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Introduction: Skill development is crucial in developing economies by enhancing productivity and creating employment opportunities. At the macro level, it also leads to industrial development and economic growth.

Purpose: The research is to identify the types of skills required for increasing the probability of employability of labour. It also aims to define the challenges and opportunities in skill development to drive change.

Need of the Study: Studying opportunities and challenges for skill development in developing economies is essential for achieving sustainable economic growth, reducing poverty, increasing employment opportunities, and promoting global competitiveness.

Research Methodology: Some skills are recognised through research that has been published to determine the skill set needed to increase labour productivity. To draw lessons, some skill development initiatives by various companies are also identified and presented in case studies. Additionally, several government programs are available to assess the possibilities and prospects for skill development in the Indian market.

Practical Implications: The research will be valuable in micro and macro decision making. At the micro level, research is advantageous for a business person to initiate the skill development of its employees by using government schemes. Nations other than India can understand the policy framework for skill development.

Findings: The term ‘skilling’ has become fashionable. Due to the need for skill-based earnings data, only some studies examine the return on skill (ROS) of the labour market. Skill development plays a significant role in bringing change at the micro and macro levels. Hence it is necessary to exploit all opportunities for skill development.

Business research has highlighted the importance of knowledge transfer and innovation in multinational firms for better performance outcomes. However, the existing body of literature is characterized by differentiated theories, antecedents and outcomes. This study aims to address this gap by adopting a systematic approach to analyze knowledge transfer and innovation literature from the perspective of multinational organizations.

This study follows “preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses” (PRISMA) guidelines for conducting a systematic literature review. The study adopts a systematic approach for analyzing the literature using School of thought (S), Contexts (C), Methodologies (M), Triggers (T), Barriers (B), Facilitators (F) and Outcomes (O) framework (SCM-TBFO framework) devised for holistic literature review. The study analyzes 75 articles from reputed journals from 2000 to 2022.

In general, knowledge transfer and innovation in multinationals is a relatively new area and is evolving rapidly. There are many opportunities to study the various perspectives that are included in the SCM-TBFO framework. The key schools of thought included the evolutionary theory of innovation, institutional theory and internationalization theory. The studies had differing settings or contexts, including China, Europe, the USA and Taiwan. Further, key methodologies that were used included regression, case studies, structural equation modeling (SEM) and theoretical studies. Knowledge transfer and innovation triggers included competitive advantage, competitive pressure, constant requirements for better products and services, foreign direct investment (FDI) and globalization. Knowledge transfer and innovation facilitators were categorized into strategy-related facilitators, organization culture and orientation-related facilitators, and resource-related facilitators. Knowledge transfer and innovation barriers included autonomy, international knowledge dispersion, risk of knowledge leakage, search breadth, ambiguity and institutional voids. Key outcomes of knowledge transfer and innovation in multinationals included financial performance, innovation performance, knowledge flow, transfer effectiveness, patents and new product development.

By synthesizing the literature, the study aims to provide an overview of the current state of research on knowledge transfer and innovation in multinationals. The study develops a holistic model for fostering knowledge transfer and innovation in multinationals. The proposed novel framework can also be applied to perform a holistic assessment of the current literature in various research domains. Further, the study suggests future theory development and research agendas. The study also provides implications for practitioners using the framework to achieve more desirable outcomes.

Research examining the joint role of serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy in holistic value provision within servitizing industrial firms is scarce. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the role of serial acquisition and subsidiary autonomy in providing value within servitizing industrial networks.

A conceptual framework is developed based on the case study of a large Swedish industrial group specializing in selling industrial products and providing industrial solutions to business customers through its numerous subsidiaries.

The analysis of 14 interviews with the five subsidiaries and seven customer firms and secondary data reveals interesting findings concerning the role of serial niche acquisition strategy and subsidiary autonomy in customer value provision in servitizing organizations. In particular, the authors find that the role of acquisitions in industrial firms extends beyond growth to customer sensing and proximity. Likewise, the authors find that subsidiary autonomy facilitates value provision to customers in industrial networks.

The paper provides a more nuanced understanding of how serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy are intertwined and jointly affect industrial firms’ value provision activities amidst the servitization transition in an intraorganizational network.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between strategy intent (product-service innovation intention) and outcome (product-service innovation outcome), and the role that external sources of innovation play in influencing this relationship.

