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Corporate strategy is a foundation for companies operations, processes and  the ways in which its various businesses  work together to achieve particular goals.  Scholars and managers  recognize different levels of strategy for organizations. One of  the  differentiations  is  based  on  governance structure of the organization, and divides  corporate strategy on two levels: corporate strategy  and business-unit strategy. In many cases, some might think that business and corporate dimensions are the same. However,  when divided into strategies, there is a difference. This especially relates to MNEs (multinational enterprises), with their massive and sometimes complicated structure  and business units all over the world.  This study intends to find out whether and how corporate strategy as whole is employed and engineered in terms of this differentiation at MNEs, as well as to explore the additional factors   to well-known ones, affecting strategy development on both levels. Even though, a decent amount of studies have been done on a field,  the views on which questions should be answered by corporate level  strategies or business unit strategies are significantly differ. Hence, in order to develop understanding and contribute to the further research, this study has been undertaken.

As globalization influences today’s world markets, many organisations are becoming global. An important challenge facing multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the global market is to manage the performance appraisal of expatriates out on assignment. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the appraisal process of Swedish expatriates. There has been research on expatriate appraisals in the past; however, only few of them have focused on Scandinavian MNEs. Therefore, we will investigate the effect Scandinavian management style has on the appraisal process of Swedish expatriates.   The data in our thesis is collected through semi-structured interviews with listed Swedish MNEs. The empirical findings were then compared on our revised model that reflects the characteristics of Scandinavian management style.   The results of this thesis indicate that there are some relationships between characteristics of Scandinavian management style and the appraisal process of Swedish expatriates. A collaborative approach to Human Resource Management (HRM) practices is common in Scandinavian countries, as well as focus on creating a partnership culture between employer and employee and we found that such characteristics had a large impact on attributes in the appraisal process. Scandinavian MNEs can use the conclusions drawn from the study as guidelines for performing effective appraisals of their expatriates.   However, the findings are only a minor contribution to this poorly investigated field, which needs further investigation. Suggestion for future research could be to do a similar investigation on a larger scale, and with a bigger sample.

In face of the rapid globalization, more and more emerging market MNEs (EMNEs) are assigning expatriates to establish and manage overseas tasks in order to gain the competitive advantages in global markets. Consequently, the issue of expatriate management within the context of EMNEs has become an important concern in the field of IHRM. The purpose of the thesis is to delineate how expatriate management of Chinese MNEs that shaped by unique Chinese informal institutional environment may impact upon the expatriate effectiveness (work adjustment and job performance) in foreign countries. The thesis uses a qualitative research and collects empirical data from 11 Chinese expatriates working in 3 different Chinese MNEs’ Nordic divisions. The empirical results reveal the fact that Harmony is positively related to work adjustment through indoctrinating the specific corporate value, Group Orientation (family attachment) has positive relationship with job performance, Top-down control has negative relationship with work adjustment because of the hierarchy pressure, and Guanxi has no link with expatriate effectiveness under the given regulations and staffing policies. In the context of EMNEs, the influences of four different informal institutional factors are able to intervene the IHRM practices so as to increase or decrease the expatriate effectiveness.

The awareness about corruption has distinctly risen since the 1990s. In line with this many anti-corruption approaches arose initiated by the international community. This ranged from international legislation, initiatives by international institutions as Transparency International as well as strategic efforts on corporative levels as given with the appearance of Code of Conducts. However, the phenomenon appears to be of stable nature, which clearly impacts international business. Globalisation brings companies from less corrupt countries, unexperienced with its dimensions and handling, in frequent contact with business environments being highly dominated by corruption. Due to this, we find it to be a topic of importance and high relevance for almost any multinational business actor. Within the business related research field of corruption, we identified three research gaps. Firstly, the investigation of the supply-side of corruption within the private sector has not received sufficient attention in comparison to the demand-side. Further it appears that the contextuality of the phenomenon has been widely neglected, meaning that its driving dimensions of economical, social and political nature have not been investigated as a whole, revealing potential interrelations. In connection to this, the third gap we see to be given with a lacking connection of the topic to ethical considerations, which also calls for a contextual embedment. Based on these gaps we formulated the following research question: What drives corrupt practices of Multinational Enterprises within the internationalisation process? We argue that before any decisions concerning the handling of corruption can be made, one firstly needs to understand the phenomenon in its complexity. Building up on that, we further aim to scrutinise whether the above described anti-corruption approaches represent sufficient measures for MNEs when it comes to the practical avoidance of corruption. This represents the purpose of our study. We divided anti-corruption measures into internal and external approaches. The former include corporate anti-corruption- strategies, which in connection with ethical standpoints are commonly stated within Code of Conducts. The latter depicts the international legal framework against corrupt practices as well as international institutions fighting it. We concentrated our research on MNEs based in Europe, which internationalised to the BRIC-countries. In order to gain practical insights, a qualitative multiple case study has been conducted, comprising a sample of ten European companies. Given that we decided to conduct an exploratory study, we interviewed firms of differing size and industries in order to gain diverse data. The data collection was specifically tailored to the sensitivity of our research topic. As an ethical standpoint we took the anthropological perspective of moral relativism, implying that corruption cannot be evaluated as right or wrong without taking its context into consideration. Based on the latter, the findings revealed that corruption depicts a phenomenon of high complexity, being driven by every single of the investigated dimensions. Those are intensively interrelated and further reinforce each other. This characteristic seems to lead to a failure of anti-corruption approaches as sufficient measures on the operative level. Thus, within the BRIC-countries MNEs are unlikely to be able to uphold a strict non-tolerance for corruption as it appears to represent the Western business expectations. Consequently, they seem be entangled in a dilemma, facing the local given of strongly prevalent corruption but lacking tools to efficiently circumvent any engagement. According to this we identified a need for a new perspective, going beyond the oversimplified moral evaluation of corruption as right or wrong, implying a ‘black or white’-decision. We see this to be unrealistic since the real-life- context partly leads to grey-zones, in our view making the engagement in corrupt actions morally acceptable since the assessment has to be based on national moral views and take situational dependency into account. With this, we provide a new perspective on the phenomenon of corruption which can serve as a base for future research. On top of that managers can make use of our implications in order to better understand corruption. Consequently, they are able to make more realistic evaluations, for example acknowledging acceptable cultural adaptations instead of claiming a zero-tolerance approach. This again can lead to the creation of transparency, in the end supporting the combating of corruption.

