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This study aims to investigate the drivers of political embeddedness and the possible outcome in terms of autonomy and subsidiary unique competences.

This study draws on resource dependence theory and applies structural equation modeling on a sample of 193 subsidiaries.

Political embeddedness is confirmed as a source of potential autonomy and the development of competences and is usually boosted by previous existing networks at the internal and external levels.

The authors investigate and discuss how multinational corporations can leverage political resources in host-country political arenas, extending their understanding of the interplay between political activities and market strategies.

Competitor orientation (CO) has been considered as a traditional driver of innovation performance (IP), being an important source of innovative ideas. Nevertheless, the slowness of the analytical information processing implicit in CO has been recently questioned in the literature, given the internal resistance in firms to use knowledge coming from rivals. Hence, the purpose of this study is to analyze the mediating effect of emotional capability (EC), which is believed to help overcome this barrier by improving the use of knowledge from such innovation source.

Structural equation modeling through the partial least squares method was used to test the research model with survey data from a sample of 123 firms.

Contrary to what was assumed, EC mediation is partial and CO has a very significant and direct influence on IP. Nonetheless, the fact that EC mediation accounts for 28% of the total effect of CO on IP indicates that EC plays a complementary role in terms of making the information processing on rivals more agile and intuitive, as well as reducing internal resistance.

When competitor information is analyzed and used to improve innovation outcomes, a culture where first impressions or hunches expressed by employees must be encouraged and legitimized.

The development of EC is an alternative way of maximizing the exploitation of the competition as source of innovation. Ignoring its role implies wasting a representative percentage of the benefits of information coming from this external actor, thereby missing the opportunity to capitalize on innovation results.

There has been a great interest in the literature in understanding the incidence of information technology capabilities (ITC) on innovation performance (IP). Recently, it has been proven that this relationship is mediated by organizational factors requiring an additional effort in terms of information processing in a rational and analytical manner, including strategic market orientation and absorptive capacity; however, the role of emotions in this discussion has not been widely addressed. A scenario in which emotions are inhibited, in particular, emotional capability (EC), prevents the activation of other forms of cognition relating to intuition, experience and empathy. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the mediating effect of EC on the relationship between ITC and IP.

The authors analyzed the statistical significance of the indirect effects through structural equations.

The results show the existence of partial mediation of EC. Therefore, it is evidenced that less rational constructs, such as EC, serve as a bridge between ITC and IP, on account of the improvement in information processing, the level of information technology (IT) use and virtual communication.

This finding is quite significant because it forces innovation researchers and practitioners to reconsider the prevailing study perspective that explores only analytical mediators, which implies an additional effort in terms of rational processing of information. All this because there is a risk of accentuating the cognitive overload and increasing the levels of stress that lead employees to stop receiving and using information provided by IT services, which compromises the possibility of obtaining better results in innovation.

En la literatura ha habido un gran interés por analizar la incidencia de las capacidades de tecnologías de información (CTI) en el desempeño innovador (DI). Recientemente ha quedado claro que esta relación está mediada por factores organizacionales que implican un esfuerzo adicional en términos de procesamiento racional y analítico de información, entre ellos, la orientación estratégica al mercado y la capacidad de absorción. Sin embargo, el papel de las emociones en esta discusión no ha sido considerado. Un escenario en el que la capacidad emocional (CE) no está siendo considerada supone la no activación de otras formas de cognición relacionadas con la intuición, la experiencia y la empatía. Por lo tanto, el propósito de este artículo es analizar el efecto mediador de CE en la relación entre CTI y DI.

Se analizó la significancia estadística de los efectos indirectos mediante ecuaciones estructurales

Los resultados muestran la existencia de una mediación parcial de CE. Por lo tanto, queda evidenciado que constructos menos racionales como la capacidad emocional sirven como un puente entre CTI y el DI, por cuenta de la mejora en el procesamiento de la información, el nivel de uso de tecnologías de la información y la comunicación virtual.

Este hallazgo es bastante interesante dado que obliga a los investigadores y profesionales dedicados a la innovación a reconsiderar la perspectiva de estudio hegemónica que explora únicamente mediadores analíticos, lo cual implica un esfuerzo adicional en términos de procesamiento racional de la información. De este modo, se maximiza el riesgo de acentuar la sobrecarga cognitiva e incrementar los niveles de estrés que llevan a los empleados a dejar de recibir y utilizar la información proveniente de los servicios de TI, lo que compromete la posibilidad de obtener mejores resultados en innovación.

Transformación digital, Procesamiento de información, Pensamiento intuitivo y analítico, Innovación digital, Inteligencia emocional, COVID-19

Trabajo de investigación

Tem havido um grande interesse, na literatura, em compreender a incidência das capacidades das tecnologias da informação (CTI) no desempenho da inovação (DI). Recentemente, ficou comprovado que esta relação é mediada por fatores organizacionais que demandam um esforço adicional em termos de processamento da informação de uma forma racional e analítica, incluindo a orientação estratégica do mercado e a capacidade de absorção. Contudo, o papel das emoções nesta discussão não tem sido amplamente abordado. Um cenário em que as emoções são inibidas, em particular, a capacidade emocional (CE), impede a ativação de outras formas de cognição relacionadas com a intuição, a experiência e a empatia. Portanto, o objetivo do documento é analisar o efeito mediador da capacidade emocional na relação entre a CTI e a DI.

Analisámos o significado estatístico dos efeitos indiretos através de equações estruturais.

