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This paper aims to investigate if the collaboration intensity of the company with local and international stakeholders facilitates the attracting of venture capital (VC) financing. The reputation of the company was incorporated as a factor, which can potentially influence investment decision-making. The study also aims to make a cross-national comparison of new ventures financing in two innovation regions – Chinese Zhongguancun and American Silicon Valley.

Quantitative methodology involving data gathered from 176 venture-backed as well as non-venture backed SME located in Chinese Zhongguancun and American Silicon Valley was applied. The data has been gathered through a survey. A logistic regression model has been adopted to test the hypotheses and explore relationships among concerned variables.

The results spotlight that collaboration intensity with the company’s domestic stakeholders could enhance the attractiveness of the company for external investments. Collaboration intensity with foreign stakeholders increases the likelihood of acquiring financial support only for Chinese companies. For American companies, the reputation of their stakeholders did not show a significant effect. However, positive reputation acquired from the Chinese company’s stakeholders enhances the chance of getting funding and moderates the investment effect of collaboration intensity with domestic stakeholders.

This paper unfolds that the network strength and the reputation of the SME could play the role in getting VC investment. The results are shown in two different contexts (Silicon Valley in the USA and Zhongguancun in China), characterizing the completely different cultural, legal, institutional and operating environments.

The typical “business case” for workforce diversity management in the USA implies that matching the demographic characteristics of sellers to buyers increases firms' productivity and profitability. This paper aims to explore the consequences for both employers and employees of following that guidance.

The paper statistically analyzes employment data on African Americans from one large US retailer and from the US advertising industry.

In both cases analyzed, a badly conceived business case for diversity perversely translated into discriminatory employment practices, starting with stereotype‐based segregation in work assignments and spreading to consequent inequality in other employment outcomes such as earnings and promotions. Such patterns illegally limit employment opportunities for women and race/ethnic minorities. Simultaneously, they fail to promote customer relationships and sales.

To avoid negative effects on both business and societal objectives, employers need to be guided by a business case promoting workplace inclusion, not “diversity without inclusion”, which buyer‐seller matching represents.

The business case for diversity is often considered unimportant “boilerplate”. This paper alerts employers to the importance of articulating, and then following, a correct business case.

This study aims to analyze the effect of institutional dimensions and corporate reputation (CR) on the performance of Latin American companies using a study framework built on institutional theory.

The authors used a panel data analysis of 45 companies from the 6 biggest economies in Latin America for 5 years.

The authors found a positive effect between institutional independence and transparency perception, certifications, social norms, chief executive officer (CEO) international experience, board of directors' networks and CR with international performance (IP) and a negative effect between property rights protection and the perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with performance.

The uniqueness of this paper is based on the analysis of institutional and reputational variables on the IP of firms from emerging markets.

Este estudio busca analizar el efecto de las dimensiones institucionales y la reputación corporativa en el desempeño internacional de las compañías latinoamericanas, desde una perspectiva de la teoría institucional.

Los autores usan un análisis de datos de panel de cuarenta y cinco compañías provenientes de las seis economías más grandes de Latinoamérica, durante cinco años.

Se encontró un efecto positivo entre la interdependencia y la transparencia institucional, certificaciones internacionales, normas sociales, experiencia internacional del gerente, las redes de la junta directiva y la reputación corporativa con el desempeño internacional. Así mismo, se encontró un efecto negative entre la protección a la propiedad intelectual y la percepción de responsabilidad social con el desempeño.

La excepcionalidad de este artículo se basa en el análisis de variables institucional y reputacionales en el desempeño de compañías provenientes de mercados emergentes.

The purpose of this study is to compare the communication practices of Chinese and US companies on YouTube and explores the effectiveness of different communication strategies at the topic level.

The author selected 22 Chinese companies and 22 US firms and compared the content of their English language corporate YouTube channels through content analysis, sentiment analysis and cluster analysis.

The results revealed that the three communication strategies (information, response and involvement) in general were not significantly different regarding their engagement rates, but they generated different comment scores when communicating topics of corporate social responsibility. The results also showed that Chinese companies were more likely than American firms to display the speeches of corporate leaders, use collectivistic references and present human interest messages in YouTube videos.

This study sheds light on how national institutional environment shapes corporate communication on YouTube.

This study challenges the infatuation with the involvement strategy and offers some advice for practitioners on topic selection and user comment function management.

