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Enterprise sustainability is the capacity to create and maintain social, economic, and environmental benefits. While sustainability connotes survival, excellence is the capacity to thrive across critical performance domains. Enter resilience and robustness. Resilience is enterprise ability to self-renew through innovation, changing and reinventing itself by adapting its responses to political, social, economic and other competitive shocks or challenges. Robustness is enterprise resistance or immunity gained through strategies, policies, partnerships, and practices that maintain or advance competitive position when shocks or challenges arise. Resistance as herein constructed is a composition or blend of revival, striving, surviving and thriving. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A sustainable enterprise excellence, resilience and robustness (SEER2) model and assessment regime is proposed. SEER2 integrates excellence and sustainability principles, methodologies, and standards to optimize enterprise performance across the triple bottom line people, planet, and profit domains.

A Springboard to SEER2 model blending simplicity, applicability, and usability by a range of enterprises is introduced. Its enablers include data analytics and intelligence, human ecology, and social-ecological innovation. Springboard technology includes an assessment regime that yields actionable feedback and foresight. These inform next generation strategy, activities and performance that support identification and implementation of best and next best practices and sources of competitive advantage.

The Springboard to SEER2 enterprise self-assessment approach restricts itself to sustainability, excellence, resilience and robustness considerations.

A model integrating SEER2 in relation to strategic resistance is introduced.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence regarding the springboard regionalization strategy implemented by multinationals entering Latin America and the organizational networks developed to serve this end.

Using the organizational network approach, a typology is developed to explain the Springboard network. Quantitative analysis is used, in the form of logistic binary regression, to study these networks composition.

From a sample of 154 subsidiaries extracted from the AMADEUS intelligent database, three categories for multinational’s networks are created, with the Spanish subsidiary acting as the leader: strategic centers (SCs), administrative centers (ACs) and regional headquaters (RHQs). Findings provide evidence of cultural features, industry behavior and the multinational’s size and entry mode influence these networks organization.

It is proposed that culture and historical ties have evolved together and management scholars should be aware of this phenomenon. Specific limitation that this study exhibits is the data provided by AMADEUS and the fact that R&D information for both the Spanish and the Latin American subsidiary were not available.

Staffing composition and expatriate corporate policy should consider the springboard effect to manage springboard networks.

Industries and authorities in all countries involved should be aware of their role in MNC strategies for regional expansion.

It is argued that a network of subsidiaries within the multinational can participation in the springboard behavior, which is determined by the culture that the multinational originates from, as well as the Spanish culture, creating a particular type of leadership.

Emerging market MNEs often seek to advance their domestic competitive advantage through a springboard FDI strategy, which typically takes the form of an acquisition into a developed market (DM) for knowledge resources. We argue that if this strategy is effective and beneficial, then an emerging market parent firm would seek for higher ownership and control in its later domestic acquisitions. Such benefits would be higher if there are richer knowledge resources in a DM subsidiary or in a DM local network. Such benefits would also increase over time because of the accumulation of new knowledge back home. Using a sample of 1,303 complete domestic acquisitions made by 713 Turkish firms over the period of 1987–2013, including 196 deals involving a springboard FDI strategy, we have found highly supportive empirical evidence. It is found that holding a DM subsidiary by a Turkish parent firm is associated with 33.047% higher ownership in a later domestic acquisition. Both research and practical implications are discussed.

The aim of this study is to explore the drivers of the evolution of a subsidiary’s strategic role from an ordinary subsidiary into a springboard subsidiary in multinational corporations, paying special attention to the role of subsidiary management in this transformation.

The authors apply a case study methodology to analyse the transformation of three Spanish subsidiaries of European multinational companies into springboard subsidiaries to pursue opportunities in the Latin American region.

The results present evidence that the development of a springboard subsidiary’s role is influenced by a set of preliminary factors that include: (1) the coincidence of a favourable economic change in the target region of expansion and unfavourable market conditions in the springboard subsidiary’s home market; (2) location-specific advantages of a subsidiary that allow it to develop unique capabilities, such as the ability to reduce the psychic distance between the headquarters and target region, to balance intra-regional conflicts within the target region, and to effectively transfer knowledge from the headquarters to the target region; and (3) micro-political headquarters-subsidiary negotiation processes as a result of the subsidiary’s strong initiative, peculiarities of the structure of a multinational company, and a strong dependency of the headquarters on the subsidiary’s unique capabilities.

The study contributes to the International Business literature by providing an in-depth analysis of the evolution of springboard subsidiaries and explaining how ordinary subsidiaries located in saturated markets can trigger organisational change and achieve the extension of their strategic role.

This paper aims to present theoretical and empirical foundations for the use of a particular type of narrative skillfully deployed by senior leaders in an organization as an effective tool for creating, disseminating and executing corporate strategy.

The paper presents original research on the effectiveness of the use of a “springboard story” as a leadership tool.

Data are presented to substantiate that a “springboard story” presentation of corporate strategy and competitive advantage is more effective at producing a consistent and confident choice of competitive advantage among an audience than a presentation of corporate strategy using a PowerPoint style, bulleted list approach. Theoretical implications for leaders leading change, especially change in corporate strategy, are suggested.

The paper explores the implications for the practical use of this type of narrative in strategy implementation and execution by leaders.

