Cross-border acquisitions (CBA) often encounter institutional barriers that hinder their completion, resulting in substantial costs for stakeholders. While countries pursue regional integration to reduce barriers to intraregional business activities, the specific ways and mechanisms through which regional integration impacts the completion of intraregional CBAs remain unclear. Drawing on new institutional economics, we identify two processual mechanisms underlying regional integration – regulatory alignment and normative alignment between countries. Based on these mechanisms, we hypothesize that the likelihood of completing an intraregional CBA deal is positively affected by the joint participation of the acquirer and target firms’ home countries in the regional integration process. We also identify target country and deal level factors affecting the two mechanisms, thus moderating the hypothesized main effect. Analyzing a dataset encompassing 8009 announced CBAs within the European Union between 2010 and 2022, our findings support the positive main effect, which is strengthened by target country unemployment, when the target firm is a public enterprise, and when the CBA deal is friendly as opposed to hostile.

The internationalization of emerging market firms (EMFs) has attracted substantial research attention. Yet, how EMFs engage in diversification and innovation during internationalization remains underexplored. Drawing insights from a geographic relational perspective, we perform a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of EMFs. Our findings suggest that EMFs can choose from multiple equifinal internationalization pathways to capture growth opportunities in diversification and/or innovation. These new insights emphasize that achieving diversification or innovation requires a combination of organizational contextuality, international path dependence, and geographic practice attributes. We further develop a taxonomy of five EMFs’ geographic relational configurations for diversification and/or innovation: entrenching specialist, niche explorer, global adapter, transnational agent, and strategic aspirant. Overall, by unleashing the power of configurational analysis, this paper reveals what is behind the intriguing internationalization of EMFs with a focus on diversification and innovation.

With the strong support of the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Going Global" national strategy, how to actively promote the internationalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) enterprises is an important issue that urgently needs to be explored. Since the internationalization motives and capabilities of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) enterprises are different from those of Developed Market Multinational Enterprises (DMNEs) and Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs), existing research on the explanatory role of policy support and industry competitive pressure cannot fully interpret the international strategic choices of these enterprises. To explore this new research issue, this paper discusses the differentiated impact mechanisms of policy support and industry competition intensity on the international expansion of TCM enterprises based on the push-pull theory, and further analyses the moderating roles of marketing capabilities and innovation capabilities of the enterprises. This paper analyses all A-share listed enterprises in China's Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) industry from 2012 to 2021 as a research sample. The results show that both policy support and industry competition intensity positively affect the breadth of internationalization of TCM enterprises. Policy support has a stronger driving effect on the internationalization of TCM enterprises with weaker capabilities, while industry competition intensity has a stronger driving effect on the internationalization of TCM enterprises with stronger capabilities. This paper makes a significant contribution to the existing research on the motivations for internationalization and provides a new theoretical interpretation for the strategic choices of TCM enterprises in the context of cultural differences within TCM. Furthermore, it provides theoretical guidance and empirical evidence for the practice of TCM enterprises going overseas and the formulation of industry policies.

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) serves as a key legitimation strategy, and top management teams (TMTs) strongly shape CSR, how executives’ educational backgrounds drive their CSR decision-making from a legitimacy perspective, remains underexplored. Integrating upper echelon theory with the legitimacy view, we posit that executives with MBA degrees typically hold a “legitimacy-benefit” logic and seek legitimacy through CSR to maximize firm profits. Conversely, executives with legal degrees often embrace an “illegitimacy-penalty” logic, employing CSR as a means to bolster legitimacy and minimize firm risk. We further propose a complementary yet distinct nature for the relationship between the two logics. On the one hand, a complementary interaction exists between the two types of educational background in influencing CSR, such that TMT MBA degree acts as an “accelerator” to the influence of TMT legal degree, while TMT legal degree serves as a “buffer” to the effect of TMT MBA degree. On the other hand, the motivational distinctiveness is examined by testing the moderating effects of individual experience, both in the spatial dimension (TMT international experience) and the temporal dimension (TMT age). Specifically, TMT international experience plays a positive moderating role; while TMT age negatively moderates the relationship between TMT MBA degree and CSR, it positively moderates the link between TMT legal degree and CSR. Drawing on a sample comprised of 637 firms and 4296 observations from an emerging market (2010–2019), we obtain substantial supportive evidence.

