L’histoire des Relations internationales, depuis au moins les travaux de Brian Schmidt, étudie l’évolution de cette entreprise intellectuelle en vase clos : ses dynamiques internes et ses enjeux conceptuels sont analysés sous l’angle de la disciplinarité. Il y aurait à travers l’histoire quelque chose comme une discipline des Relations internationales. Ce postulat qui affirme a priori l’existence d’une discipline nous ramène immanquablement à la relation qu’elle entretient avec la science politique, et notamment dans sa forme américaine. Le premier chapitre sur la revue de littérature montre l’état des recherches à ce sujet. Or, comment expliquer qu’il ait existé une institution internationale dédiée à l’étude des relations internationales, la CPHÉI, avant son équivalent pour la science politique, l’AISP ? Ce fait historique s’explique sous l’angle de l’autonomisation disciplinaire, c’est-à-dire le processus par lequel les Relations internationales acquièrent graduellement un espace à l’intérieur des sciences sociales. Le deuxième chapitre construit le cadre méthodologique autour de ce concept important. En examinant dans une perspective comparée l’évolution des tendances nationales au sein de quatre pays, l’Allemagne, les États-Unis, la France et le Royaume-Uni, le troisième chapitre montre comment le sujet « international » en vient à se développer dans la continuité des disciplines existantes, nommément le droit international, l’économie, la science politique et la sociologie. Si l’état des rapports de force entre ces disciplines varie d’un pays à l’autre jusqu’en 1928, la création de la CPHÉI vise à donner une cohérence disciplinaire au sein des différents pays. Le quatrième chapitre cherche à montrer l’influence de la CPHÉI dans la délimitation des frontières du champ. Cette question est spécifiée au dernier chapitre, consacré aux débats sur l’enseignement des relations internationales, dont l’objectif était de déterminer ce que sont, par définition, les relations internationales. Si la lecture politiste des faits internationaux l’emporte, la CPHÉI, elle, cesse par le fait même d’en constituer le poumon intellectuel, comme si sa fonction avait été remplie, celle de fournir une cohérence disciplinaire. Cette idée, celle voulant que l’internationalisation des Relations internationales constitue la base de son autonomisation disciplinaire, marque l’élément central qui lie la période 1900-1954, cruciale pour comprendre comment la discipline en vient à prendre une certaine forme.

The need for this research stemmed from the fact that most of what we know about the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) emerges from developed countries; little is known about internationalisation of African SMEs or, in particular, South African SMEs. The impact of globalisation, trade liberalisation, and technology advancement on SMEs is that they face increased competition right on their doorstep. To remain in existence and sustain their growth, SMEs are concertedly seeking opportunities in foreign markets. In order for SMEs to succeed and exploit international opportunities, they develop and rely on networks to compensate for their liability of foreignness, as well as their lack of resources in terms of finance, marketing, human capital, reputation, and technology.This research investigated the effect of resource acquisition networks on the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises. The study involved SMEs who had internationalised their operations. Data were collected through unstructured interviews in Phase One and semistructured interviews in Phase Two of this research study, with SME owners and their managers who were responsible for international operations. The key focus was the three research propositions dealing with networks, which focused on three network characteristics: network diversity, network density, and network size.The findings show that the South African SME internationalisation process is highly influenced by resource acquisition networks. SMEs use their networks to exploit international opportunities by accessing resources that they lack internally. A highly diversified and highly connected network is significant to the SMEs’ opportunity identification of and access to resources, while the size of the network is quite important. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In a world which is highly reliant on international trade and at the same time is facing what has been described as among the greatest challenges planet Earth ever seen, climate change. The connection the two have to each other becomes increasingly essential to understand. This study was put in the context of a developing country, Malaysia, due to the increased amount of businesses located in developing countries which are choosing to internationalise and export products. The 17 Global Goals created by the United Nations, which has been adopted by all member states are aimed to be reached in 2030. The Global Goals are built upon trust and responsibility for the planet which creates a scenario where the behaviour of both businesses and consumers is changed. The purpose of the study was to gain knowledge of how the aspect of environmental sustainability impacts export and what motivates the Malaysian businesses to change for the better. The outcome of this study indicates that the customers have a significant role for both motivation of businesses and the implementation of new strategies. The study has also seen an indication of a connection between the speed of internationalisation and export related to how businesses are motivated by customers in terms of environmental sustainability. Moreover, the study has shown that there is little connection between the business’s selection of export mode and environmental sustainability.

