Information and Communication Technology Adoption Strategies of Emerging Multinationals From India

The growth and rising prominence of multinationals from emerging markets (eMNCs) mark a significant phase in the evolution of the world economy in the last decade. This study investigates the effect of eMNCs' institutional embeddedness in terms of age on the adoption strategy of new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICT). Using panel multiple regression on a unique database of 3,756 observations from 394 Indian eMNCs in period of 2009 to 2019, the authors find that firm age has a unique negative impact on ICT investments of eMNCs. However, ownership is able to influence the negative impact of age in unique ways. Business group affiliation attenuates the impact of firm age on ICT investments, such that the reduction in ICT investments with firm age is less for BG-affiliated firms. Meanwhile, the higher the foreign institutional ownership in eMNCs, the lower the impact of firm age on ICT investments.

Inward FDI spillovers and emerging multinationals’ outward FDI in two directions

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) carries critical implications for emerging market multinational enterprises’ (EMNEs’) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). While extant research provides evidence for the positive linkage between IFDI and EMNEs’ OFDI, less is known about the directionality of such OFDI—where to go. This study aims to extend the IFDI-OFDI linkage by differentiating EMNEs’ upward and downward OFDI (i.e., OFDI projects in more and less advanced host countries than their home markets). Using panel data on 1334 Chinese multinationals, I find that IFDI promotes EMNEs’ upward OFDI, but this effect is weakened by state ownership and industry competition. Moreover, my findings show that although IFDI is not related to EMNEs’ downward OFDI in general, their linkage becomes positive in the conditions of higher state ownership or weaker industry competition. This study advances our understanding of the directionality (i.e., where to go) of EMNEs’ OFDI in the face of IFDI spillovers.

UNDERSTANDING INTERNALIZATION THEORY AND MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES FROM EMERGING ECONOMIES IN BUSINESS HISTORY PERSPECTIVE

This review paper is focused on applying and advancing the Internalization theory to address some of the most current gaps. This paper draws together and synthesizes the lessons learned from the various papers on internalization theory integrated with a business history perspective in this special issue.The review, therefore, is providing a comprehensive understanding of the internalization theory and how it will accommodate the issue of multinationals from emerging economies. To this end, the core point of this paper review focused on demonstrating how to better understand internalization theory and to show how the general internalization theory could be applicable in emerging economy multinationals. While discussing internalization theory and emerging multinationals important insights revealed complementing the business theory with business history to rethink using this two for current business phenomena. Finally, the paper discusses potential avenues for future research and conclusions.

Emerging multinationals' strategic asset-seeking M&As: a systematic review

PurposeEmerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have consolidated their global presence recently, challenging existing international business (IB) theories. One of their most significant characteristics has been the prevalence of strategic asset-seeking (SAS) mergers and acquisitions (M&As) targeting firms in developed countries. Such SAS M&As have been ascribed to the aim of acquiring or augmenting firm-specific advantages, rather than exploiting existing advantages. A literature review is needed to synthesize the growing number of academic studies and to contribute to ongoing theoretical developments on EMNEs' catch-up strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe authors follow a standard systematic literature review approach. The authors collate academic studies on EMNEs' SAS M&As in developed markets published between 2000 and mid-2020, structuring the analysis using the logic of antecedent, process and performance outcomes.FindingsThe authors present recent research trends in terms of year, journal, theories and methods. The authors synthesize and analyze existing knowledge on EMNEs' SAS M&As and identify remaining gaps to suggest future research directions.Originality/valueThe review contributes by focusing on the key argument of current EMNE research – SAS M&As. By providing the first focused review on this topic, it provides a basis for further research on EMNEs' SAS M&As.

Birds of a feather flock together: ownership in cross-border acquisitions by emerging multinationals

PurposeDespite prior studies on cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) have analyzed the determinants of ownership strategies; there is still a quest for evidence on how the differences between home and host market characteristics affect the ownership percentage. Prior studies have acknowledged that entering host countries with greater uncertainty makes multinationals reluctant to acquire high levels of ownership. Nevertheless, emerging multinationals (EMNEs) are usually used to operating under greater levels of uncertainty than multinationals from advanced countries (AMNEs), which can imply different ownership strategies. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ownership percentage acquired by MNEs when designing a CBA in emerging or in advanced countries, and to analyze the extent to which the ownership strategy in emerging countries differs between EMNEs and AMNEs.Design/methodology/approachMobile telecommunications industry is used as research setting to provide empirical evidence of the interaction effect of the advanced versus emerging nature of the host and home countries on the ownership acquired in CBAs.FindingsResults confirm that both home and host countries' characteristics are relevant in explaining the ownership strategies of MNEs.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the strategy and IB literatures by providing empirical evidence on the recent debate on whether the internationalization strategies followed by EMNEs are similar to the traditional patterns of AMNEs, and analyze how EMNEs differ from AMNEs in their ownership strategies in emerging countries. Focusing in the mobile telecommunications industry, the authors also contribute by extending the analysis to an international and cross-cultural setting that includes 48 mobile groups that come from 35 home and 81 host countries.