Business model innovation (BMI) is a key source of innovation that may create a competitive advantage for firms. Drawing insights from the activity system perspective of BMI and dynamic managerial capabilities literature, we argue that a firm's dominant logic promotes BMI, which in turn influences firm performance. We further investigate the boundary condition of managerial connections as providers of privileged resources and information. We examine the proposed hypotheses on a sample of 189 Chinese firms. Our findings suggest that firm dominant logic facilitates both novelty- and efficiency-centered BMI. Further, the two types of BMI affect firm performance differently. Specifically, efficiency-centered BMI improves performance, but novelty-centered BMI does not. In addition, managerial connections strengthen the effect of firm dominant logic on novelty-centered BMI but do not significantly influence the effect of efficiency-centered BMI, reflecting differences between novelty-centered and efficiency-centered BMI. This study is thus noteworthy in its contribution to both the BMI and dynamic capabilities literature.

ABSTRACTManagers make comprehensive strategic decisions to cope with environmental challenges. Questions remain regarding how different types of leadership styles influence top management team (TMT) strategic decision comprehensiveness (SDC) and firm performance. This study explores the impact of two different CEO leadership styles on TMT SDC and subsequent firm performance, considering the moderating role of TMT cognitive conflict. Based on data from 357 questionnaires of 126 firms in China, we found that 1) CEO empowering leadership positively affects SDC; 2) CEO directive leadership generates an inverted U-shaped effect on SDC; 3) the effect of SDC on firm performance is positive; and 4) TMT cognitive conflict weakens the relationship between CEO empowering leadership and SDC. This study takes a systematic approach by integrating CEO-TMT dynamics into SDC, which in turn affects firm performance, and thus offers a holistic view of how upper echelons influence firm performance.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of a firm’s political connections on its economic value added (EVA) performance while treating connection heterogeneity and product diversification as moderators. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 1,143 Chinese manufacturing listed firms in China’s A-share market from 2012 to 2017, this study conducted panel data analysis to investigate proposed relationships. Findings The findings provide evidence that political connections promote EVA performance of enterprises and both connection heterogeneity and product diversification negatively moderate the political connections – EVA performance relationship. Originality/value Drawing sights from the resource-based view, this study investigates the influence of corporate political connections on EVA performance, considering contingent factors of connection heterogeneity and corporate strategy (i.e. product diversification). It, thus, contributes to the literature on political connections by providing additional evidence to explaining the inconclusive findings on the political connections–firm performance relationship and extending prior research by emphasizing the moderating roles of connection heterogeneity and corporate strategy. It also complements prior research on EVA performance by exploring its antecedents.

ABSTRACT Pursuing ambidextrous foreign direct investment (FDI) has been suggested as a desirable strategic choice of emerging economy (EE) firms in their internationalization. Yet, reconciling explorative and exploitative activities overseas is complicated due to their conflicting and tensional nature. This study explores why some EE firms can achieve high levels of ambidextrous FDI while others cannot. Drawing on upper echelons theory, we propose a micro-foundation perspective of ambidextrous FDI by studying top management teams’ (TMTs) attributes. Applying a configurational approach to a sample of 294 EE firms’ FDI observations (of which 43 are ambidextrous FDI in nature) from 2011 to 2015, we not only confirm the equal importance of both TMT incentive and cognitive factors as causal conditions to achieve a high degree of ambidextrous FDI, but also provide original evidence on the interactive configurations of those factors that lead to ambidextrous FDI.

We study how state and market logics, which operate both internal and external to the firm, jointly influence firm strategy. In the context of the Chinese financial intermediary industry, we argue that the level of state ownership in a firm has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the firm’s financial portfolio diversification. This is because firms prioritize financial investment options that serve the dominant logic. As a result, their financial portfolios are more diversified when the multiple logics are balanced than when either logic dominates. This relationship is attenuated by the prevalence of market logic in the regional institutional environment and amplified by industry regulation aimed at correcting market failure. We test these arguments using panel data of Chinese trust companies during a period of de-regulation and re-regulation and find empirical support for the moderated curvilinear effect of state ownership. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of the institutional logics to analyzing firms in contemporary China and highlight how institutional logics at multiple levels jointly shape corporate strategy.

