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The apparent success of emerging market multinational (EMNE) operations in the Global South has led some to launch a claim of competitive advantage in investing in markets with higher institutional risk. However, there has not been sufficient econometric investigation into all the forces driving South-South foreign direct investment (FDI). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the claim of institutional advantage and to further our understanding of South-South FDI.

The paper employs a simple econometric model of FDI flows to investigate the differences between the factors driving FDI from developed country MNEs and EMNEs. The model is tested on a bilateral sample of FDI stock data of 21 developed and 22 emerging source economies and over 80 host countries.

Contrary to the contention of the previous literature, the empirical results find little support for the claim to EMNE institutional advantage. EMNEs are just as sensitive to institutional risk as MNEs. The relatively higher participation of EMNE FDI in the Global South may be explained by other shared similarity factors across developing markets and competitive disadvantages in entering developed markets.

The findings of this paper cast some doubts on the hope that EMNEs will improve the FDI demands of least developed countries (LDCs). Healthy institutions are an important prerequisite for attracting FDI, regardless of whether it originates from developed or emerging economies.

This paper delineates some basic trends and patterns of European foreign equity venture formations in Turkey over the 1996‐2003 period.

Drawing on a Turkish Government database, key statistics on European equity venture formations in Turkey are examined across several dimensions: trends in FDI over time, country of origin of investment, sector of investment, size of investment, geographical location and foreign equity shareholding.

A structured analysis of the dataset and government statistical publications makes it possible to ascertain patterns with respect to FDI dimensions. FDI operations in Turkey are dominated mainly by European and US MNEs. The analyses also revealed that new FDI operations have changed the structural composition of overall FDI activity in Turkey. Another finding is that European equity venture formations tend to be located in the concentrated industries and also in the relatively fast growing industries. It is shown that there exist some differences among European investors when they are classified by country of origin. There are also locational differences by sector, entry date and country of origin. It appears that as European investors gain experience of the host country market, their entry mode may change over time.

While the findings cast further light on the nature and pattern of European FDI activity in Turkey, it would be particularly useful in future research to investigate the core dimensions of the activity recorded in the dataset reported on here, in terms of motives for a particular mode of entry, forms of management control and performance outcomes by means of primary data collection from the parents and management of European equity ventures. The examined relationships set out in the present study are essentially univariate, so they cannot gauge which of the dimensions are likely to be more important in identifying trend and patterns of European FDI in Turkey, which constitutes a limitation of the survey.

These findings cast new light on the nature and pattern of European FDI activity in Turkey where there is a paucity of systematic information.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the competing and overlapping discourses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Egypt, a setting with a serious knowledge gap on CSR.

This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with key players in the field of CSR in Egypt conducted in the fall of 2013 and early 2014. Informants included in this study were CSR staff members at major multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Egypt, key partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the field of CSR, media and public relations agents that are partners with MNEs in launching CSR media campaigns about CSR activities.

The paper identifies three themes in the discourse on CSR among some of the key field players including CSR practitioners at MNEs, NGOs and media specialists. First, CSR is seen as a western version of a long standing philanthropic tradition, that is rooted in religion. The comparison between CSR and indigenous religious practices discredits CSR as a vulgarized form of giving that seeks to take more than give. Second, the surmount challenges of poverty and unemployment place heightened expectations on CSR to seriously address these challenges. It is in view of these challenges that CSR is accused of doing “bad” development, which is the third theme identified in the data.

There is a dearth of research on CSR in Egypt, which largely remains a setting less explored in terms of CSR. This paper problematizes the connection between CSR and development. It also highlights the importance of studying CSR in different contexts.

The findings in this paper are relevant for the design of CSR programs in contexts of countries in the south.

CSR is a normative practice, understanding the views of its practitioners and criticisms of the field is central to its development and maturity.

Paper builds on original data collected by the authors. It addresses a lacuna of research on CSR in the Middle East region, particularly Egypt.

This article aims to investigate how country location, as a source of country‐specific advantage (CSA), and product innovation, as a source of firm‐specific advantage (FSA), influence the international expansion of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their growth to become multinational enterprises (MNEs). It also aims to confirm internalization theory by testing the applicability of an extant concept, the FSA/CSA framework for the international expansion of SMEs. Developed and empirically validated largely in the context of the MNE, this paper seeks to show how the framework can be applied in the context of SMEs that develop into MNEs.

A qualitative approach is employed within a single industry setting using multiple cases. Propositions are formulated to explain the theorized relationships between innovation and the growth of SMEs in a sector which depends heavily on specific CSAs. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews and archival data, and are analyzed in data displays, tables and matrices.

The article finds that location of the industry cases as a source of CSAs, and product innovation as a source of FSAs, are highly relevant for growing New Zealand SMEs into MNEs. The study applies internalization theory to the growth strategies of SMEs.