The aim of the study is to capture and understand the perceptions of SMEs with regard to the resources that they feel are missing as they engage in the process of internationalisation. The methodology of this study follows a qualitative method wherein four SMEs were interviewed along with an industry expert using semi-structured interviews. The collated data was processed according to academic procedure outlined by Creswell & Creswell (2018). Thereafter, the categorised data was analysed using an adapted situational analysis inspired by the SOAR Framework to identify missing resources. Findings and Conclusion: SMEs from Gävleborg, Sweden wish to internationalise but face extensive barriers caused by the lack of necessary resources. The empirical findings align with existing literature in identifying a lack of financial, human, and intellectual resources among the SMEs. However, the findings reject theories which cited a lack of financial skills and physical resources as causal factors. The framework presented (Figure 3) was found to be useful for academics, in reality the SMEs in the Gävleborg region follow a different approach. Contribution of the Study: This study adds specific insights and knowledge about the resource gaps experienced by Swedish SMEs to the literature. The outcomes indicate significant obstacles facing SMEs in the early or pre-internationalisation stage. Practical recommendations from this study suggest regional development of mentoring, accessible funding, and networking support. Reflections on the Study and Suggestions for Future Research: The Covid-19 pandemic forced all interviews online but zoom recordings facilitated clear and accurate collection of empirical evidence. For the future, a longitudinal study of SMEs in Sweden comparing resource availability by region and/or by firm size merits investigation. Similarly, research into why the resource gaps among SMEs remain an issue would be a welcome addition to resource-based literature.

The expansion of higher education and changes in the labour markets seem to have reached a point where training for an M.Ed is affected by a number of issues traditionally raised in the context of graduate employment and work. Growing emphasis is placed on general skills and flexibility, which is briefly mentioned in this report. Labour market theory, human capital development, social capital and career development are explored in detail. Management is no longer perceived in terms of maintaining the business machine but is evolving into a motivator and leader of staff, an inspirational entity that is quintessential to the retention of highly qualified staff . This has resulted in the language of business changing, thus the „efficient company‟ has become a „learning organisation‟ (Germishuys, 2006). Therefore it is of great interest to actually conduct a case study of 11 M.Ed. graduates to track their career trajectories to see where this prestigious qualification has taken them. The researcher traces a general group of M.Ed graduates from the class of 1999 from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). The main idea of this study is to ascertain exactly what it is that the sample M.Ed graduates have accomplished in their professional lives. It was found that the colour of one‟s skin, background, contextual factors, opportunities, social networking and career aspirations have played a pivotal role in the career progression of the M.Ed. graduates.

Background: Professional services firms (PSFs) face unique challenges when internationalisingdue to their intangible services and the need to adapt to local markets. Digital technologies havemade internationalisation more efficient since firms utilise digital communication tools (DCTs).However, PSFs still struggle to internationalise due to the need to establish a local presence tocreate competitive advantages where language plays an important role integrated fully into thetargeted countries. Problem: The internationalisation of PSFs is a complex process that involves interrelated researchstreams, such as the utility of digitised tools and the importance of language strategy. However,the research is fragmented and lacks a multidimensional discipline that incorporates all factorsapplied when PSFs internationalise. Therefore, there is a need for more efforts to broaden theconceptualisation of the PSF internationalisation process. Purpose: Provide a multidimensional perspective on the practical and theoretical knowledge PSFsrequire when expanding internationally. The aim is to explore the phenomenon’s complexity tointernationalise as PSFs and the interrelationships with factors such as DCTs and language. Method: The research is a qualitative multiple-case study using semi-structured interviews toretrieve primary data. Triangulation is applied to guarantee an in-depth inquiry, combining primarydata and secondary data consisting of scanning social media platforms of the case companies andnon-responsive textual data in the form of company reports, websites, etc. The data was analysedusing thematic and cross-cage analysis. Conclusion: The results show the importance of relationships when PSFs internationalise and aneed to adapt locally. PSFs perceive the utility of DCTs as an enabler of internationalisation butdiscovered a limitation of DCTs where the importance of relationships and physical meetingscreate a gap when establishing relationships. In addition, language is strategically selected to meetthe market’s needs and increase local adaptiveness by using the local language. We can furtherconclude that the “fluffier stuff decides the game” when PSFs internationalise due to underlyingfactors such as language, cultural context and relationships, guiding how PSFs expand into foreignmarkets.