How does executives’ negative interpretation affect business model novelty? Prior research offers conflicting findings. Integrated prospect theory and threat-rigidity theory, this study investigates the effect of executives’ negative interpretation on business model novelty. Results from a sample of 210 firms in China reveal that executives’ negative interpretation has an increasingly positive effect on business model novelty. Furthermore, we find that proactive market orientation strengthens the relationship between executives’ negative interpretation and business model novelty, whereas responsive market orientation weakens the relationship between them. Our findings offer more insights into the antecedents of business model design from the perspective of managerial cognition and provide strong guidance for firms on how to benefit from a novel business model design.

Ambidexterity has been suggested as supporting emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) to achieve sustainability in global markets, but reconciling explorative and exploitative activities in overseas subsidiaries is complicated due to their conflicting and tensional nature. This study aims to explore why some EMNEs can achieve high levels of ambidexterity in foreign direct investment (FDI) while others not. Inspired by upper echelons theory, we propose a micro- foundation perspective of ambidextrous FDI. Using a sample of 294 EMNE FDI observations (of which 43 are ambidextrous FDI in nature) from 2011 to 2015, we reveal how EMNEs configure their top management teams (TMTs) for achieving highly ambidextrous FDI. Using a set-theoretic approach and the technique of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we confirm the equal importance of both TMT values and cognitive bases as causal conditions to achieve ambidextrous FDI. Our findings yield new insights into strategic ambidexterity of EMNEs via a micro-foundation perspective.

While China is experiencing economic transformation, Chinese firms still lack sufficient new product development (NPD) capability. Such capability is crucial for business innovation. This study examines the impact of operational capabilities on NPD capability of Chinese firms. Acknowledging the importance of top management team (TMT) social interactions in capability development, this study also examines the moderating effect of TMT cooperative behavior (i.e., collaborative and communicative behaviors). Based on a sample of 213 firms from China, we find substantial support for our hypotheses, thus contributing to the capabilities-based view of the firm and providing managerial implications for firms in emerging economies.

The extent of the economic distance between a firm's home origin and its foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important strategic decision for the investing firm. This study fills an important knowledge gap by investigating the home institutional antecedents of FDI economic distance. Drawing insights from comparative institutionalism, we argue that home-country states vary in both their power to coordinate the economy and the external and internal channels through which they exercise that power. These variations have implications on a firm's motivation and capability to escape external dependencies on the home-country state by investing in economically distant foreign locations. Empirically, using a dataset of 891 new international entrants from 2004 to 2011, we found support for our hypotheses that home-country state power is positively associated with FDI economic distance, and that the influence of the home-country state is contingent on the state's governance quality and its ownership in firms.

Integrating insights from organizational information processing theory and social categorization theory, we examine how top management team (TMT) tenure diversity affects team performance. We propose a theoretical framework that examines how these two conflicting processes occur simultaneously within diverse TMTs by arguing that TMT tenure variety influences information processing while TMT tenure separation influences the social categorization process. We argue for the presence of nonlinear relationships between tenure variety, tenure separation, and team performance. Furthermore, we propose that these relationships are moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Based on a sample of 357 senior managers from 126 firms in China, we find that both TMT tenure variety and TMT tenure separation have opposing and nonlinear relationships with TMT performance, and the relationship between TMT tenure separation and TMT performance is moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Our results help clarify the conflicting conclusions of previous TMT tenure diversity research. Our findings suggest that the effect of diversity depends on the type of diversity as they affect different processes. Our findings also explain how the opposing effects of both information processing and social categorization can occur simultaneously in the TMT. Furthermore, the effects of both processes are not linear while the level of diversity variety and diversity separation can affect the marginal effects. Finally, TMT behavioral integration processes affect how tenure diversity plays its role in team performance.

Mergers and acquisitions are gradually seen to expand business scale, improve business and strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises. At the same time, the importance of sustainable development of enterprises is gradually accepted by many enterprises. This paper investigates the central enterprises of China and takes M&A activities of COFCO as an example to analyze the impact of M&A activities on the sustainable development of central enterprises in China.