To reconcile the existing contradictory conclusions on the relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and innovation, this paper aims to propose a theoretical model of the impact of cross-border M&As on technological innovation and explore the moderating role of institutional distance from the perspective of springboard theory and new institutional theory.

Through the use of the two-way fixed effect model and the U-test method, the authors test the hypotheses based on a sample of cross-border M&A events of Chinese manufacturing enterprises during the period from 2006 to 2019.

The research shows that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between cross-border M&As and technological innovation. Furthermore, formal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a smaller scale of cross-border M&As, and the inverted U-shaped relationship is steeper when formal institutional distance is relatively high. The informal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a larger scale of cross-border M&As and the inverted U-shaped relationship is flatter when the informal institutional distance is relatively high.

The research conclusions integrate heterogeneous views of the existing research, further clarify the influence mechanism and boundary conditions between cross-border M&As and technological innovation, identify the different moderating roles of formal institutional distance and informal institutional distance and enrich the literature on knowledge transfer and recombinant innovation during post-merger integration.

Enterprise activities are often harmful to the natural environment or societal fabric, yet approaches that are environmentally constructive or socially responsible can be challenging and may not be rewarded by the marketplace. Enterprises that are not sufficiently financially successful perish. The purpose of this paper is to present a model and methodology referred to as sustainable enterprise excellence, resilience and robustness (SEER2) that provides enterprises with a means of balancing financial, social, and environmental considerations. These considerations form the classic elements of the triple bottom line and are central formation of enterprise responses to climate change and social strain.

A model referred to as the Springboard to SEER2 is introduced. SEER2 explicitly considers societal and environmental performance and impacts that are driven by strategy and implemented through processes. As such criteria associated with the Springboard that address strategy, processes, performance, and impact are also introduced.

Humanity is at individual, enterprise, and societal levels partially or wholly responsible for many critical and time-sensitive social and environmental challenges. Due to their vast collective resource consumption and resource base, enterprises should also contribute to solving such challenges. The presented Springboard to SEER2 model and associated criteria provide a rigorous, yet defined path for enterprises that have the determination to confront such challenges.

This is among the first explorations of enterprise self-assessment in general and SEER2 in particular that explicitly consider strategies, processes and activities important to mitigation of climate change and social strain.

Starting from the knowledge-based view as a theoretical perspective, this study aims to examine how an emerging market multinational enterprise (EMMNE) engages in reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) processes and how such processes are managed by headquarters. Therefore, this paper captures the perspective of top management concerning RKT and the processes used to create, transfer and integrate knowledge.

The study uses a longitudinal design based on the case method of investigation. The case selected for the study was a Brazilian company theoretically sampled for being a domestically, regionally and globally important, information-rich company that operates in an industry in which technology plays a crucial role. The company was also selected for having had asset-seeking motives in at least some of its foreign market entries and for having successfully absorbed foreign-acquired capabilities.

The study provides counterfactual evidence to the springboard perspective, considering timing and speed of the internationalization and catch-up processes and the size of acquisitions. The study also highlights differences to other emerging market multinational enterprises, concerning the internationalization trajectory and catch-up moves, and to traditional MNEs, regarding RKT challenges and practices.

The main limitations of the study relate to the case study method, which does not allow for statistical generalization, although it does support analytical generalization.

The study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the process by which a Latin American multinational firm developed technological capabilities to compete globally, focusing on the symbiotic, self-nurturing relationship between internationalization processes and technology acquisition and integration processes. Moreover, the work provides novel theoretical insights regarding timing, location, size and execution of the RKT activities. Finally, the paper contributes to the understanding of the relational aspects of the RKT process by focusing on building human relationships as the major force behind knowledge integration and examining the resistance of the acquired companies from developed markets to adopt the parent company’s best practices, or to contribute to its integrated knowledge, when the parent company is an EMMNE.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This literature review paper concentrates on the range of theories that help clarify emerging market multinationals’ entry mode strategies as they expand into new international zones. The strategic lessons learned from the journeys of these companies include the influential role that institutions in their home country can play in how the company operates on foreign soil.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

This study seeks to contribute to the relatively sparse literature on how emerging market firms (EMFs) acquire firm-specific advantages (FSA), how they adjust their organizational structures, processes, HR policies, leadership and cultures in the internationalization process, and how they interact with their domestic institutional context.

We report the results of a survey sent off to the most internationalized Indian firms, measured by foreign income. Our survey includes 26 variables measuring individual aspects of organizational innovation.

Our respondents report significant changes along all 26 organizational variables over the period investigated (2003–2008). Based on self-reported assessments by top managers, our findings suggest: first, that Indian firms are rapidly transforming their organizations, second, that Indian executives are increasingly confident that they will be able to compete successfully on an international scale, and third, that Indian firms may increasingly benefit from organizational innovation complementing their low cost advantages.

First, our sample size is relatively small at 76. Second, the ratings on the organizational variables we studied are based on self-reporting. Finally, our survey especially captures developments at the largest and most international Indian companies.

With its organization-wide scope of analysis, our study may guide EMF managers looking at organizational innovation in the internationalization context.

This paper elucidates the interplay of Indian firms’ internationalization and organizational innovation.