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<p>In times of rapid growth, both in terms of economic development and globalization, an increasing number of firms extend their businesses abroad. A subsequent challenge of this development is the managerial implications of cross-cultural management. This study employs a qualitative approach in a single case study of Swedish company and its subsidiary in China. After reviewing the previous studies, the authors summarize the differences of management style, staff behaviors and communication system in different culture context and find the barriers of cross cultural communication in multinational firms. The findings of this study indicate that the barriers of communication come from the national culture’s influence on the work place and behaviors of people with different identity. Moreover, culture also influences people’s way of thinking and behaving and result in different understandings toward vision and purposes of firms.</p>

In times of rapid growth, both in terms of economic development and globalization, an increasing number of firms extend their businesses abroad. A subsequent challenge of this development is the managerial implications of cross-cultural management. This study employs a qualitative approach in a single case study of Swedish company and its subsidiary in China. After reviewing the previous studies, the authors summarize the differences of management style, staff behaviors and communication system in different culture context and find the barriers of cross cultural communication in multinational firms. The findings of this study indicate that the barriers of communication come from the national culture’s influence on the work place and behaviors of people with different identity. Moreover, culture also influences people’s way of thinking and behaving and result in different understandings toward vision and purposes of firms.

This dissertation consists of two essays in international trade and one essay in political economy. The first essay analyzes the role of firm-level and country-level reputation for quality in international transactions. It studies the entry and pricing strategies of high-quality and low-quality exporters when buyers cannot observe the quality of a product prior to purchase. In a steady-state industry equilibrium, country reputations are endogenously set by the quality of their exports, leading to the possibility of multiple equilibria and low-quality traps. We show that export subsidies have a positive long-run effect on average quality, reputation and welfare in countries exporting low-quality goods. However, they have the opposite consequences in countries that export high-quality products. We present some evidence consistent with the model in the empirical pattern of US export prices. The second essay studies the choice between home country and host country financing for multinationals facing demand uncertainty. Three main channels are identified. The cost of capital depends on local financial development. A diversification channel arises from the ability of geographically diversified firms to generate more stable cash flows. By contrast, contagion risk may result in inefficient liquidations when firms raise funds exclusively on their home market. In particular, the model predicts that the prevalence of affiliate production and the share of parent finance should increase with the correlation of business cycles between the home and host markets. Moreover, exchange rate risk tilts the financing decision towards local debt. The third essay deals with the emergence of mass education. Using data from the last 150 years in 137 countries, we show that large investments in primary education systems tend to occur when countries face military rivals or threats from their neighbors. Interestingly, democratic transitions are negatively associated with education investments, although democratic political institutions magnify the positive effect of military rivalries. These empirical results are robust to a number of statistical concerns and hold when we instrument military rivalries with commodity prices or rivalries in a given country’s immediate neighborhood. We also present historical case studies, as well as a simple model, that are consistent with the econometric evidence. / Economics

