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The potential benefits of globalization – seen as progressive worldwide economic integration – have been touted by many economists, government officials and journalists, but the obstacles to its acceptance are seldom assessed against its putative advantages. Some opposing observers, protest groups and a few governments have warned about the inequities and burdens of globalization. However, few have focused on the multiple obstacles to, or on the necessary policies and attitudes for, successful moves to globalization. International Business researchers need to encompass the multiple aspects in the political, social and cultural realms that are affected by, and involved in, the process of globalization and require acceptable treatment. A fundamental reconciliation is required between socio-economic systems based on relationships and those based primarily on market signals in order to reduce conflicts and achieve the necessary community of interests.

This articles provides a managerial framework to examine and analyse factors that may influence government decision making in less developed countries. In order to market successfully to these buyers, a series of hurdles has to be cleared. These include meeting eligibility, following procedures, establishing critical linkages, developing competitive offers and exerting appropriate influence. International firms can enhance their success and profits by taking a serious, long‐term approach to these markets.

Multinationals operate in a setting where the rules of the game are ambiguous, contradictory, and subject to rapid change. The consequences of such conflict for the firm can be serious, ranging from nationalization and expropriation to increased operating costs and losses of market share, managerial control, and valuable executive time. Here are five ways of coping management may try.

Much attention in the field of international marketing has recently been focused on the need for adaptation of strategies to new environments. One aspect of this is the extent to which products and promotion require adaptation for success in foreign markets. Writers have advanced various guidelines as to when products and promotion strategies should be standardised versus adapted. Most of the literature on this topic is in reference to the operations of U.S. firms overseas, and few broadly based empirical studies are available to substantiate the theorising. We are given many individual examples, mostly of foreign marketing failures, with too little systematic analysis.

Online bibliographic searching is offered as a solution for classifying the proliferating and diverse research prevalent in the field of international business. Introductory comments discuss the rationale for such action while guidelines are set forth that describe the methodological elements such as the categories of terminology, database selection and search strategy. Included too are suggestions for alternative methods of conducting a bibliographic search on the topic.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

International business (IB) emerged in the 1950s and 1960s when cross-border business was expanding rapidly. This expansion came to an abrupt halt in the 1970s, when global economic growth stagnated and a series of crises and challenges raised for IB scholars the same question confronting us today: whether the contemporary crises marked a temporary interruption to the increasing global economic integration of the post-World War II era or a major turning point toward a more fragmented world. Reflecting back on how the IB field responded to this earlier era of disruption can provide some useful guidance for IB scholars today, especially in terms of the value of detailed sector-specific case studies, closer interaction with researchers in the social sciences, and a renewed focus on MNCs as actors engaged in shaping the multiple environments in which they operate.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

This chapter complements the one that appeared as “History of the AIB Fellows: 1975–2008” in Volume 14 of this series (International Business Scholarship: AIB Fellows on the First 50 Years and Beyond, Jean J. Boddewyn, Editor). It traces what happened under the deanship of Alan Rugman (2011–2014) who took many initiatives reported here while his death in July 2014 generated trenchant, funny, and loving comments from more than half of the AIB Fellows. The lives and contributions of many other major international business scholars who passed away from 2008 to 2014 are also evoked here: Endel Kolde, Lee Nehrt, Howard Perlmutter, Stefan Robock, John Ryans, Vern Terpstra, and Daniel Van Den Bulcke.