in general, but also on long-term, sustainability-oriented and dynamic processes where stakeholders negotiate how they can adjust visitor demands. We refer to such strategic work as ‘Stakeholder Integrated Demarketing Approach’ (SIDA). The chapter provides an original contribution to tourism academia and practices while opening avenues for future research, particularly with reference to a demarketing mix strategy and the feasibility of SIDA in times when demarketing could develop as a tool to mitigate overtourism.