Abstracts in English, Northern Sotho and Xhosa / This study critically explores the link between internationalisation theories and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) – a linkage which is well documented in the literature. Numerous studies have established that the internationalisation process recognises both firm- and market-specific aspects, which greatly determine the direction of outward FDI in terms of volume and pattern. In this interaction, path dependency is determined by the intensity of overlapping aspects or linkages, from firm-level heterogeneity and host market aspects that direct investment patterns in terms of the latter, to the volumes of firm-level adjustments. Firm-level heterogeneity comprises those traits, which enable an individual firm to make an investment decision, select a market-entry strategy and create the competitive advantages that will sustain its investments. Macro-level or country-specific aspects encompass those traits or characteristics of host markets, which encourage FDI on the part of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Most studies overlook the path dependency of country- and firm-specific aspects, which are crucial to the internationalisation processes of international business, economics and trade. Academic studies either focus on macro- or micro-level aspects, without paying specific attention to the path dependency of expansion strategies. The present study attempts to fill these gaps in the existing body of knowledge, by investigating international business in these contexts. The rationale for undertaking this study was two-fold: first, FDI holds proven benefits for host markets, which include economic growth, industry spillover, human capital development and transitory tacit knowledge. From a firm-level perspective, outward FDI largely enhances the capacity of MNEs, prompting an increase in asset accumulation, market share and human capital development, the more efficient utilisation of resources and return on equity. In this study, an argument is presented for measuring the variables of both firm- and market-specific aspects, since most existing studies in this genre focus either on micro- or macro-level determinants, or totally overlook the importance of linkages. Second, no documented research has investigated the path dependency of expansion strategies, especially in Africa. Crucially, the importance of path dependency of South Africa’s outward investment has not been documented either. Further, existing evidence on the role the path dependency of expansion strategies plays in outward FDI are scarce, with even fewer studies following a sectorial approach. This study attempts to fill these academic research gaps by reflecting both firm- and market-level data from various sources for the period 1995–2015, using panel dynamic regression models. The study found that the linkages between firm heterogeneity (firm-level evidence) and market-level aspects create a path dependency of expansion strategies. MNEs adopt either joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries (or both) as market-entry strategies, but the decision is informed by the intensity of those firm heterogeneity aspects that allow them to exploit opportunities and mitigate risk in host markets. Notably, the intensity of path dependency seemingly varies from one industrial segment to the next. The impulse response approach delivered evidence that one standard deviation shock of firm-specific variables led to a moderate improvement in firm-level capacities in the short run, but a significant improvement in the long run. The same result was recorded for market-level aspects, with the intensity of the results varying from one industry to the next. The causality test attempted to explore the causal relationship between the study variables in both firm- and market-level aspects. Empirical evidence from the study indicates that the size of the firm and its capacity to utilise its resources efficiently, influence their investment in host markets. As regards market-specific aspects, the size of the economy, levels of industry and trade openness were found to have a causal effect on the inflow of FDI in host markets. The intensity of causal aspects was also found to vary from one industry to the next, due to variations in firm level heterogeneity and their linkage in terms of aspects related to the host market. In sum, this study complements existing material on the subject of international business. / Olu phononongo luphicotha ikhonkco phakathi kweengcingane zamazwe ngamazwe kunye notyalo-mali ngokuthe ngqo oluphuma ngaphandle kumazwe asemzini (i-FDI) –indibaniselo ebhalwe kakuhle kwimiqulu yoncwadi. Izifundo ezininzi ezenziweyo ziye zaqinisekisa ukuba inkqubo yamazwe ngamazwe iyazamkela zombini inkampani- kunye nemiba ekhethekileyo yemarike, ezihlola kakhulukazi imikhombandlela (izikhokelo) ye-FDI yangaphandle ngokomthamo kunye nephatheni. Kule ntsebenziswano, indlela yokuxhomekeka ifunyanwa ngobungakanani bezinto ezisebenzelelanayo/ezingenanayo okanye izenzo