International Business & Trade a.y. 2024-25

01.03.2025, Bergamo

International Business & Trade

Dear all,

I trust that this message finds you well.

Today I just wanted to kindly remind you of several reading assignments for 03.03.2025 (Monday) as follows:

Consequences of Firm Internationalization

Hsu, W. T., Chen, H. L., & Cheng, C. Y. (2013). “Internationalization and Firm Performance of SMEs: The Moderating Effects of CEO Attributes.”, Journal of World Business, 48(1), 1-12.

1.      Discuss the core argument of this scholarly investigation & clarify what research gap the authors try to fill.

2.      What is the relationship between the upper echelon theory and the information processing theory?

3.      Explain why a CEO who is younger, more highly educated, and who has more international experience is important in enhancing the positive impact of dispersion into many foreign markets on firm performance (return on asset).

4.      Elaborate on the mechanism that the interaction of internationalization with CEO duality is significantly negative.

5.      Discuss the managerial relevance of this paper.

Vermeulen, F., & Barkema, H. (2002). “Pace, Rhythm, and Scope: Process Dependence in Building a Profitable Multinational Corporation.”, Strategic Management Journal, 23(7), 637-653.

1.      What is the uniqueness/originality/novelty of this study?

2.      What benefits can be reaped through diversifying into a variety of counties?

3.      Clarify the rationale why the pace, scope, and rhythm of the internationalization process negatively influence the profitability of a MNC’s international expansion in an extension of the notion of time compression economies.

4.      Provide the core take-home message that can be drawn from the empirical evidence of this study in practical terms.

5.      Do you feel convinced of their research? If yes, why? If not, why not?

 We will briefly start with Boustanifar et al.’s (2021) article on which we did not complete our class discussions last Wednesday. Overall, your solid preparation will be greatly appreciated.

As you already know, Tuesday’s session (04.03.2025) will be concerned with the topic of “Determinants of Superior Foreign Subsidiary Performance”. Please make sure that you read the two assigned articles (Delios & Beamish, 2001; Isobe et al., 2000) through & prepare your own ideas to the questions listed on moodle in advance. Please be well-prepared to clarify the cases relating to the last question of each assigned article (Q6 & Q5). Of course, you can also find failed cases & identify what factors are responsible for those failed cases, as you wish. If anyone wishes to voluntarily give a pitch using only a one-page PPT (2 minutes at a maximum) or without it, please let me know as immediately as possible.

Determinants of Superior Foreign Subsidiary Performance

Delios, A., & Beamish, P. W. (2001). “Survival and Profitability: The Roles of Experience and Intangible Assets in Foreign Subsidiary Performance.”, Academy of Management journal, 44(5), 1028-1038.

1.      What is the core argument of this piece of work?

2.      Define what it means by intangible assets in general & why they are important for multinational firms in outperforming their local competitors.

3.      Explain the rationale behind the statistically significant interaction effect between host country experience and advertising assets on profitability in the case of wholly owned subsidiaries.

4.      Discuss the managerial relevance of this article in detail.

5.      Search one multinational firm venturing in a foreign market environment, which takes full advantage of its own marketing capability & then evaluate the nature & quality of its marketing capability. 

Isobe, T., Makino, S., & Montgomery, D. B. (2000). “Resource Commitment, Entry Timing, and Market Performance of Foreign Direct Investments in Emerging Economies: The Case of Japanese International Joint Ventures in China. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3), 468-484.

1.     Discuss the originality & novelty of this scholarly investigation.

2.     What are the strengths & drawbacks of first-mover advantages?

3.     Provide contextualized discussions on how the availability of supporting infrastructure influences technology transfer & the timing of entry.

4.     Discuss the underlying logic behind the positive effect of parent control on technology transfer.

5.     Explain what factors are the most responsible for predicting successful joint venture projects in practice by extending the empirical results of this study.

6.     Select one Western multinational firm operating successfully in one of emerging economies & identify what made it successful.

I wish all of you a wonderful weekend & please take the best care of yourself.

Kindest regards,

Norifumi Kawai

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