In an era of intensifying geopolitical rivalries, emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) face unprecedented challenges in sustaining cross-border innovation, particularly as technological competition becomes increasingly entangled with national security agendas. Integrating the literature on geopolitics in international relations with EMNE subsidiary innovation, this study investigates whether and to what extent inter-country geopolitical tensions influence the innovation performance of EMNEs’ R&D subsidiaries in advanced economies. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms’ foreign R&D subsidiaries, we find that escalating geopolitical tensions between home and host countries significantly reduce the innovation output of these subsidiaries. Furthermore, the number of host-national innovation partners of a foreign R&D subsidiary can help mitigate the negative effect of geopolitical tensions on its innovation pursuits, while its local same-parent sisters can exacerbate this adverse impact. Our study enhances the understanding of how international politics affect EMNE subsidiary innovation and advances the political risk literature by revealing the role of subsidiary-level networks in shaping firm vulnerability to geopolitical disruptions.
How do internationalized business groups (BGs) use ownership-based governance to support headquarters (HQ) innovation? Drawing on internalization theory and network brokerage arguments, this study treats equity ties as a formal ownership network and examines how its structure shapes HQ technological innovation. We conceptualize structural hole spanning in this ownership network as ownership-network brokerage potential rather than as direct evidence of realized knowledge exchange among affiliates. Using 240 Taiwan-based high-tech BGs during 2008–2012 (24,385 affiliate-year observations), we find that greater structural hole spanning within the BG ownership network is associated with higher HQ patent output. We further show that BG internationalization, measured by foreign assets held, positively conditions this relationship, although the moderation evidence is interpreted cautiously. The findings are consistent with the view that cross-border operations increase knowledge heterogeneity, while ownership-based governance helps protect, transfer, and recombine dispersed knowledge for HQ innovation. This study contributes to international business research on BGs, ownership networks, and innovation by clarifying how internationalized BGs differ from MNEs yet confront cross-border knowledge-governance problems, when ownership-based networks create innovation value, and how internationalization operates as a knowledge-governance contingency rather than as a purely additive driver of innovation.
Cross-national distance is a key concept in the field of international business. Although previous research has identified many notable effects of various cross-national differences on multinational enterprises (MNEs), it has paid less attention to the roles of cross-national differences in stakeholder orientation (i.e., the extent to which business leaders broadly define the functions of MNEs in terms of creating benefits for a wider range of stakeholders). We argue that stakeholder orientation distance (SOD) contributes additional value to cross-national comparative research by capturing a governance-relevant dimension of cross-national difference that reflects the influence of stakeholders alongside that of institutions. Drawing on the stakeholder salience framework, stakeholders research, and insights from governance and institutions research in international business, we developed a reliable measurement instrument and disaggregate the construct of SOD by proposing a set of multidimensional measures, including employee, customer, supplier, shareholder, and community orientation distances. To examine the robustness of the measure, we calculated dyadic distances using both the Euclidean and the Mahalanobis method. Using trade flows among a set of 61 nations, we empirically tested the influence of SOD, showing that cross-national differences in stakeholder orientation are negatively associated with trade flows and may shape cross-border exchange by increasing governance complexity across countries. To advance the study of stakeholders in international business, we will make the measurement freely available to managers and scholars.
Building on institutional and dynamic capability theories, this paper examines the drivers and how export sustainability strategy (ESS) affects export performance. Using a quantitative approach and survey data from 260 export manufacturers from an emerging market, we validate the study's propositions using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). Our findings reveal that export public sustainability concern (EPSC) is a crucial driver of export sustainability strategy. In contrast to prior studies, we find that export sustainability strategy (ESS) has no direct relationship with export performance. However, when mediated by export responsiveness capability (ERC), it has a positive effect on export performance. Our study extends the export sustainability literature, offering managerial implications and policy recommendations for export manufacturers.
This study examines how consumers interpret ESG practices of multinational fashion brands shape purchase intentions across institutional contexts. Drawing on institutional and signaling theory, ESG practices are viewed as signals MNEs use to seek legitimacy. Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), sustainability perceptions act as a mediator between attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and purchase intentions. Using survey data from 551 consumers in the USA, EU, and India, results show that sustainability perceptions influence purchase intentions, with governance signals having the strongest effects. Sustainability skepticism negatively affects ESG perceptions, while positive attitudes do not strengthen environmental and social perceptions. Regional differences emerge in the EU, individual-level factors play a weaker role, whereas in the USA and India, attitudes and perceived behavioral control are more influential. The study integrates institutional and signaling perspectives to explain ESG as a legitimacy mechanism for MNEs and extends TPB to account for sustainability perceptions across institutional environments.