zokuhlangana, ukusuka kwiintlobontlobo zamanqanaba enkampani kunye neemfuno zabasingathe imicimbi yeendawo zokuthengisa (iimarike) iimpahla ezilawula iiphatheni zotyalo-imali ngokweyokugqibela, kwimilinganiselo yokulungelelaniswa kwenqanaba lwenkampani. Iintlobo-ntlobo zamanqanaba enkampani ziquka ezo mpawu, ezenza inkampani nganye yenze isigqibo sotyalo-mali, ikhethe isicwangciso sokungeniswa kwimarike kwaye siyile amathuba amahle okhuphiswano aya kugcina utyalo-mali. Inqanaba eliphezulu okanye iinkalo ezithile zelizwe zibandakanya ezo zimo okanye iimpawu zeemarike ezamkelekileyo, ezikhuthaza i-FDI kwiinkampani zamazwe ngamazwe (iMNEs). Uninzi lwezifundo aziyiniki ngqalelo indlela yokuxhomekeka yelizwe kwimicimbi ekhethekileyo nebalulekileyo yenkampani kwiinkqubo zangokwamazwe oshishino lwamazwe ngamazwe, uqoqosho norhwebo. Uphando lwemfundo ephakamileyo lugxininisa kwiinkcukacha ezikwinqanaba eliphezulu okanye eliphantsi ngokunganiki ngqalelo kwindlela yokuxhomekeka yeendlela zokwandisa. Uphononongo lwangoku luzama ukuvala izikhewu/izikroba kulwazi olukhoyo., ngokuphanda ishishini lwamazwe ngamazwe kule meko. Ingqiqo ekwenzeni olu phando yahlulwe kubini: okokuqala, i-FDI inenzuzo eqinisekisiweyo kwabasingethe iimarike, ezibandakanya ukukhula koqoqosho, ukuchuma kwamashishini, ukuphuhliswa kwezakhono zabantu kunye nolwazi oludlulileyo lwezakhono. Ngakwicala lenqanaba lenkampani, i-FDI yangaphandle iphakamisa amandla e-MNE, ikhawulezisa ukunyusa uqokelelo lwempahla, isabelo semarike kunye nophuhliso lwabantu, ukusetyenziswa ngokufanelekileyo kwezixhobo kunye nokubuyela kubulungisa bokulingana. Kolu phononongo, impikiswano inikezelwe ukulinganisa iinguqu zombini yenkampani- kunye nemimiselo ethile yemarike, njengoko olunye uphando oluninzi olwenziweyo kolu hlobo lugxininisa koonobangela abakwizinga elisezantsi okanye eliphezulu, okanye kunganikwa ngqalelo tu kukubaluleka kwezenzo zokudibana / zokunxibelelana. Okwesibini, akukho phando lubhaliweyo oluphande indlela yokuxhomekeka kweendlela zokwandisa, ngakumbi e-Afrika. Ngokusesikweni, ukubaluleka kwendlela yokuxhomekeka yotyalo-mali lwangaphandle eMzantsi Afrika alukaze nalo lubhalwe phantsi. Ukongezelela, ubungqina obukhoyo kwindima yendlela yokuxhomekeka yeendlela zokwandisa kwi-FDI yangaphandle zinqabile, kwakunye nezifundo ezimbalwa ezilandela indlela yamacandelo. Olu phononongo luzama ukuzalisa izikroba zophando zemfundo ephakamileyo ngokuzibonakalisa zombini inkampani- kunye nedatha yamanqanaba emarike avela kwimithombo eyahlukeneyo yexesha lowe1995-2015, usebenzisa iimodeli zepaneli ezinamandla zokubuy’umva. Uphononongo lufumanise ukuba ukudibana phakathi kweentlobo-ntlobo zenkampani (ubungqina bezinga lenkampani) kunye nemilinganiselo yezinga lemarike zidala indlela yoxhomekeko yeendlela zokukhula. Ii-MNE zamkela intsebenziswano ngokuhlangeneyo okanye bazibambele ngokwabo ngokupheleleyo (okanye zombini) njengeendlela zokungena kwimarike, kodwa isigqibo siphenjelelwa bubungakanani beentlobo-ntlobo zemicimbi yenkampani evumela ukuba baxhaphaze amathuba kwaye banciphise umngcipheko kwiimarike zenkampani. Ngokuphawulekayo, ubukhulu bokuxhomekeka wendlela yokuxhomekeka kukhangeleka kusahluka ukusuka kwicandelo elinye lozoshishino ukuya kwelinye elilandelayo. Indlela yokuphendula ngokungxama inikezele ubungqina bokuba ukuphazamiseka okusesikweni kwizinto eziguquguqukayo zenkampani ezikhethekileyo zikhokelele ekuphuculeni okusezingeni eliphakathi kwinqanaba kubungakanani benqanab lenkampani ngexeshana, kodwa ukuphuculwa okubonakalayo nokubalulekileyo ekuhambeni kwexesha. Isiphumo esifanayo sabhalwa phantsi kwiinkalo zemarike, nobukhulu beziphumo zohluka ukusuka kwelinye ishishini ukuya kwelinye. Uvavanyo lwamaxesha athile luzame ukuphonononga ubudlelwane bamaxesha athile phakathi kwezifundo zezinto eziguquguqukayo kwiinkalo zombini inkampani –kunye nenqanaba lemarike/ neemeko zemarike. Ubungqina bamava obuvela kuphando lubonisa ukuba ubungakanani benkampani kunye namandla okusebenzisa uvimba wezixhobo ngokufanelekileyo, ziphembelela utyalo-mali kwiimarike zenkampani. Ngokubhekiselele kwimimandla ethile yemarike, ubungakanani boqoqosho, amazinga oshishino kunye nokuvuleka kwezorhwebo kufunyaniswe ukuba kunefuthe elenzekayo ngamaxesha athile ekungeneni kwe-FDI kubasingathi beemarike. Ubungakanani bemicimbi eyenzeka ngamaxesha athile yafunyanwa kwakhona ukuba yohlukile ukusuka kwelinye ishishini ukuya kwelinye, ngenxa yeenguqu kwiintlobontlobo zeamanqanaba enkampani kunye nokudibana kwabo ngokwemiba enxulumene nabasingethe imarike. Kafutshane esi sifundo, sigcwalisa izixhobo ezikhoyo kwisihloko sezoshishino lamazwe ngamazwe. / Dinyakišišo tše di utolla ka tsinkelo kgokagano gareng ga diteori tša