Using data obtained from the community innovation survey, we apply a logit regression to a sample of 1,419 Portuguese firms. By examining the moderating effect of open innovation breadth, we assess how the relationship between differentiation intent and outcome is contingent upon the involvement of external stakeholders.

Our findings reveal that the relationship between differentiation intent and outcome is contingent upon the moderating effect of open innovation breadth. Our analysis suggests that the negative influence of different sources of innovation can be addressed by adopting a paradox lens.

This research provides valuable insights for managers. By simultaneously pursuing a differentiation strategy and engaging in collaboration with external sources, firms may compromise their ability to effectively differentiate their offer. Managers should consider the potential tensions arising from internal and external stakeholder relationships to optimize their innovation strategies.

This study contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the role of external innovation sources in influencing the relationship between differentiation intent and outcome and the importance that information systems may have in this relationship. By exploring the moderating effect of open innovation breadth, we provide a nuanced understanding of how firms can navigate organizational tensions and leverage innovation for competitive advantage.

This paper aims to present the vertical integration state-of-the-art and propose an expansion of the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field by identifying gaps and bottlenecks.

This paper uses a systematic literature review based on a sample of 173 OSCM field articles, collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases.

There are no single factors, such as future costs, structures or skills development, in the decision to vertically integrate operations. It is necessary to combine the vision of production costs with the perspective of governance and transaction costs. In addition, it is essential to consider the competency perspective and its impact on capability building.

Few studies have attempted to understand how vertical integration is used in terms of OSCM research themes and theories. Vertical integration can help companies face challenges and serve as a potential solution for achieving better prices, demand control and quality management.

The significant role of vertical integration mechanisms in supply chains is crucial for managers evaluating a firm's reconfiguration with more vertical operations. Policymakers interested in supporting the smoothness of vertical integration decisions in regulatory agencies play a key role as contingencies.

In times of global challenges, vertical integration is a strategy known to be more effective for firms to obtain a competitive advantage, making them more resilient.

This paper addresses gaps in the vertical integration theme and provides insights for future research development.

This study examines how the characteristics of innovation knowledge exchanged among affiliate firms affect the ownership strategies adopted for their foreign subsidiaries.

This study employs a cross-classified multilevel model to examine a sample of 185 Korean manufacturing affiliates derived from 49 Chaebols engaged in international diversification, along with their 1,110 foreign manufacturing subsidiaries.

While exploratory innovation knowledge exchange lowers the affiliate's level of ownership in its foreign subsidiary, exploitative innovation knowledge exchange rather increases the affiliate's level of ownership in its foreign subsidiary.

This study advances the literature on intrafirm knowledge exchange by highlighting it as a determinant of ownership strategies. The study further shows that the characteristics of knowledge exchanged at the affiliate level not only determine the ownership structure but also have the potential to shape the direction in which the subsidiary develops its competencies.

This study has practical implications for the managers of business group affiliates. The results suggest that managers should adapt their ownership strategies according to the type of knowledge exchanged at the affiliate level to achieve a balanced and synergistic effect on intraorganizational knowledge exchange.

Previous studies have extensively explored the performance implications related to knowledge exchange. However, there is a notable gap in understanding the mechanisms through which the value of knowledge transferred within an affiliate is realized. To address this gap, this study focuses on ownership strategy as a crucial factor and empirically examines how the characteristics of innovation knowledge exchanged among affiliate firms influence the ownership strategies adopted for their foreign subsidiaries. By investigating this relationship, this study provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of knowledge exchange and its effect on ownership decisions within business group affiliates.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of rapid internationalization by emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) on their innovation performance. It also seeks to identify any potential moderating factors that could influence this relationship.

By analyzing data from listed Chinese MNEs from 2012 to 2022, this study applies a negative binomial regression model to test the research hypotheses.

This study uncovers an inverted U-shaped relationship between the internationalization speed of EMNEs and their innovation performance. It also suggests that strong absorptive, learning and managerial capacities could play positive moderating roles in the effect of internationalization speed on EMNEs’ innovation performance.

This study highlights rapid global expansion, promoting new knowledge acquisition for EMNEs. However, due to time-compression dilemmas with limited EMNE firm-specific advantages, overly accelerated internationalization hinders learning effectiveness. Additionally, this study reveals the critical importance of three firm-specific capacities in EMNEs – absorptive, learning and managerial capacities – in efficiently assimilating newly acquired knowledge from foreign markets and enhancing their innovation performance through rapid internationalization.