Background: Following the ongoing globalisation, family businesses have been inclined to grow their businesses outside of their home markets. While academic attention has been devoted to family business internationalisation, it has mainly taken a family-focused perspective. Existing international business theories emphasise foreign market networks as facilitators for internationalisation, leaving home market networks under-researched. Purpose: This paper explores family business internationalisation by adopting an international business lens. The revised Uppsala model is used as the main frame of reference to understand how network relationships in the home market facilitate family business internationalisation. Method: The study is based on a qualitative design with an exploratory purpose and a grounded theory methodology, following a realist ontology and constructionist epistemology. Six in-depth semi-structured interviews with four family businesses were conducted. The use of grounded analysis allowed us to find patterns and explanations to ultimately develop a theory grounded in our findings. Conclusion: The benefits resulting from home market network relationships facilitate family business internationalisation. Predominantly, the acquisition of knowledge is a necessary step to gain resources family businesses are missing to internationalise. The conceptualisation of our theoretical model with the revised Uppsala model suggests an elaboration of the latter to include network resources and capabilities.

Yes / The central aim of the paper is to examine the nature and function of higher education in Africa, and to explore the potential for partnerships between institutions in the Global North and South to assist in meeting the current capacity challenge. The paper starts with a critical exploration of the contemporary shifts taking place in higher education around the world and how this is transforming academic and professional identities. Following this is an analysis of the rationales that drive the process of ¿internationalisation¿ of higher education. We argue that internationalisation and globalisation present both a challenge and an opportunity for the rapidly expanding systems of higher education in Africa. We then go on to consider how international partnerships might support the development of Higher Education institutions in Africa and we present a critical analysis of the pitfalls and potentials of such collaborations. We also reflect on a long-term collaborative relationship between the Universities of Bradford (UK) and Mzumbe (Tanzania). From this we take the view that robust and strategic long-term partnerships can avoid neo-colonial relationships and offer potential for both partners, but this requires institutional commitment at all levels. This literature review serves as a foundational study, which will feed into further papers reflecting on the evolution and practice of the partnerships in place between JEFCAS (University of Bradford) and HE institutions in Africa.

No / Interest has grown in the significance of the country-of-origin impact on the Employment Relations (ER) approaches in the international subsidiaries of Multinational Companies (MNCs). In this article, a comparative cross-sectional analysis of German subsidiaries with indigenous UK firms will be provided. The central issues concern the extent to which German MNCs in deregulated Anglo-American industrial relations settings draw on the German ER model, adjust to the host-country context or adopt current ¿best practice¿ prescriptions frequently associated with leading US MNCs. Here, the key questions are: How and to what extent do different industry-specific forces interrelate with country-of-origin effects and pressures to adopt ¿best practice¿ approaches to shape subsidiary ER outcomes? / Hans Blocker Foundation

Yes / Purpose – The management of reputation and status is central to creative professional service firms (CPSFs) rendering the internationalisation process a particular challenge. We build on arguments that internationalisation requires moving from outsidership to insidership within client networks and focus on how CPSFs build signals about quality to start this process. Design/methodology/approach – The exploration draws from the international business, professional services and organizational status bodies of literature. A multiple case study design is developed comprising ten Irish architecture firms. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings - The findings clarify how relationships start in the internationalisation process through signal building. This allows firms to join client networks moving from outsidership to insidership. Our findings systemise three different approaches for CPSFs: from outsidership to insidership within a local market network, within a global industry network and within a global project network. Research Limitations/Implications – Research within other sectoral and geographical contexts could support transferability of the findings. Practical implications – The study has implications for CPSF’s international business strategies as it identifies multiple paths to gaining network insidership and the tactics employed to achieve this.