peyomaemong a boditšhabatšhaba le peeletšothwii ye e tšwago dinageng tša ka ntle (FDI) – e lego kgokagano yeo go ngwadilwego ka yona kudu ka dingwalweng. Dinyakišišo tše mmalwa di utollotše gore tshepedišo ya go bea maemong a boditšhabatšhaba e lemoga bobedi dilo tša difeme le tše di amanago le difeme, tšeo di laolago kudu fao FDI ya dinaga tša ka ntle e lebilego gona mabapi le bontši le mokgwa. Ka tirišanong ye, go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo go laolwa ke bontši bja dilo tšeo di dirwago ka nako e tee goba dikamano, go tloga go go farologanya ditšweletšwa ka femeng le dilo tša mmaraka wa ka nageng tšeo di laolago mekgwa ya dipeeletšo mabapi le go ya ka mmaraka wa ka nageng, go ya go mehuta ye mentši ya dipeakanyo tša ka femeng. Go farologanya ditšweletšwa ka femeng go bopilwe ke diphetogo tše, tšeo di kgontšhago feme ye itšego go tšea sephetho sa mabapi le peeletšo, go kgetha maano a go tsena ka mmarakeng le go hlama menyetla ye mekaone yeo e tlago tšwetša pele peeletšo ya yona. Dikokwane tša ekonomi ye kgolo goba tša ka nageng di akaretša diphetogo tšeo goba dipharologantšhi tša mebaraka ya ka nageng, tšeo di hlohleletšago FDI ka karolong ya dikgwebo tša dinaga tša ka ntle (di-MNE). Dinyakišišo tše ntši di hlokomologile go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo ga naga le ga dilo tša ka femeng ye itšego, tšeo di lego bohlokwa go tshepedišo ya peyomaemong a boditšhabatšhaba ya dikgwebo tša boditšhabatšhaba, diekonomi le kgwebišano. Dinyakišišo tša dirutegi di ka be di lebeletše kudu dilo tša ekonomi ye kgolo goba tša ye nnyane, ka ntle le go lebiša šedi ye kgolo go go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo a boditšhabatšhaba ga maano a katološo. Dinyakišišo tše di leka go tlatša dikgoba tše ka tsebo ye e lego gona, ka go nyakišiša dikgwebo tša boditšhabatšhaba ka maemong a. Maikemišetšo a go dira dinyakišišo tše e bile a mabedi: sa mathomo, FDI e na le dikholego tšeo di tiišeditšwego go mebaraka ya ka dinageng, tšeo di akaretšago kgolo ya ekonomi, khuetšano ya diintasteri, tlhabollo ya bokgoni bja bašomi le phetišetšo ya tsebo ye e lego nyanyeng. Go ya ka maemong a difeme, FDI ye e tšwago dinageng tša ka ntle e godiša bokgoni bja di- MNE, ya hlohleletša koketšego ya khwetšo ya dithoto, ya kabelano ya mmaraka le ya tlhabollo ya bokgoni bja bašomi, tšhomišo ye kaone kudu ya methopo le go hwetša poelo go dikabelano. Ka mo dinyakišišong tše, go hlagišwa ntlha ya go ela diphapano tša bobedi dilo tša ka femeng le tša ka mmarakeng, ka ge bontši bja dinyakišišo tše di lego gona ka mo lekaleng le la dinyakišišo di lebeletše kudu tšeo di laolago ekonomi ye nnyane goba ye kgolo goba tšeo di hlokomologago ka botlalo bohlokwa bja dikgokagano. Sa bobedi, ga go dinyakišišo tšeo di ngwadilwego tšeo di nyakišišitšego go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo ga maano a katološo, kudukudu ka Afrika. Se bohlokwa ke gore, bohlokwa bja go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo ga peeletšo ya Afrika Borwa ya dinaga tša ka ntle ga se gwa ngwalwa le ge go le bjale. Godimo ga fao, bohlatse bjo bo lego gona ka ga mošomo wa go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo fao go ralokago ka ga maano a katološo ka go FDI ya dinaga tša ka ntle e se bjo bontši, gomme go na le dinyakišišo tše mmalwa go latela mokgwa wo o lebeletšego makala. Dinyakišišo tše di leka go tlatša dikgoba tše tša dinyakišišo tša dirutegi ka go laetša tshedimošo ya bobedi ka maemong a difeme le ka mebarakeng go tšwa methopong ya mehutahuta go tloga ka mengwaga ya 1995–2015, ka go šomiša mekgwa ya kakanyo ya dikamano ye e fetogago. Dinyakišišo di hweditše gore dikamano gareng ga go farologanya ditšweletšwa (bohlatse bja ka maemong a difeme) le dilo tša maemo a ka mmarakeng di hlola go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo ga maano a katološo. Di-MNE di šomiša masolo a mohlakanelwa goba dikhamphani tša ka fasana tšeo di laolwago ka botlalo (goba ka bobedi) bjalo ka maano a go tsena ka mmarakeng, eupša sephetho se laolwa ke bontši bja dilo tšeo tša go farologanya ditšweletšwa tšeo di di dumelelago go nyaka dibaka le go fokotša kotsi ka mebarakeng ya ka nageng. Seo se lemogilwego ke gore, bontši bja go tšea diphetho go ya ka maemo go bonala go fapane go ya ka karolo ya intasteri go ya go ye nngwe. Mokgwa wa go arabela kgoketšo wo o hlagišitšwego ka bohlatseng bja gore phapogo ya tlwaelo ya diphapano tša ka femeng e feleleditše ka kaonafalo ya magareng ya bokgoni bja difeme lebakeng le lekopana, eupša ka kaonafalo ye kgolo mo lebakeng le letelele. Dipoelo tše di swanago di begilwe ka go dilo tša maemo a ka mmarakeng, gomme bontši bja dipoelo tša fapana go ya ka diintasteri. Teko ya mathata yeo