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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on analysing how foreign entry by a multinational enterprise (MNE) can act as a catalyst for change in field-level institutional logics in a transition economy context.

The paper presents an empirical single-case study on the effects of an MNE’s entry on a particular industry in an emerging market’s context. The empirical study follows abductive reasoning; based on the interplay of previous literature and empirical observations, it identifies mechanism through which MNEs can catalyse change in field-level institutional logics.

The study shows that in addition to general market transition influenced by state-level policies, individual companies’ strategies, actions and market behaviour also significantly contribute to the development of a host industry’s field-level institutional logics. More precisely, a case study of a Finnish MNE’s entry into the Russian bakery market identifies the mechanisms and various change pathways through which the entry of a single MNE into a transition economy can significantly alter the institutional logics of a particular industry.

The study employs a novel perspective that incorporates the ideas, concepts and insights of an institutional logics perspective to MNE entry research for empirical analysis and theory building.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between R&D internationalization and finance decisions by providing survey evidence on the funding sources of R&D in light of recent perceptions of MNEs' decentralized knowledge-related competitiveness.

The study draws upon a survey of 83 decentralized R&D units located in countries outside the EU core of mature economies. Funding sources are classified as MNE-internal and external. Using simulation-based models, six ordered probit regression models were run with each funding source forming the dependent variable.

There are three significant findings. First, decentralized R&D funding relies mainly on MNE-internal sources. Second, decentralized R&D funding patterns reflect on the interdependencies within an overall MNE R&D strategy that is articulated through varied laboratory roles. Third, while the strategy-finance interaction is confirmed, the prevalence of parent funding is challenged. Instead, evidence recorded here suggests support for the decentralized, “subsidiary-focused” perspective that has recently regained a considerable momentum in the literature.

Notwithstanding that this study reinforces the interaction between strategic decisions and funding patterns, more work is required to identify the effects of other aspects of strategy on the funding sources of decentralized R&D activity. However, it is seemingly the first study that investigates MNEs' R&D financial decisions in economies outside the EU core, incorporating also a wide array of external funding sources.

Funding choices for decentralized R&D labs should be contingent upon their unique contribution to the competitive evolution of the MNE group. Further, R&D activity seems to leverage the autonomy of subsidiary managers.

This research is one of the very few empirical studies providing evidence on the funding sources of decentralized R&D laboratories, and suggests possible predictors that have not been put forward hitherto.

The purpose of this paper is to study the spillover effects of marketing expertise on the market performance of domestic firms and multinational enterprises (MNEs). Specifically, this study examines how the adoption of frequency loyalty programs by a domestic firm following an MNE affects the competitive dynamics and the market performance of both firms in a Chinese retail gasoline market.

This study is based on empirical data that were obtained from a quasi-field experiment in which the MNE entered the market with a frequency loyalty program and the domestic firm later responded with a similar loyalty program. The authors measured the impact of the adoption of a frequency loyalty program by the domestic firm on the market performance of both the domestic firm and the MNE.

The authors find that the domestic firm’s adoption of a similar loyalty program significantly increased its market share in the regular gasoline market. The domestic firm’s adoption of a loyalty program also increased the market performance of the MNE in the premium gasoline market.

This study explicitly demonstrates the spillover benefits through demonstration effects and provides empirical evidence on specific spillover benefits to domestic firms and MNEs based on their competencies in distinct market segments where they compete.

Going back into previously exited markets is a significant management risk. But, how are re-entry risks managed? By adding strategic reference point (SRP) rationales to the risk management literature, this chapter examines re-entry after initial entry and divestment on a sample of 654 multinational enterprise (MNE) re-entrants. The authors move away from narrow risk management lenses according to which risks happen in isolation and theorize that MNEs simultaneously manage international risk by exploiting the trade-offs among external and internal sources of risk. The authors explain that, for re-entrants, exit may become the SRP for evaluating future strategic choices. The results suggest that re-entrants tend to manage re-entry risk by choosing partner-based modes that enable them to maintain strategic flexibility at re-entry. Surprisingly perhaps, market-specific experience acquired during the initial market foray does not provide strategic flexibility, in that highly experienced firms still experience risk trade-offs.