Os resultados mostram a existência de uma mediação parcial da CE. Portanto, é evidenciado que construções menos racionais como a CE servem de ponte entre o CTI e a DI, devido à melhoria do processamento da informação, do nível de utilização das TI e da comunicação virtual.

Esta descoberta é bastante significativa porque obriga os investigadores e profissionais da inovação a reconsiderarem a perspectiva de estudo predominante que explora apenas os mediadores analíticos, o que implica um esforço adicional em termos de processamento racional da informação. Tudo isto porque existe o risco de acentuar a sobrecarga cognitiva e aumentar os níveis de estresse que levam os funcionários a deixarem de receber e utilizar a informação fornecida pelos serviços de TI, o que compromete a possibilidade de obter melhores resultados na inovação.

Transformação digital, Processamento da informação, Pensamento intuitivo e analítico, Inovação digital, Inteligência emocional, COVID-19

Artigo de pesquisa

This paper analyzes the available literature on export spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) and their effects on domestic firms’ export activities. The purpose of this paper is to advance our knowledge of whether export spillovers from FDI exist, and if so if they differ according to the institutional context of the targeted markets (developed vs emerging markets).

Drawing from the pioneering work of Aitken et al. (1997), the authors develop a meta-analysis using a selection of 73 studies for the period 1997–2018, including a wide range of developed and emerging markets.

The meta-analysis confirms a high probability of finding positive effects when studying the different types of spillovers. The authors also show that the type of export spillover depends on the institutional context. Spillovers drive a complementary effect which generates more direct commercial links between domestic firms and foreign multinationals for advanced economies, whereas for emerging markets the nature of the spillover generates a competition/imitation effect that pressures domestic firms to be better inserted into foreign markets. In emerging markets, local governments play a fundamental role in accompanying the local industry, not only with investments in infrastructure and training of human capital but also in the configuration of an institutional environment that favors this type of indirect linkages. In developed countries, two business strategies are particularly important as catalytic axes of competitive upgrading at the international level: cooperation agreements between domestic and foreign firms and integration. These processes of concentration are necessary to compete globally, and therefore, governments should promote this type of strategies.

The study offers an original classification of the different types of spillovers based on the different channels through which MNE help local firms to improve their export performance and shows which specific spillover is associated with the different level of country development. These results have important implications in terms of theory development and managerial and policy implications.

The aim of this chapter is to examine the profile of high-performing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Traditional Manufacturing Sectors (TMSs). The authors main contribution is to provide recommendations and benchmarks for prescribing a more robust model of internationalisation in these industries by specifying the types of internationalisation and innovation that better reinforce competitiveness. Our results, based on a sample of 132 SMEs, show that high-performing SMEs make more intense use of advanced operation modes that imply a closer interaction with the host country to access knowledge diversity, skills and work available in those markets. Moreover, compared to low-performing SMEs, and independently of their size and experience, these firms use a wide set of networking and marketing capabilities and develop innovations based on organisational changes that help to create new business models. After a number of years of forced adjustment and adaptation to a globalised context, the new model of high-performing SME in TMS could help to improve the global positioning of these firms in the long term.

Purpose – In accordance to the globalized and competitive environment, traditional manufacturing sectors’ companies are being particularly forced to reshape their global strategy and reconfigurate their activities to survive. Due to the fact that these firms present special characteristics that make the change extremely difficult, this chapter tries to analyze the influence of managerial attitudes and characteristics on the decision of their international strategy.

Methodology/approach – The study was carried out in Spanish traditional manufacturing sectors through a questionnaire, obtaining a final sample of 115 SMEs. We performed a cluster analyses to classify groups of companies, innovative and rigid, and assessed their different perceptions and characteristics.

Findings – Our results show that the adoption of these new models of internationalization is indeed related to the attitude and characteristics of managers. We found that more innovative strategies are associated with managers with intermediate experience in business, higher education levels, and a more realistic perception of the severity of the situation, the influence of the environment, and its strategic capabilities.

Practical implications – This chapter evidences that there are still important internal barriers affecting the international competitiveness of these companies. We propose that more traditional strategies of internationalization in the manufacturing sectors should move toward more complex models that combine the advantages of the cooperation, multilocation, diversification, and integration of those key activities of the value chain. Therefore, we display the critical role of managers’ profile in this process.

Originality/value of the chapter – Despite the fact that many works have analyzed the determinants of strategic change, we offer a wider view considering the essential role of managers, by combining demographic and perception variables. Furthermore, we based this idea on the theoretical perspective known as managerial cognition; therefore, we give new explanatory factors on the decision of the international strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to address foreign market entry mode as a way to enhance firm’s knowledge base, providing new insights into traditional explanations of entry mode choice for soft services. The authors offer an alternative knowledge-based approach to assess foreign investment decisions by considering the role of resource-augmenting (direct investment) and resource-exploiting strategies (licenses). In addition, the authors untie the type of experiential knowledge, i.e., host country and mode experience, to analyze its interactions with environmental uncertainties such as cultural distance.

Based on a customized database of the Spanish Global Hotel industry covering practically all foreign entries until 2012, the authors use regression analysis to test the proposal.

The authors demonstrate how in hotel chains (a) cultural distance influences the use of high resource-augmenting modes, due to both the difficulties in transferring the knowledge to third parties but also the imperative need of learning from local markets and (b) how strong brands tend to use resource-augmenting modes in their first steps abroad as a strategy to achieve a minimum level of resource basis to exploit it in a later stage.

The findings question the appropriateness of prior assumptions from traditional internationalization process theories for soft services MNE and provide an alternative approach to assess entry mode choice in this context.