e bego e leka go utolla kamano ya tšeo di bakago se gareng ga phapano ya dinyakišišo ka go bobedi ka dilo tša ka femeng le tša ka mmarakeng. Bohlatse bja maitemogelo go tšwa ka mo dinyakišišong bo laetša gore bogolo bja feme le bokgoni bja yona bja go šomiša methopo ya yona gabotse ntle le mathata, di huetša peeletšo ya yona ka mebarakeng ya ka nageng. Mabapi le dilo tša ka mmarakeng, bogolo bja ekonomi, maemo a intasteri le go hloka sephiri ka kgwebišanong di bonwe di na le seabe sa go baka seemo go tseneng ga FDI ka mebarakeng ya ka nageng. Bontši bja dilo tše di bakago maemo go hweditšwe gape gore go fapana go ya ka diintasteri, ka lebaka la diphapano ka go farologanyo ya ditšweletšwa ka difemeng le kamano ya tšona mabapi le dilo tšeo di amanago le mmaraka wa ka nageng. Bjalo ka kakaretšo, dinyakišišo tše di tlaleletša dingwalwa tšeo di lego gona ka ga hlogotaba ya dikgwebo tša boditšhabatšhaba. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Business Management)

This dissertation consists of three essays broadly centering on external changes and how organizations respond to these change by altering themselves. My investigations focus on knowledge transfer and innovation related firm responses with an emphasis on firms’ especially, Multinational Enterprises’ (MNEs) market strategies such as ownership, governance and location choices and their non-market strategies such as political networking and stakeholder management. I'm particularly interested in emerging countries and the changing institutional environment in those contexts. To study changes occurring in different speeds and varying firm responses to them, I have hand-collected longitudinal datasets for different industries and employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies: my datasets covers both moderately-dynamic industries such as multinational construction and retailing and as well as more knowledge-intensive industries such as multinational pharmaceutical, electronics and computer & software industries. Chapter 1: MNE Legitimacy in the Eyes of the People: Insights from Libya about Surviving Association with an Overthrown Regime In the first chapter, I investigate how firms respond to changes that are less-anticipated and takes place in a rapid fashion. Differentiating between the learning that MNEs accumulate at the host-countries and related learning they transfer from similar locations, this paper is built upon and extend theories about how MNEs, cope with institutional voids and transitions in relation to their political connections, corporate social responsibility strategies and interactions with stakeholders in the emerging countries. In order to do so, I conducted an in-depth qualitative study on how different MNEs with different interaction levels to the Gaddafi Regime, society, tribes and the new government in Libya were affected by the Arab Spring. In this paper, using the Arab Spring as a natural experiment and employing Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-set methodology, we build new theory on how MNEs can survive and even thrive during times of fast institutional transitions. We introduce “the legitimacy of the government” as an alternative measure of host-country political environment assessment and suggest that MNEs that deepened, broadened and expanded their political connections and strategies to multiple political actors and complemented them with CSR related activities fare better major institutional changes at the host countries. In addition, the results suggest that host-country only specific learning can lock-in MNEs not to see the changing “tea leaves” if they don't complement it with their recent related experiences from their operations other countries. Chapter 2: The Effect of Different Post-Entry Experiences on Changing Market Entry Choices The second chapter focuses on post-entry operations of multinational retail firms that are required to offer a standardized service for an effective knowledge redeploying, but also need to recombine their HQ knowledge with the knowledge that the subsidiaries possess, to ensure adaptation to the local conditions at the same time. The change, now being the multiple uncertainties related with multinational retail chains’ internationalization into different locations, I first analyze how these firms decide on efficient firm boundaries and positioning after their entry into the host countries, and then investigate effects of these post-entry choices on their performance at the host-countries. Constructing a novel data-set of MNEs post-entry commitments in the host countries, my study reviews MNEs’ behavior after they have entered a foreign country and individually tracks their