Despite the knowledge transfer between projects has received increasing attention from scholars, few scholars still conduct comprehensive research on inter-project knowledge transfer from both horizontal and vertical perspectives. Besides, knowledge transfer is affected by multiple antecedent conditions, and these factors should be combined for analysis. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the key factors influencing knowledge transfer between projects using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method from both horizontal and vertical perspectives and how these factors combine to improve the effectiveness of knowledge transfer (EKT) between projects.

First, nine factors affecting knowledge transfer between projects were identified, which were from the four dimensions of subject, relationship, channel, and context, namely temporary nature (TN), time urgency (TU), transmit willingness (TW), receive willingness (RW), trust (TR), project-project transfer channels (PPC), project-enterprise transfer channels (PEC), organizational atmosphere (OA), and motivation system (MS). Then, the source of the samples was determined and the data from the respondents was collected for analysis. Following the operation steps of the fsQCA method, variable calibration, single condition necessity analysis, and configuration analysis were carried out. After that, the configurations of influencing factors were obtained and the robustness test was conducted.

The results of the fsQCA method show that there are five configurations that can obtain better EKT between projects. Configuration 3 (∼TN * ∼TU * TW * RW * TR * ∼PPC * PEC * MS) has the highest consistency, indicating that it has the highest degree of the explanatory variable subset. Configuration 1 (∼TN * ∼TU * TW * RW * PEC * OA * MS) has the highest coverage, meaning that this configuration can explain most cases. Also, the five configurations were divided into three types: vertical transfer, horizontal-vertical transfer, and channel-free transfer category.

Firstly, this study explores the key factors influencing knowledge transfer between projects from four dimensions, which presents the logical chain of influencing factors more clearly. Then, this study divided the five configurations obtained into three categories according to the transfer direction: vertical, horizontal-vertical, and channel-free transfer, which gives implications to focus on both horizontal knowledge transfer (HKT) and (VKT) when studying knowledge transfer between projects. Lastly, this study helps to realize the exploration of combined improvement strategies for EKT, thereby providing meaningful recommendations for enterprises and project teams to facilitate knowledge transfer between projects.

The aim of this paper is to offer a comprehensive overview of the field of international human resource management (IHRM) research by tracing its evolutionary development over a 24-year period. The study seeks to understand how the field has progressed by considering historical research themes and their subsequent integration into more recent scholarly work, thereby identifying current and emerging research trends.

This paper employs bibliometric analysis to examine the evolutionary path of IHRM research from 1995 to 2019. A dataset of 1,507 articles from journals specializing in IHRM, international business and general management was created. Analysis at the keyword, thematic and network levels was conducted to identify trends, historical context and the interrelatedness of research themes.

The analysis reveals that IHRM research has gone through several phases of thematic focus, from initial emphasis on cultural differences and expatriate management to more recent topics like global talent management and digital transformation. Earlier research themes continue to be incorporated and re-contextualized in modern scholarship, highlighting the field’s dynamic nature.

This paper is one of the first to use a bibliometric approach to systematically examine the evolution of IHRM research. It not only provides a historical perspective but also outlines future research trends, incorporating the institutional logic perspective. The findings offer deep insights that are valuable for researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in the development of IHRM research and its practical implications.

This paper explains the mechanisms underlying the generation of two-way knowledge spillovers through the interaction of subsidiaries with differentiated local responsibilities and domestic firms.

The study is based on firm-level panel data from a census of Colombian manufacturing firms for the period 2003–2012. The estimation procedure involves two stages. In the first one, total factor productivity (TFP) of foreign and domestic firms is estimated. In a second step, we estimate conventional spillovers (from foreign-owned to local firms) and reverse spillovers (from local to foreign-owned firms) separately, using a random effect approach.

This study’s findings reveal that only locally creative subsidiaries enjoy positive and significant two-way knowledge spillover effects. The connectivity of subsidiaries to local and international networks is reinforced by reciprocal relationships among actors that enhance bidirectional knowledge flows, these being favored by the dynamics of clustering effects.

The paper contributes with new empirical evidence about the mechanism explaining how the technological heterogeneity of subsidiaries plays a determinant role in the generation of both knowledge flows from foreign to domestic firms and to the reverse, all integrated into the same framework.