This study makes a novel contribution to the literature of corporate communication on YouTube by adopting a cross-national comparative approach. A conceptual framework of major factors influencing stakeholder responses on YouTube was presented.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2023-0061

Issues of diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of public discourse and policy initiatives. Media and product lines have recently faced scrutiny for not being inclusive of difference. We conducted a content analysis of books intended for the tween (ages 8–12) girl. More specifically, these books were from the preeminent tween girl company, American Girl. A company perhaps best known for their line of dolls and historical fiction books, American Girl also publishes advice books with the intention of addressing a range of topics pertinent to the tween girl. Since the company strives to appeal to all girls, the authors analyzed these advice books for images and messages of racial, religious, ability, and sexuality difference in an effort to identify who American Girl’s American girl truly is. The findings of this chapter revealed an overall lack of diversity in the American Girl advice books in not only images but also messages. Images of White girls were more common than those of non-White girls, and any representation of religious, ability, or sexuality difference was minimal. Analysis of the content of the messages also revealed few mentions of difference, and categorization of the books suggested an emphasis on relationships with other people and bodies/appearance as important. It is apparent from this analysis that American Girl’s American girl is White, able-bodied, religiously ambiguous (though presumably Christian), and heterosexual. The need for American Girl to be fully inclusive of diversity across all their product lines is apparent.

With the investigation of the US stock market response to the Volkswagen Dieselgate, this paper aims to empirically demonstrate a case of dissemination of corporate scandals and events through industries and supply chains (i.e. inertial effect).

Individual event studies were conducted in the analysis of the market value fluctuations of 33 companies of the American automotive industry upon the disclosure of the scandal.

Results show that the fraud held by the German automaker spread to surrounding companies within the industry and supply chain levels of analysis, contaminating market values and costing around 6.44 billion dollars to American firms.

Building on the efficient market hypothesis and on the literature on supply chain management, empirical evidences support the conceptualization of the inertial effect as a valid rationale to address the dissemination of events through companies not directly involved. In that sense, the study contributes to an emerging and promising research field within the supply chain management literature. Beyond that, its interdisciplinary approach may inspire future research in the applicability of the event study methodology in similar contexts, as well as of alternative forms to empirically test other theoretical constructs.

Major concern over monopolies and trusts was one of the distinguishing marks of the American Economic Association from its foundation and lasted well into the early 1900s (Coats, 1960). The failed merger attempt of the Northern Securities Company and the subsequent panic of 1902–1903, the 1907 financial crisis and its aftermath, as well as the ostensibly illegal financial practices of many conglomerates, all contributed to keep the trusts issue alive on academic circles. But it was only after the 1911 Court decisions that the debate on the trust problem and the necessary measures to amend the existing antitrust legislation acquired new vigor and incisiveness.³

This piece is a republished autobiography of Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.

Chandler reflects on his life and career as a management historian.

Chandler reflects on his life and career, in particular how he came to write Strategy and Structure and its impact on him as a historian. He also discusses his life at Harvard Business School, the editing of the Roosevelt letters, and the writing of The Visible Hand.

This is excellent background material for the other papers in the issue, as well as a valuable personal insight into Chandler's own thinking.

This study empirically identifies three strategies for creating shareholder value for firms who venture into Emerging markets (EMs) in search of corporate growth and profitability.

To uncover these value creating strategies, we apply Cluster analysis techniques, analysis of variance as well as survey several qualitative case-studies of firms who have entered EMs worldwide.

Our findings demonstrate how firms can – and do – tap into the potential that EMs offer, despite the inherent riskiness of these markets and/or constraints on corporate resources. Statistically, no single shareholder value creating strategy is more (or less) remunerative than other strategies. Many equally profitable trajectories coexist vis-à-vis corporate growth in EMs.

Our findings are based on stock-markets’ expectations of firm performance; these expectations may not correspond to the actual future firm performance.

The principles we have isolated have a broad appeal because they identify variety of paths that facilitate shareholder value creation via participation in EMs. We expose the inner workings of these trajectories and illustrate particular firm-specific and location-specific combinations associated with profitable EM ventures.

This study seriously challenges the conventional view that value creation is a function of singular positive influences. On the contrary, this study establishes that value creation is multi-dimensional and submits that a more refined way to augment performance is to develop an ability to combine relevant firm-specific and location-specific factors so that they can, if needed, offset the impositions of each other.