Behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF) explains how organizations make adaptations by learning from performance feedback, while theory remains underdeveloped in illuminating firms’ strategic origins (or “gene”), from which to make the adaptations. Incorporating insights from imprinting theory, our study advances the BTOF framework by identifying a strategic origin that shapes firms’ institutionalized search and by exploring interactions of institutionalized and situational search. In the context of China’s transitioning economy, we theorize that 50s-70s firm founders who received college education in science and technology (S&T) in the early years of China’s institutional transitions were imprinted with a strong belief in S&T importance, which constitutes their firms’ strategic origin in innovation and thus shapes institutionalized R&D search. We further explore how such imprinting influence is contingent on situational adaptation driven by performance feedback. Using panel data on 556 Chinese listed firms with 50-70s founders in technology-oriented industries in 2006 –2016, we find that firms with S&T-educated founders make greater R&D search than firms without S&T-educated founders. Moreover, the positive influence of founder S&T education is generally stronger in response to higher negative and positive performance feedback.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) human capital plays a significant role in both CEOs’ strategic decisions and their selection and compensation processes. As executive leadership is more likely to be a prominent determinant of firms’ strategic direction in the EMs, considering the interrelatedness of CEO generalist experience and chair generalist experience and CEO power can provide important granular insights on the internationalization behavior of EM firms. In this study, we try to understand how CEO and Chair human capital specificity (generalist vs. specialist) and CEO power have an impact on the FDI motivation of Turkish MNEs. The study is based on a sample of 85 completed cross-border mergers and acquisitions by Turkish MNEs for the years 1997-2021. We found that while generalist CEOs move with an exploration-based FDI motivation, specialist CEOs pursue an exploitation-based FDI motivation. Moreover, CEO tenure has a strengthening power on generalist CEO and exploration motivation and a weakening effect on specialist CEO and exploitation motivation. We tried to contribute to the strategic leadership and upper echelons domain by investigating how key decision-makers’ human capital impact strategic decisions with regard to internationalization and FDI motivations.

This study examines the impact of political connections on the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of emerging market firms. It also explores how political connections interact with OFDI to influence firms’ innovation performance. By developing four research propositions, this study has three contributions. First, it enriches the resource dependence theory literature in the context of international business. Second, it provides a more profound theoretical understanding of political connections by distinguishing political connections in terms of local and central political connections. Third, it provides a more holistic understanding of the influence of political connections on OFDI by examining both the propensity of politically connected firms to undertake OFDI actions, and the innovation efficacy of these actions.

Regional agents stand between consumer electronics manufacturers and consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Agents play a crucial role for the original factory, with regional agents required to develop the market, manage accounts, provide financial support, and offer technical assistance to consumers. Taking a case study approach, we examine the operational situation of a regional distributor-company in the consumer electronics industry in terms of value chain and profit model in the UAE region. Specifically, we look into the value chain composition of a focal UAE-based distributor-company and identify its profit model. In this study, we detail the value activities of each link in the internal and external value chains. We first explore the vertical value chain of the regional distributor and then we reveal the nuances of the internal value chain of this distributor in the consumer electronics industry. We believe that our study offers valuable insights for business managers aiming to enter the UAE market by highlighting the importance of the construction of a comprehensive vertical and internal value chain and their link with the profit elements. Future research may consider using financial data to enhance the objectivity of research findings.

We identify corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR) as an important impetus to corporate social responsibility (CSR), supplemental to the impetuses depicted in CSR literature. Drawing on the stakeholder perspective, we develop a model on the influences of stakeholders on the choice of two CSR strategies, investments in pollution control and corporate philanthropy, to offset CSIR. Our analysis of original survey data from 880 private manufacturing firms in China shows a positive association between CSIR and CSR. We find that the degree of family shareholding strengthens the effect of CSIR on corporate philanthropy, while government linkage strengthens the effect of CSIR on pollution control. The local and international communities strengthen the effect of CSIR on both dimensions of CSR. But, the moderating effect of the international community is stronger than that of the local community. These findings shed new insights into CSR and the stakeholder complexity in emerging markets.

The paper examines the relationship between the informal economy and foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa and Nigeria. In particular, the paper attempts to discuss the informal economy as a determinant of the FDI. Nigeria and South Africa are the two largest economies in terms of nominal GDP in Africa. And, the informal sector is also an integral part of these countries and plays a key role in economic growth. This paper proposes a theoretical framework based on Dunning's (1981) classic OLI paradigm to analyse the relationship between the informal economy and FDI. The results show that the informal economy has a positive and significant relationship with FDI.