The purpose of the study is to develop an understanding of the interplay between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and informal institutions on a firm–industry level. “Interplay” here means how responses to institutions develop in a particular context and how this development is interrelated with stakeholders’ reactions and activities. To study this interplay between MNEs and informal institutions, the authors draw on literature on institutional complexity, as well as on a co-evolutionary perspective. Two case vignettes are presented on MNEs’ post-entry strategies and behaviors in their new host markets, with a view to understanding how and under what conditions informal institutions in the host market may compel MNEs to alter their initial strategies and behaviors in the market and, on the other hand, how and under what conditions MNEs’ strategies and behaviors may act as catalysts of change in these informal institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for inclusion of evasive foreign direct investment (FDI) into search-based motivation typologies in international business.

Critically reassessing academic literature and using anecdotal evidence, the authors augment the theory of FDI motivation with the concept of evasion.

Evasive FDI is a firm-level response to denial-of-privilege by a state. Divergence of policy environments between home and host prompts relocation or international expansion of productive assets and often the affectation of ‘foreignness’ by the multinational enterprise (MNE). The role of responsibility evasion via FDI is understood in the research literature, mainly because of an emphasis on search-based motives and a failure to distinguish between escape and evasion. International business research is vulnerable to mis-identification of FDI motive which consequently distorts its strategic and policy implications.

The argument for inclusion of evasive FDI serves to augment the established, yet asymmetrically focussed typology of search FDI, demonstrating that evasion is conceptually and analytically distinguishable from search. Further, an augmented typology lends accuracy and insight to research into the reconfiguration strategies of MNEs and legitimation of the international business discipline itself, providing researchers with a more comprehensive account of FDI causation and offering new research paths.

This study aims to understand the dynamics underpinning the exit and re-entry strategies adopted by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in an emerging market, Pakistan.

This study undertook an in-depth historical case study of Yamaha Motorcycles, which had initially entered Pakistan as a joint venture but had then exited and re-entered as a wholly owned subsidiary.

This study found that, despite its status as a market leader and one of the older players in the Pakistani market, changing market dynamics in the 2000s – especially the increased competition brought by more affordable (inexpensive) Chinese motorcycles and the weak enforcement of industrial policies – had pushed Yamaha Motorcycles to exit. Another factor that had contributed to its exit were differences in risk perception and strategies with its local joint venture partner (a Pakistani business group). Hence, both firm-level and institutional factors had played significant roles in Yamaha’s market exit. This study further found that re-entering in a wholly owned subsidiary operation mode had been beneficial for the firm, as it gained a significant market share due to its focus on innovation and on capturing a market niche, which had earlier not been its main focus. The findings also suggest that opportunity logics and multiple forms of learning can be important for a firm’s re-entry into a host market – such as experiential (i.e. learning from experience) and vicarious learning (i.e. learning from other organizations, including suppliers and competitors) in an emerging market context, in which institutions evolve amid political and policy uncertainty. Finally, this study found that exit and re-entry timing is an important factor for the development of competitive advantage in a host market.

This study is among the few to have investigated the exit and re-entry strategies of MNEs in emerging markets. The relatively short time during which Yamaha Motorcycles had been out of the market had benefited it on its re-entry, as the firm had been able to capitalize on its prior learning and ties to suppliers’ networks.

For the specific topic of multinationals in clusters, both regional strands and international business and management literatures address the topic from different yet intertwined perspectives. This study aims to facilitate the integration of the conversations and the distinct literatures to produce a clear understanding and conceptualization of the existent knowledge on the topic, with the aim to foster an integration of those different lines of inquiry on the topic that can advance scholarly research and improve policymaking.

Mixing a robust and longitudinal bibliometric analysis (1992-2018) and a qualitative critical review, the study disentangles sub-conversations on the topic in each literature.

The study encounters commonalities that foster cross-fertilization and blind spots that prevent integration of findings from each literature.

Both literatures need to cross-fertilize and integrate each other’s knowledge.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to integrate literatures using bibliometrics, mapping the existing knowledge on two key areas of competitiveness: clusters and multinationals.