Cette thèse présente les mécanismes qui expliquent l'expansion internationale des entreprises multinationales des pays émergents vers des pays développés. Nous suggérons que les changements radicaux en termes de routines contribuent à expliquer l'expansion des entreprises des pays émergents. Nous soutenons que ce type de changement radical est uneétape indispensable pour que les entreprises des pays émergents puissent construire un avantage compétitif et entrer dans les économies avancées.De plus, nous nous intéressons aux antécédents du changement radical des routines de l’entreprise. En nous appuyant sur la théorie de l’échelon supérieur, nous suggérons que la composition des équipes de direction a un impact sur les changements radicaux de routines. Nous soutenons le fait que les dirigeants étrangers et ceux disposant d’une expérienceinternationale peuvent apporter de nouvelles connaissances et pratiques de gestion dans leurs organisations, ce qui contribue à les rendre plus compétitives. Toutefois, le succès sur le marché domestique peut empêcher l'entreprise d’évoluer à l’international. Les entreprises ont tendance à construire leurs capacités dans le prolongement de leur trajectoire passée ; une diversification conglomérale, des liens avec le gouvernement et une position de leader de marché peuvent empêcher les entreprises d'entrer dans les économies développées. / This dissertation introduces mechanisms that explain the international expansion of emerging-market multinational enterprises (EM MNEs) into advanced economies. It aims to provide a theoretical explanation of global champions from emerging economies. We propose path-breaking change as a complementary view that is the driver of emerging-economy firms’ international expansion into advanced economies. We argue that path-breaking change is a prerequisite before emerging-economy firms build and, in turn, leverage their ownership advantages in advanced economies. In addition, we further investigate the antecedents of path-breaking change. Building upon the upper-echelon theory, we assert that the composition of a top management team (TMT) and a board of directors (BOD) have an impact on the extent of a firm's path-breaking change. We argue that foreigners and executives with international exposure may bring new knowledge and introduce new management practices to their organizations. They may usesuch knowledge and skills to transform firms into more market-oriented entities. However, success in the domestic market may prevent a firm from changing. Firms tend to build their capabilities upon their historical path trajectory. Hence, market leadership position, conglomerate diversification, and government ties deter firms from venturing into advanced economies

Corporate Social Responsibility is attracting more public attention in business world nowadays. It has evolved well in developed countries while there still remains some CSR issues in emerging economies such as China and Turkey. Thus, when some multi- national enterprises select suppliers in China and Turkey they come with CSR requirements and pressure. In this supplier-buyer context, less study has been carried out from suppliers’ perspective on how they implement the CSR pressure and whether it has positive or negative impact on their relationship with the buyer and impact on themselves. In addressing this problem in this particular supplier-buyer environment, the purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives and practices of suppliers regarding CSR in emerging economies like China and Turkey with strong export relationships to companies in developed countries. In order to achieve this purpose, this thesis presents a qualitative study supported by primary data gathered by interviews and secondary data gathered by examining company documents. One Chinese supplier and one Turkish supplier were chosen as two cases in this study. Both have supplier-buyer relationships with the same buyer which has a large role in the textile industry. Interviews were conducted with two suppliers respectively to gain research data. The result of the study shows that: (1) CSR is perceived differently by Turkish and Chinese supplier. The Chinese supplier emphasizes their CSR perspectives on only economic and philanthropic levels while the Turkish supplier includes also ethical and legal levels. (2) In supply chains, both suppliers comply with codes of conduct from the buyer and additionally conduct CSR activities voluntarily. Both suppliers focus on philanthropy and community contribution but the Turkish supplier work on environmental friendly products. (3) There is no direct positive impact linked with CSR compliance in terms of supplier-buyer relationship for both suppliers. In other words, requirements on CSR from the buyer do not contribute much to their supply chain relationships. (4) CSR practices bring competitive advantages for both suppliers. Those competitive advantages include innovation capability and positive corporate reputation.

