Business Commons^™

Activity-Based Criteria On Internationalization, Kamal Fatehi, Mohsen Sharifi

Faculty and Research Publications

The world economy is moving ever faster toward a highly interdependent state in which international business is creating a global market. Often, in this environment, growth or even survival of a business hinges on its successful internationalization. Therefore, firms need to ask the vital question of how internationalized are their operations? To answer such question requires, among other things, measuring the extent of global involvement. This paper is an attempt toward constructing an internationalization measure by using financial performance and market engagement data outside firm’s home country.

Asia In The Middle East: The Internationalization Of Singapore Private Firms Into The Gcc, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How, Simin Sharmaine Neo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Internationalization efforts into the GCC as a national initiative tend to be spearheaded by a vanguard of government-linked companies (GLCs), usually assisted in their entry through various connections, political or otherwise. As large companies with the presumed reliability of government backing, these GLCs tend to be involved in larger-scale, more critical, and more iconic projects. It is a matter of fact, however, that while internationalization may be led by large-scale and attention-grabbing GLCs, the vast majority of FDI and economic activity is, in the long term, entrenched in the activities of private companies. As such, it must logically follow that …

Singapore’S State-Enterprise Network In The Gulf Region: Boom, Bane Or An Ongoing Game, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How, Febbry Lasgon

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Singapore’s state-enterprise network has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of Singapore's internationalization efforts; most recently in the city-state's newest area of focus, the Gulf region. This paper, as part of our series on this topic, studies the city-state’s determined efforts to encapsulate economic space for Singapore-based firms to expand beyond the region through a lens on the Singapore government-linked companies (GLCs), in the context of the unique ‘Arabian allure’ of the GCC economies. Our results show that while the government ‘endorsement’ appears to provide a distinct advantage, the strategic advantages created in the Singapore-styled projects remains uncertain; …

Examining The Determinants Of Hotel Chain Expansion Through International Franchising, Ilan Alon, Liqiang Ni, Youcheng Wang

Faculty Publications

This study proposes and tests an agency-based organizational model of internationalization through franchising in the hotel sector. Using data obtained from a Franchisor Questionnaire 2001-2008, we analyzed a panel of 117 observations of 17 U.S.-based hotels. Our analysis reveals that a hotel franchisor’s decision to internationalize through franchising is positively related to the percentage of franchises, the ratio of franchised units to the total number of units. The article contributes to the literature by empirically modeling international franchising of hotels, which present unique characteristics among franchising companies, with a high investment capital requirement, maturity in the product life cycle, and …

Straussian Grounded-Theory Method: An Illustration, Mai T T Thai, Li-Choy Chong, Narendra M. Agrawal

Mai T T Thai

This paper demonstrates the benefits and application of Straussian Grounded Theory method in conducting research in complex settings where parameters are poorly defined. It provides a detailed illustration on how this method can be used to build an internationalization theory. To be specific, this paper exposes readers to the behind-the-scene work to develop a theory on the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises based in transition economies. It describes each step from sampling to coding and then to theory formation, explaining the rationale each step of the way. The readers can therefore see how a theory took shape and develop …

Revisiting The Dragon: The State Of Singapore’S Regionalization Into China, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How, Febbry Lasgon

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Many years on, with the main thrust of Singapore's internationalization efforts now pointed elsewhere, the current state of Singapore's state-enterprise network in previous main regions of interest, most notably ever-developing China, remains an area of interest for the purpose of evaluating the city-state's determined efforts to encapsulate economic space for its businesses on foreign soil – perhaps with lessons of relevance to the city-state's latest areas of focus, and certainly of relevance to efforts in the long-term. As a study related to our papers on this topic, we revisit the sprawling sub-continent and the operations of Singapore businesses located therein. …

Does Investor Protection Regime Affect The Effectiveness Of Outside Directorship On The Board?, Jagdish Pathak, Jerry Sun

Odette School of Business Publications

Since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in U.S., there has been a general tendency to globally harmonize regulations and practices of board governance. The purpose of this study is to compare among countries how well the board of directors constrains earnings management. Using a sample of firms from 23 countries, we document some evidence that higher outside directorship on the board is associated with lower earnings management in the international context. We also find that there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of board outside directorship in constraining earnings management between high and low investor protection countries. Our findings …

An Phuoc (B): Can Its Business Model Survive The Global Financial Crisis?, Mai T T Thai, Huong T. Thai

Mai T T Thai

Nguyen Thi Dien, the founder and owner of An Phuoc, was deep in thought as she watched the news about the global financial crisis on a winter day in early 2008. Every TV channel, every newspaper and everyone she met had been talking about a series of financial market collapses since mid-2007. The crisis had become real now and it was going to have a great impact on global consumption. EU and U.S. markets seemed to be freezing up. The Asian financial crisis had almost killed An Phuoc about 10 years earlier, but her drastic change in business strategies and …

Real Estate Investment Trust Performance, Efficiency And Internationalization, Joshua A. Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are firms that own and manage income producing commercial real estate for the benefit of their shareholders. The three studies in this dissertation explore topics relating to best practices of REIT management and portfolio composition. Managers and investors can use the findings herein to aide in analyzing a REIT’s performance and determining optimal investment policies. Utilizing REIT from SNL Real Estate and CRSP, the first two studies examine the role of international diversification upon performance, technical efficiency, and scale efficiency. The third study utilizes REIT data to examine technical and scale efficiency over a 21 …

A Comparative Case Study Of The Internationalization Strategies Of Malaysian, Singaporean And Taiwanese Firms, Ah Ba Sim

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Comparative empirical research on the internationalization strategies of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from countries at different levels of development is lacking. This paper examines and analyzes the internationalization characteristics and strategies of MNEs from three Asian countries at two different levels of development. Primary data from matched sample firms from Malaysia (a fast developing economy) and Singapore and Taiwan (representing newly industrialized economies) in the textile and electronics industries are used for this study. The findings indicate some differences among the Malaysian, Singaporean and Taiwanese MNEs. These differences and their implications are examined. The empirical findings, particularly the contextual aspects …

The Long-Term Sustenance Of Sustainability Practices In Mncs: A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective Of The Role Of R&D And Internationalization, Subrata Chakrabarty, Liang(Lucas) Wang

Subrata Chakrabarty