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This research aims to provide a new perspective on the evolving linkages between LAs and FSAs in the context of the technology-based manufacturing industry. Firm-level competitive strengths in an international context build upon the combination of (largely) exogenous location advantages (LAs) and endogenous firm-specific advantages (FSAs). The authors focus especially on the decay of LAs over time, which has been observed in many highly developed countries during the past decades. The authors show how the strengthening of FSAs can substitute for decaying LAs, thereby safeguarding against the demise of entire industrial regions.

The authors examine the technology-based manufacturing industry in Belgium, building upon an analysis of survey responses by 66 firms including a subgroup of 26 multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries. The professional association representing this industry in Belgium (Agoria) viewed the firms included in the survey as representative for Belgian technology-based manufacturing in terms of the LAs they presently build upon (or location disadvantages they face) and the internal strengths they command relative to (foreign) rivals. The investigation uncovered the decay of critical LAs in Belgium and in parallel, the rise of ‘compensating’ FSAs of Belgian operations relative to foreign firms, including, especially, MNE sister subsidiaries in other countries. The authors also conducted 23 in-depth interviews with senior level managers (CEOs and senior vice presidents) of technology-based firms, including 10 subsidiaries of foreign-owned MNEs, which validated our analysis of the interplay between LAs and FSAs.

The findings reveal that since inception, Belgian manufacturing operations experienced an overall decay in their critical LAs by 23% on average. Despite this, several Belgian subsidiaries of foreign MNEs consider themselves as commanding a resource-base superior to that of the next-best-in-class subsidiaries. Furthermore, when assessing the dynamic interplay between LAs and FSAs, there is some evidence that the decay of LAs fueled the quest for – and firm-level journey toward – stronger FSAs.

The originality of this study is the alternative perspective to the conventionally assumed “positive-positive” relationship between LAs and FSAs. Prior management research has not examined the impact of decaying LAs on new FSA-creation in the realm of technology-based manufacturing.

The present study aims to provide a roadmap for meeting the carbon-free, green energy production target within the stipulated period while also considering climate targets through a sustainable auctioning scheme.

The research outlines the opportunity to design auctions based on qualitative research, the impact of auctions on energy costs and thus the feasibility of suggested auctioning schemes based on country-specific empirical evidence and benefits.

The conclusions show that this may result in various advantages for emerging economies relating to technology-neutral site-specific auctions if designed according to state-specific socio-economic conditions.

The planned addition to the state-of-the-art in the renewable energy (RE) field of this paper is that it intends to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The analysis has concepts for research, practice and/or community. Thus, it can serve as a primary source of literature reference for those willing to learn more about the aspects of cost related to RE.

Although emerging markets are distinctly known for the rapid growth and international expansion of their state-owned enterprises, little is known about the influence of parent resource advantages and mixed state ownership on a subsidiary’s performance. Using the resource-based view, this study aims to investigate how resource advantages from the parent company and state ownership influence the performance of subsidiaries.

This study included a unique data set of 207 subsidiaries from 33 large Brazilian multinationals located in 32 countries from 2000 to 2015. The authors used a hierarchical linear modeling and a multilevel structure based on data at different levels to analyze the influence of home-country parent resource advantages and state ownership on host-country subsidiary’s performance.

This study illustrates that state ownership can alleviate the resource advantages of parent companies. Evidence is presented, indicating that low and medium degrees of state ownership have a negative impact on the resource advantages of the parent company, consequently reducing the subsidiary’s performance. Moreover, this study highlights that low and medium degrees of state ownership lead to conflicting interests between state ownership and parent resource advantages, resulting in an overall decline in subsidiary performance.

This research contributes new evidence regarding state ownership and resource advantages to the field of international business studies and the domain of Latin American multinational enterprises, Multilatinas. The results suggest that low and medium levels of state ownership diminish the influx of resources from parent companies, thereby restricting the subsidiary’s performance.

This paper aims to examine the question, “How do firm-level, home-country and host-country environmental performance (EP) affect the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs)?”

The authors examine the relationships between EP and OFDI propensity and between EP and OFDI intensity using a sample of 359 Chinese firms in industries with a significant environmental footprint between 2009 and 2019 (2,002 firm-year observations) and a Heckman two-stage model.

This study shows that the propensity for OFDI by Chinese MNEs is significantly and positively related to the firm’s prior EP and the country-level EP of China. However, the amount of FDI invested is significantly and positively related to the firm’s prior EP and negatively related to the EP of the host country.

The findings suggest that FDI in a country by an MNE is determined by a combination of firm-level EP, home-country EP and host-country EP. This study finds that the decision to undertake FDI (propensity) and the decision about how much to invest (intensity) are determined by different factors. The propensity for FDI is determined by the home-country EP and firm-level EP. However, the intensity of FDI is determined by a combination of the host country EP and firm-level EP. A limitation is that this study only examines MNEs in China, so the findings may not apply to other countries.

This paper shows that MNEs’ EP is positively related to the propensity and intensity of their OFDI decisions. However, this paper shows that the home-country and host-country EP may also play an important role in determining the propensity or intensity of OFDI.

