International Business Commons^™

Why Can Weak Linkages Cause International Stock Market Synchronization? The Mode-Locking Effect, Larry Filer, David D. Selover

Economics Faculty Publications

This study investigates the synchronization between stock markets in different countries. International stock markets tend to synchronize with one another in what appears to be an international financial cycle, yet trade and capital flows between the stock markets do not appear to be strong enough for one stock market to “drive” fluctuations in another stock market. Why are these weakly linked financial markets synchronized? This study suggests that global stock market synchronization results from a “mode-locking” phenomenon, a nonlinear process in which even a weak coupling between oscillating systems like stock markets tends to synchronize the fluctuations between the systems. …

Setting Expectations: An Onsite Orientation For Intern Abroad Programs In London, Ilse B. Damkoehler

Capstone Collection

International internships have been continuously rising in popularity over the past decade, with participation in work, internships, and volunteering abroad (WIVA) more than tripling over a ten year span from 1999/2000 to 2010/2011(Farrugia, 2013). One of the most important elements of an intern abroad program is to set expectations so that students can have a successful program, both personally and professionally. The onsite orientation is therefore a vital piece of an effective intern abroad program.

Setting Expectations: An Onsite Orientation for Intern Abroad Programs in London is a four-day orientation program in London, England developed for participants in the Intern …

Keirestsu Centrality - Profits And Profit Stability: A Power Dependence Perspective, Lance Eilot Brouthers, Yan Gao, Stuart Napshin

Faculty Articles

Prior studies compare keiretsu member firm and independent firm performance. Here, we use historical and power dependence perspectives to theorize that the Japanese keiretsu system primarily benefits the most central firms. We test this by examining the performance of two types of keiretsu firms (central firms and other member firms) within two types of keiretsu (horizontal and vertical). We hypothesize and find that: (1) central vertical keiretsu firms are more profitable than central horizontal keiretsu firms; (2) central horizontal keiretsu firms have greater profit stability than central vertical keiretsu firms; (3) central vertical keiretsu firms are more profitable than non-central …

Learning Curve In Rwanda: A Long Journey Of Transformation, Debby Thomas

Faculty Publications - College of Business

This brief glimpse into one community visit offers a taste of what holistic community development through discipleship looks like. This community has studied issues of farming, salvation by grace, animal husbandry, financial management, discerning God's will, health and cleanliness, and other topics over the last five years. They are learning how to identify the barriers that trap them in poverty, and they are learning to overcome these problems through a holistic discipleship process that teaches them to become problem solvers, to study God's word, and to use the resources they have to address the problems their community faces.

Making Money From Mobile Phone Service At Sea, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

It takes expertise and talent to build a new business; it takes capital and speed to maximise returns.

Impacts Of China’S Foreign Direct Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Jian Zhang, Ilan Alon, Yanan Chen

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impacts of foreign direct investment, as well as China’s FDI on GDP growth of Sub-Saharan African countries from a macroeconomic perspective. By using the data from 44 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2003-2010, our GMM results show that neither China’s FDI nor FDI net inflow in SSA has significant effect on economic growth of SSA countries. The possible explanations about the insignificant results include crowding out effect of China’s FDI on domestic investment, the declining in outward FDI in traditional sectors and rising in service sector which ignored in the current model, and the types of sectors …

The Impact Of European Elections On Their Stock Markets, Andrew Lafortune

Honors Projects in Finance

This paper seeks to provide insight on changes in the European political landscape and how these changes may affect the financial markets in Europe. By analyzing market trends in eight different European countries—Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and Greece—since 1990, this paper attempts to identify any significant relationships between the results of an election and the performances of the major stock indices of these countries. By comparing country index returns starting one hundred days before and ending one hundred days after each election date to a global index, this paper explores the amount of risk in each …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 17, Number 2, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

Common Grounds Café, Michaela Bolotin, Kristina Campano, Samantha Wagner, Amjad Talib

Public & Community Service Studies Student Scholarship

Students participating in an Alternative Spring Break trip to Nicaragua in 2012 focused their exploration on coffee growing and production; they visited a Fair Trade grower, and became interested in developing a longer-term project. Simultaneously, the College’s School of Business began sponsoring an Entrepreneurship Society, while the Feinstein Institute for Public Service and the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation began convening an economic development incubator group as a project of the newly opened Providence College/Smith Hill Annex. These multiple interests coalesced as students, faculty and community came together to open Common Grounds Café.