Why do multinational enterprises (MNEs) delay or avoid divesting foreign affiliates even when exit appears warranted? We argue that divestment is a visible strategic action that prompts renewed principal scrutiny of prior investment decisions and ongoing stewardship, increasing the evaluative exposure of the corporate management function. Drawing on agency theory, we examine how ownership commitment, headquarters involvement, and performance-based discretion shape divestment. Using longitudinal data on foreign affiliates in Korea (2007–2019), we find that ownership commitment and performance-based discretion reduce divestment likelihood, that restructuring weakens these effects, and that relational ownership moderates the effect of headquarters involvement. Divestment thus reflects governance and attribution processes, not merely economic considerations.
This paper examines how the new geopolitical era is reshaping political alignment in Latin America. As global power rivalry intensifies, countries in the region face mounting pressure to navigate among the United States, China, and other powerful actors while also managing political fragmentation, institutional volatility, and uneven development. Anchored in a debate motion - “In Latin America, to align with a global power will be a threat to Global South trade routes, welfare, prosperity, and peace” - the paper develops two contrasting views. The affirmative view argues that strict alignment risks reproducing dependency, weakening strategic autonomy, and turning Latin America into a battleground for external competition rather than a driver of regional development. It proposes strategic autonomy through domestic capability-building, value-added use of natural resources, and deeper regional integration. The negative views argue that alignment with the United States can reduce transaction costs, strengthen access to markets and investment, and provide a more stable geopolitical environment. This paper is focused on a timely debate about political alignment with a global power and its implications for economic development.
This article examines the effect of corporate political activities (CPA) on sustainability performance through the mediating mechanism of political influence. It further investigates the contingent factors influencing the relationship between political influence and corporate sustainability performance. Our hypotheses are largely supported by time-lagged data from 348 multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in four sub-Saharan African countries. Our findings extend nonmarket strategies (NMS) and sustainability literature by testing a mediating and contingent model that assesses the influence of CPA on corporate sustainability performance. This nuanced analysis broadens the conceptual scope and applicability of NMS and sustainability activities, particularly in non-Western contexts.
Export market orientation is often conceptualized as three behavioral dimensions, namely export market intelligence generation, dissemination, and responsiveness. Prior research suggests that intelligence generation and dissemination facilitate responsiveness to that intelligence, which in turn enhances export performance. However, most studies, relying primarily on Western export settings, implicitly assume that intelligence generation and dissemination exert similar effects across contexts. Consequently, it remains unclear whether these relationships operate similarly in non-Western contexts such as Japan, where consensus-based decision-making, long-term orientation, and the interdependent channel system may influence how export market intelligence is translated into responsiveness activities. Drawing on the resource-based view and contingency theory, this study examines whether intelligence generation or dissemination is more strongly associated with responsiveness and investigates the moderating roles of export channel centralization and environmental uncertainty. The marginal effect analysis of moderators demonstrates that the effects of intelligence generation and dissemination on responsiveness vary across channel and environmental conditions. Additionally, empirical evidence from longitudinal survey data shows that responsiveness contributes to subsequent export sales performance. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of export market orientation and offers useful insights for international business managers.
Research on international joint ventures (IJVs) typically assumes that power and control depend mainly on the resources each partner contributes. This view overlooks the role of institutions, historical influences, and individual interests. Using two case studies of Brazilian IJVs, one with a local partner in Colombia and another with a German partner in Mexico, we argue that power and control are socially constructed rather than objective. We show that power is exercised not only through hard, coercive resources but also through softer mechanisms such as manipulation and domination, which evolve over time. Our study emphasizes that power relations are particularly significant in formerly colonized countries, where social hierarchies and internalized feelings of inferiority influence organizational interactions. We contribute to IJV literature by demonstrating how historical legacies shape power dynamics, highlighting the importance of context, and portraying IJVs as dynamic political arenas where power and control are continuously created, reinforced, and transformed.