The changing roles of the United Nations (UN) and national institutions have made addressing climate change a critical concern for many multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) survival and growth. This chapter discusses how such institutions, which vary in their nature and characteristics, shape firm strategies for climate change adaptation. Exploring different versions of institutional theory, the chapter demonstrates how and why institutional characteristics affect typical patterns of firm ownership, governance, and capabilities. These, in turn, influence companies’ internationalisation and climate-change strategies. Climate change poses challenges to how we understand firms’ strategic decisions from both an international business (IB) (HQ–subsidiary relations) and global value chains (GVC) (buyer–supplier relations) perspective. However, climate change also provides opportunities for companies to gain competitive advantages – if firms can reconfigure and adapt faster than their competitors. Existing IB and GVC research tends to downplay the importance of climate change strategies and the ways in which coherent or dysfunctional institutions affect firms’ reconfiguration and adaptation strategies in a globally dispersed network of value creation. This chapter presents a perspective on the institutional conditions that affect firms’ climate change strategies regarding ownership, location, and internalisation (OLI), and GVCs, with ‘investment’ and ‘emerging standards’ playing a significant role. The authors illustrate the discussion using several examples from the Global South (i.e. Bangladesh) and the Global North (i.e. Denmark, Sweden, and Germany) with a special emphasis on the garment industry. The aim is to encourage future research to examine how a ‘business systems’, or varieties of capitalism, institutional perspective can complement the analysis of sustainability and climate change strategies in IB and GVC studies.

This paper aims to investigate the divestment behavior of emerging market multinationals from Latin America – multilatinas – by examining how their foreign market entry decision impacts the likelihood of subsidiary divestment.

The hypotheses are tested using Cox’s proportional hazard rate model in a longitudinal database of Brazilian multinational companies established in 43 countries.

Results indicate that these subsidiaries can thrive in environments that bear similarities to their home country, being less likely to divest in institutionally weak countries. Contrary to developed country multinationals, these firms benefit from foreign entry decisions that entail handling partnerships abroad; thus, wholly-owned greenfield (WOGF) investments have a higher likelihood of being divested.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze foreign divestment from multilatinas, accounting for how entry mode strategy and host country institutions may impact these firms’ de-internationalization.

We wanted to find out how infant multinationals originating from Poland enact opportunities in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

We conducted a comparative case study of four Polish firms operating in SSA.

We found that when entering SSA, studied firms employed effectual decision-making logic. Thus, their internationalization was means-driven, serendipitous, partnership-oriented, based on the “affordable loss” principle and focused on shaping opportunities in SSA, rather than predicting, analyzing and planning any firm-specific assets or capabilities.

We illuminated the nature of the means employed in effectual internationalization and the role of partners (“effectual stakeholders”) in this process. Thus, we contribute to a deeper understanding of how infant multinationals navigate extreme uncertainty in the emerging SSA markets.

Research studies on offshoring and reshoring have predominantly focused on the home company, widely ignoring the offshored company in the host country. The host company's influence and contribution have been unseen. This research explores how the host company responds to the home company's location decisions to maintain the dyadic relationship.

An exploratory case study in China was conducted to examine the host company's response to reshoring. The case company has two Japanese parent companies that acted for the emergence of reshoring drivers. Primary and secondary data were collected and analysed through thematic analysis. The host company's response strategies to the home company's relocation decisions were identified and explored.

The findings reveal that four strategies, identified here as being cost control, market expansion, knowledge seeking and relationship bonding, were implemented by the host company. The importance of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and knowledge transfer is also emphasised within these strategies.

This research identified active and practical strategies conducted by the host company to maintain a cooperative relationship with the home company(ies). Instead of encountering a passive response from the host company, the home company may consider working with the host to overcome difficulties caused by emerging reshoring drivers and create an outcome beneficial to both.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research to study manufacturing reshoring from the perspective of the host company. It provides a new perspective to understanding this phenomenon.

According to the 2019 World Investment Report, recent events in deglobalization have made many countries, especially developed markets, resist inward foreign direct investment (FDI) as ceding control to foreign countries. At the same time, many emerging market firms (EMFs) have been increasing their acquisitions in developed markets. The authors elaborate three unconventional motives that justify such acquisitions, and test whether conditions in home countries related to these motives predict the pursuit of greater or lesser equity control. Understanding how home country conditions may spur seeking greater equity control can help policymakers and business firm decision-makers improve these dynamics.

Examining data covering the period 2006–2018, the authors test hypotheses using a sample of 4,130 acquisitions by EMFs into developed markets, and test hypotheses to investigate “How does the institutional and resource environment of an EMF's home country relate to the respective EMF acquisition behavior of seeking equity control?”

The authors found that higher institutional quality, poorer factor market development, and higher capital market quality in the home country are related to higher equity positions sought.

Acquiring and target firm managers, along with other stakeholders, can gain insights on how to respond to acquisition opportunities by recognizing how home country conditions influence emerging market internationalizing behaviors into developed markets.

The compilation of this data uniquely covers 48 different emerging markets and further concentrates on the relatively less understood pre-deal phase for EMNEs entering developed markets.

Even though sustainability appears to be a relevant driver for the relocation of production, this has only to a limited extent been studied as an independent motive or a result of backshoring. This study explores the literature on backshoring and sustainability and discusses some empirical cases to shed light on the connection between sustainability and backshoring. This study argues that sustainability issues may require a broader perspective than the dominant economic logic framing previous studies on backshoring. Institutional theory is suggested as a theoretical framework for analyzing how sustainability can play a role in companies’ backshoring decisions.