An Examination Of The Role Relationship Marketing Plays In The B2b Model Between Chinese Manufacturers And American Distributors, Ran An

Masters Theses

Relationship marketing has been a heated topic in the communication paradigm. The primary relationship is the one between a supplier or provider of goods or services and buyers and users of those goods or services. In order to facilitate it, other stakeholders in the network of relationships may have to be involved. This thesis examined the relationship between Chinese manufacturers and American distributors by a pilot qualitative study. Social exchange theory was used as a scope to analyze the relationship. Nine participants from both sides answered computer-mediated interview questions. Business ethics and worldviews are important factors that businessmen look for …

Wto: The End Of The Wto & The Future Of International Trade, Ethan Rutledge

Ex-Patt Magazine

Progress in the harmonization of the international trading system has stalled since the Doha Round. What is next for the future of international trade?

Culture & Conflict: Intertwined With International Business, Chloe W. Friederichsen

Senior Honors Theses

International business has grown day by day as a powerful part of the world economy since the development of separate nations in ancient times. Today international transactions have become a very common entity in the business world. With this newfound trend comes the need to understand the complexities of culture and conflict management in order for an international business to succeed with a competitive edge. Both factors hold the potential to either mercilessly crumble an unprepared organization or richly reward a company for prodigious forethought and management skills. As a result, the link between the fragility of culture adaptation and …

The Story As A Cultural Transmitter: Applications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Stories assist in transmitting cultural wisdom, including wisdom about the business community. The role of stories in various contexts such as education (including international management), management, and marketing, as well as the job search is explained. The article concludes by presenting instructional activities for business education that develop cultural competence through stories.

2014 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Starting An Adoption Agency And The Major Benefits Of Adoption, Dylan D. Lingerfelt

Senior Honors Theses

Adoption impacts families’ lives. There are many benefits of adoption. Some key concepts of adoption are what the process of adoption entails and the different decisions potential adoptive parents need to make when starting the process, a philosophy and mission in terms of a business entity and their importance to an adoption firm, how to start a law firm as a business within the United States, and how to adapt that business to expand to areas like South Asia. South Asian etiquette issues need to be considered and understood from a business perspective. Another area to consider when doing international …

Trapped Cash: When Is A Dollar Not Worth A Dollar?, Russell Engel, Bridget Lyons

WCBT Faculty Publications

During 2013 the concept of “trapped cash” garnered heightened attention as reports of Dell, Apple and other firms holding massive cash levels outside the US surfaced. So called “trapped cash” refers to cash and liquid investments held by subsidiaries located outside the United States. Firms with overseas subsidiaries located in jurisdictions where the tax rate is lower than the rates in the US can reduce taxes by attributing profits to foreign locales. But bringing the cash back to the US subjects the funds to the US corporate tax rate, less credit for foreign income taxes paid.

The House Ways and …

Transnational Business Governance Interactions: Conceptualization And Framework For Analysis, Burkard Eberlein, Kenneth W. Abbott, Julia Black, Errol Meidinger, Stepan Wood

Articles & Book Chapters

This special issue demonstrates the importance of interactions in transnational business governance. The number of schemes applying non-state authority to govern business conduct across borders has vastly expanded in numerous issue areas. As these initiatives proliferate, they increasingly interact with one another and with state-based regimes. The key challenge is to understand the implications of these interactions for regulatory capacity and performance, and ultimately for social and environmental impact. In this introduction, we propose an analytical framework for the study of transnational business governance interactions. The framework disaggregates the regulatory process to identify potential points of interaction, and suggests analytical …

An Indigenous Women Perspective Of Work And Organisation: The Maya Way, Jennifer Manning, J. Miguel Imas, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Western literature in management/organisation studies focuses primarily on gender issues that affect inequalities experienced by women at work. Adopting, in some cases, critical and feminist theoretical positions, the gender debate unfolds questions on the prevailing male discourse that is dominant in management and business organisations. Most of these theoretical assumptions tend to influence, subsequently, the way in which we understand the experiences of women in the developing or under-developed world. That is, these theoretical positions occupy a privileged voice upon which to write, describe and analyse the experiences of women in contexts where these Western discourses seem either alien or …

The Impossible, Highly Desired Islamic Bank, Haider Ala Hamoudi

William & Mary Business Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to explore, and explain the stubborn persistence of, a central paradox that is endemic to the retail Islamic bank as it operates in the United States. The paradox is that retail Islamic banking in the United States is impossible, and yet it remains highly desired. It is impossible because central features of modern banking regulation conflict with fundamental aspects of shari’a as it is understood in modernity in the context of finance. It is unimaginable that regulators will create exceptions to, or somehow significantly amend, the modern financial regulatory system in the radical fashion …