This study investigates the influence of bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) on the international expansion of developing-country multinational enterprises (MNEs). The study includes ten case studies of Thai MNEs in the food industry. The study explores the responses of these firms to three of Thailand’s bilateral FTAs (Thailand–Australia FTA, Thailand–New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership and Thailand–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement). All the case firms regard these Agreements favourably. The findings offer insight into the role of bilateral FTAs in Thai MNEs’ internationalisation. The Agreements help firms to internationalise, at the same time influencing the corporate adjustments they have to make. The firms in this study share a number of common responses, which include adjustments in product strategy and the development of new business networks. The findings also suggest differences among firms in their internal adjustments in response to FTAs. First, some firms respond much more vigorously than others. Second, in order to reap the full benefit of the FTAs and internationalise successfully, some have to develop new strengths; for example, the ability to coordinate and integrate activities more closely. The analysis of the research findings of this study suggests some modification of the inherited theoretical framework, by means of which the impact and role of government trade policy in the internationalisation of firms is assessed. The overall impact of bilateral FTAs on Thai MNEs in the food sector is positive but modest. Directly, FTAs influence the development of firms’ internal strategies, capabilities and resources. Further studies are recommended to test if FTAs impact on other types of firms, other sectors of business, and other countries in the same ways. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1383228 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2010

Workforce Localisation policies in Saudi Arabia (commonly known as ‘Saudisation’) have passed their nineteenth year, aiming at replacing foreign employees in the private sector with local employees. The government’s rationale behind the localisation of the workforce includes both the high rate of unemployment amongst Saudi nationals and the massive presence of expatriates in the labour market. The government acted firmly in this issue as organisations are threatened by closure and severe financial penalties if they do not comply with the policy requirements. Although these policies apply to all private firms, the regulations have been even tougher on Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) as one of the main objectives of Saudi’s foreign investment policy is to create employment opportunities for locals. However, many MNEs have been found to be lagging behind in implementing the policies. Despite the importance of these policies and their implications on MNEs’ performance, research in this area remains very limited. The literature available has focused on issues of rationales and barriers of WL polices. One of the main gaps in literature is the lack of multi-dimensional models that identify the factors associated with the success of such policies. In an attempt to overcome the mentioned limitations, this research identifies the determinants of localisation success through the employment of multi-dimensional model. From the model proposed, the research evaluates the impacts of Institutional determinants, HR determinants, and firm characteristics on localisation success. The study draws its conclusion from the analysis of quantitative data collected from Human Resource Directors representing 157 MNEs. Hypothetical relationships are examined using multiple regression analysis. With regard to the first group of localisation determinants, the results support the institutional determinants of cause and control whilst supporting only the consistency proposition in the content determinants. With regard to HR determinants, the roles of HR director, recruitment, and training were found to be powerful determinants of localisation success. Finally, the results have shown that determinants related to MNEs’ characteristics—namely MNE size and MNE age—have no significant impact on localisation success. We also found that MNEs operating in the petrochemical industry are more likely to succeed in their localisation polices than other industries namely high and low technology industries. The overall findings have raised a number of areas of interest. First, the drivers of these policies were specifically social perception in the form of legitimacy and extrinsic economic pressure. Secondly, it was also duly observed that legislative and regulatory influence was found to be a strongly positive determining factor. From a theoretical perspective, it is concluded that greater diffusion of policies which acknowledge the potential variations in skill sets and labour availability and capability would, in fact, result in a more transparent approach. In the long term increased trust between organisations and policy-makers could have the effect of accelerating the localisation process because MNE’s work collaboratively with policy-makers and are prepared to invest resource in improving the level of localisation as a form of strategic and competitive advantage.

This paper investigates the impact of returnee entrepreneurs and their knowledge spillovers on innovation in high-tech firms in China. Using panel data for 1,318 high-tech firms in Beijing Zhongguancun Science Park (ZSP) we find that returnee entrepreneurs create a significant spillover effect that promotes innovation in other local high-tech firms. The extent of this spillover effect is positively moderated by the non-returnee firm's absorptive capacity approximated by the skill level of employees. Multinational enterprises' R&D activities positively affect the innovation intensity of non-returnee firms only when these local firms possess the sufficient level of absorptive capacity. Our findings have important policy and managerial implications for policy-makers and practitioners.