alteration of its ownership and retail format changes over time within that country starting from 1975 and until 2013. This paper provides a more process-based understanding of MNEs’ choices and strategies at the host countries, which extends the scant literature on mode-dynamics. The empirical results show that; MNEs are more likely to change their governance modes after the negative initial performance rather than after the positive initial performance, however, they tend to act completely in the reverse fashion for their decisions regarding changing their initial format choices at post-entry. I also show that the MNEs that change these initial market entry choices regardless of the initial performance have higher probability of survival at the host countries at post-entry, controlling for the dissimilarity between the home and the host countries and after taking into consideration of the possible selection effect of initial market entry decisions. Chapter 3: Differential Effects of Local, Foreign Firms and Supra-National Institutions on the Pace of Institutional Change in Developing Countries In the third chapter, I track changes in local innovation process and IP regime at the same time in the knowledge intensive patent areas such as pharmaceuticals, computer, software and electronics in developing countries. My focus is on Trade Related Intellectual Property Standards (TRIPS) agreement which was signed between developed and developing countries that made it compulsory in emerging countries the protection of product patents along with the process patents. Developing countries were given a 10-year allowance until January 1, 2005, in order to bring their patent system into line with TRIPS obligations as well as other flexibilities. Interestingly, while some of the developing countries such as India used these flexibilities and waited until the end of the 10-year allowance, some countries such as Brazil, Korea and Turkey ratified the TRIPS agreement and put the new regulations into action right away. We explain the variation in developing countries’ rate of TRIPS compliance by new institutionalism and co-evolutionary perspectives, by presenting a framework that shows effects of different actors within innovation systems on different trajectory and rates of institutional change. The results indicate that higher composition of local firms result in slower change of the IP Regime in developing countries, while higher the Advanced Country Multinationals, faster the change. I also find that supranational institutions such as IMF moderate this relationship. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

This thesis deals with the globalization of production, a salient feature of the modern economy. The development of international outsourcing as a widespread business practice and the simultaneous decrease in trade and transport costs have contributed to the growth of a phenomenon known as global value chains. The main aim of the thesis is to understand how global value chains alter the location of economic activity. The thesis also studies the extent of firms' participation in global value chains and its consequences for firm performance.   The thesis consists of four papers studying the behavior of firms in global value chains. Paper 1 analyzes how production fragmentation influences the importing and exporting behavior of Swedish firms in the manufacturing sector. Paper 2 focuses on manufacturing firms in the ICT sector and analyzes the effect of global sourcing on firm performance. In Paper 3, the thesis examines deeper implications of global production by investigating whether exposure to trade raises firms' sensitivity to external shocks. The final paper in the thesis studies the location patterns of multinational firms and analyzes the effect of institutional distance on the number of multinational entries in developing countries.   A number of patterns emerge from these studies. The first is that Swedish manufacturing firms increasingly participate in global value chains by sourcing production inputs from overseas to create products for local and foreign customers. As a result, global value chains help to alter the specialization patterns of manufacturing firms. The second finding is that firms reap benefits from global sourcing in the form of greater efficiency. However, global sourcing may also raise the responsiveness of firms to negative external shocks. The final key result points to a developing trend in the location of activity in which emerging market multinational firms are becoming significant sources of foreign direct investment flows and their investment patterns challenge existing theories of multinational location choice.