This research combines extant theory and a specific context in order to analyze phenomena through a distinct conceptual lens. It confirms the CSA/FSA framework by applying it in a new empirical context. It can inform decision‐makers in growing SMEs on the strategic and international implications of firm and location advantages.

Immigrant groups often pursue entrepreneurial endeavors in their new home country. Even though both immigrant entrepreneurship and organizational identity have received scholarly attention, there has been little systematic exploration of identity strategies pursued by immigrant-owned organizations. In this article, we develop a theoretical framework that draws on the concepts of liability of foreignness and social identity theory in the context of immigrant entrepreneurship. Our framework explores how immigrant entrepreneurs may negotiate identities for their firms through the development of specific identity strategies that confirm or underplay their national/ethnic identities in order to survive in their immediate environment. We develop a model that shows how these confirmations or underplaying strategies work both for firms that have an individualistic entrepreneurial orientation, as well as those with a collective/associative entrepreneurial orientation. We also suggest two contextual moderators to this relationship: (1) the image of the founder's country of origin, and (2) the presence of immigrant networks in the host country, which may alter the effectiveness of identity strategies in terms of organizational mortality outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between entry mode and human resource management in the context of small, emerging, multinationals.

This study surveyed international personnel from Portuguese firms actively present in the Spanish market through different modes, ranging from exporting to direct investment. Usable data on 208 relevant employees from 28 firms was obtained.

Firms selecting weak entry modes tended to prefer country‐specific competences, such as knowledge of foreign languages and capacity to adapt, as well as younger personnel. By contrast, preference for stronger entry modes was significantly related to firm‐specific knowledge and higher management skills.

Successful expansion into foreign markets depends on the crucial role played by human resources. This study underscores the importance of hiring and training competent international personnel whose skills fit the selected entry modes. This may be even more important for firms that are younger, smaller and less experienced with foreign markets.

This study extends previous knowledge of the relationship between human resource requirements and the entry modes used by multinational enterprises (MNEs) when they enter foreign markets.

Discusses the extent to which American, European and Japanese pharmaceutical multinational enterprises (MNE) with subsidiaries in the Republic of Ireland have localised specific forms of R&D and contributed to technology transfer. Reports on a survey in which chief executive officers of Irish‐based MNE subsidiaries responded to mailed questionnaires. The reasons for corporate management to choose such operational strategic thrusts at business level have been highlighted with a view to focus on the degree to which Ireland is developing its pharmaceutical industrial base, as a result of attracting export‐led global pharmaceutical multinationals.

This study aims to investigate the moderating effects of subsidiary size on the association between institutional distance and subsidiary’s access to complementary local assets (ACLA) in a transition economy.

The data of 1,027 subsidiaries located in Vietnam were extracted from the survey of General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Hausman’s test shows that random effect model is appropriate to estimate the moderating effects of subsidiary size on the association between the institutional distance and subsidiary’s ACLA.

The findings revealed that the greater formal and informal institutional distances between home and host countries, the lower a subsidiary’s ACLA in a transition economy. In addition, larger subsidiaries’ ACLA in a more formal and informal institutional distant country are higher than smaller subsidiaries.

Multinational enterprise (MNEs) have a continuous need to use their foreign subsidiaries operating in host countries, particularly those with transition economies, to overcome institutional differences to ACLA in a transition economy. In addition, subsidiaries should be invested with greater resources to collaborate with local partners to serve for accessing to complementary local assets in transition economy characterized by an uncertainty institutional environment.

By integrating the institutional theory and the resource-based view, the study developed a theoretical model about the moderating role of subsidiary size on the association between institutional distance and subsidiary’s ACLA in transition economy. The findings confirmed that simultaneously applying the institutional theory and the resource-based view to investigate location-specific advantages exploitation of subsidiaries is relevant not only in developed economies but also in a transition economies.

The hallmark of today’s global value chains (GVCs), still dominated by multinationals from advanced economies, is a sophisticated international division of labor based on scale economies and prevailing factor endowment differences between countries. However, GVCs led by multinationals from large emerging economies may be configured on the basis of considerations that supplement factor cost efficiencies, namely, those of societal objectives as formulated by political actors in the home country. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of political and socio-economic factors on GVC configuration of multinational firms.

This paper provides an in-depth case study of a leading Chinese car manufacturer, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH) and its value-chain configuration, with a special focus on the acquisition of Volvo Car Corporation.

The authors show how ZGH’s configuration of its GVC, including that of acquired Volvo Car Corporation, takes place in symbiosis with political actors. The advantages and disadvantages of this symbiosis are highlighted.

The study focuses on GVC configuration of one company, ZGH, in one industry, the automotive industry, in one emerging economy. The external validity of the study may therefore be limited. Furthermore, the focus is on the geographical/locational configuration of GVCs and ignores the ownership aspects.

The paper provides novel empirical evidence to better understand GVC configuration of multinational firms from emerging economies.