With increasing globalisation of the world economy, there is growing interest in international business research among academics, business practitioners and public policy makers. As marketing is usually the first corporate function to internationalise, it occupies the centre-stage in the international strategy debate. The objective of this study is to understand the environmental and organisational factors that drive the desirable outcomes of learning, innovation and performance in multinational firms. By adapting the IO-based, resource-based and contingency theories, the study proposes the environment-conduct-outcome framework and a model of global marketing in MNCs. Using the structural equation modelling-based PLS methodology, the model is estimated with data from a global survey of marketing managers in MNC subsidiaries. The results show that the traditional international marketing strategy and organisational structure constructs of adaptation and autonomy do not have a significant direct effect on MNC performance. Instead, the effects are largely mediated by the networking, learning and innovation constructs that are included in the proposed model. The study also shows that, whereas collaborative decision making has a positive effect on interunit learning, subsidiary autonomy has a significant influence on innovativeness in MNC subsidiaries. Finally, it is found that marketing mix adaptation has an adverse impact on the performance of MNCs facing high global integration pressures but improves the performance of MNCs confronted with low global integration pressures. The findings have important implications for global marketing in MNCs. First, to enhance organisational learning and innovation and ultimately improve corporate performance, MNCs should simultaneously develop the potentially conflicting organisational attributes of collective decision-making among the subsidiaries and greater autonomy to the subsidiaries. Second, to tap local knowledge, MNCs should increasingly regard their country units as 'colleges' or 'seminaries' of learning rather than merely as 'subsidiaries' with secondary or subordinate roles. Finally, to improve MNC performance, the key requirement is to achieve a good fit between the global organisational structure, marketing strategy and business environment. Overall, the results provide partial support for the IO-based and resource-based views and strong support for the contingency perspective in international strategy.

Foreign direct investments that come with globalization bring benefits with them if opportunities are handled in the best manner. One opportunity rises with the institutional difference issue. Different countries have different institutional profiles. Institutional profiles briefly include culture, social norms or governmental regulations. When investing abroad, the bigger the institutional difference gets between the home country and the host country, the harder it gets to acquire the local institutional knowledge. This may result in a negative effect in the firm performance. To make the right decisions managers, being an important part of the decision making process, are required to have a profound understanding and knowledge of the local institutional environment. In here the investing companies have two options; either to use local managers or to acquire knowledge through the accumulation of experience. Building on the institutional theory, sixteen multinational companies operating in the manufacturing industry in Turkey are analyzed with the aim to contribute to the understanding of whether native managers or company experience is creating a better firm performance in consideration with handling the institutional differences. The results of this study point out that, the manager origin indeed influence the firm performance and native managers have a positive effect on the firm performance.

The global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa have increased steadily in recent years but the research on what determines the location of these investments is scarce. Research focusing on FDI flows from small and open economies such as Sweden is even more uncommon. From the locational factors found in the OLI paradigm we developed a model that was tested on a dataset of 25 African countries over the period of 2007 to 2010. The model proved inadequate in explaining the African inward FDI flows from Sweden. However, it well explains the aggregated inward FDI flows from firms around the world to Africa. Our results implies that the locational determinants derived from the OLI paradigm are inadequate in explaining Swedish FDI flows to Africa and maybe even in explaining flows from a small and open economy to developing countries. The answer to the question of what locational determinants are important for Swedish companies investing in African countries should perhaps be sought for elsewhere.