Daniel As An Example Of Exceptional Cross Cultural Leadership, Debby Thomas

Faculty Publications - College of Business

This paper presents Daniel as a prototypical model of an excellent cross-cultural Christian leader. The GLOBE project research on cross-cultural leaders is consulted and five cross cultural leadership qualities are identified based on their acceptance in all cultures studied: integrity, performance oriented, visionary, inspirational, and team builder as found in Dorfman’s research originating from the GLOBE project.1 God’s intervention in Daniel’s leadership is also considered as a significant factor in Daniel’s cross-cultural success as a leader. Exegetical analysis of Daniel 1 and 2 verifies that Daniel meets the criteria of an excellent cross-cultural leader as proposed by Dorfman. Daniel presents …

Organizational Fields, Transnational Business Governance Interactions And The Diffusion Of Csr, Melanie Coni-Zimmer

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

The paper analyzes the process of global diffusion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the oil industry and how interactions between different actors have contributed to this outcome. It starts from the empirical puzzle that CSR has spread globally among transnational corporations since the mid 1990s (diffusion of CSR as a dependent variable). To explain this phenomenon, the paper presents a theoretical argument based on insights from sociological neo-institutionalism. It uses the concept of organizational fields as social spaces where organizations interact with one another. The structuration of an organizational field leads to processes of homogenization among the organizations belonging …

Business And Human Rights: Understanding The Un Guiding Principles From The Perspective Of Transnational Business Governance Interactions, Karin Buhmann

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of Transnational Business Governance Interactions (TBGI) analytical framework (Eberlein et al. 2014). The article identifies and discusses dimensions of interaction and components of regulatory governance which characterise the Guiding Principles, focusing in particular on the rule formation and implementation. The article notes that the Guiding Principles actively enrolled other actors for the rule-making process ensuring support in a politically and legally volatile field. It identifies mutual 'piggy-backing' by the Guiding Principles and other TBGI Schemes, …

Lower Of Cost Or Market Inventory Valuation: Ifrs Versus Us Gaap, Dahli Gray, Clemense Ehoff Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

The lower of cost versus market (LCM) controversy regarding inventory cost measurement is presented. The differences between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and United States (US) Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are analytically compared. The link between US federal tax law and US GAAP is emphasized relative to a discussion of deferred taxes and potential US federal income tax revenue.

The Reliability Of Chinese Economic Statistics, Lili Yu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

China's rapid economic growth over the past three decades has drawn attention from all over the world. The sources and reliability of the official statistics behind the tremendous growth have been the subject of heated debate among economists. This paper contributes to this data reliability debate by analyzing on the GDP statistics of China and seeks to establish whether or not the official data are valid.

This study begins with a review of the prominent research on the topic. The majority of these studies, reviewed in chapter two, point to a series of inherent contradictions in the official figures, which …

Teaching International Business Via Social Media Projects, Ilan Alon, Ruwanthi Herath

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of an experiential learning technique coupled with social media in an international marketing course. It was conducted among 155 students placed in groups that were assigned to develop a YouTube video for use as a country branding marketing tool. Measured evaluations of the students’ perceptions of the experience reveal that it was both beneficial and positive, and it helped to promote an understanding of the importance of team work and the uses of technology. Factor analysis grouped the perceptions and attitudes regarding the exercise into four categories.The differences in perception …

Corporate Communication In The Twenty-First Century, Susan Laws

Other Graduate Scholarship

Corporate communication represents an evolving area of study within the increasing puzzle of global growth in the twenty-first century. The theoretical history of public relations originated in North America and the United Kingdom before the ubiquitous presence of technology and the internet. Since the 1950s, numerous approaches and models of corporate communication have emerged. The focus of this study is to contribute to the development of a new theory of corporate constructs of identity, image and reputation, formulating competitive advantage with strategy formulation, within the framework of the new political economy – these economies do not and cannot operate in …

Entrepreneurial Orientation And International Scope: The Differential Roles Of Innovativeness, Proactiveness, And Risk-Taking, Li Dai, Vladislav Maksimov, Brett Anitra Gilbert, Stephanie A. Fernhaber

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This research integrates the international business and entrepreneurship literatures by examining the independent influences of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on the ability of a firm to broaden its scope across international markets. For each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation, a cost–benefit framework is applied to highlight the trade-offs associated with different levels in the internationalization context. Based on a unique dataset of 500 SMEs spanning 10 industries, the results reflect the consequences of being “stuck in the middle” with respect to their strategic posture on innovativeness and proactiveness, but reveal a nuanced role for risk-taking behavior. The non-uniform and non-linear relationships …

The Effects Of Food Safety Standards On Trade And Welfare: The Case Of Eu Shrimp Imports, Xiaoqian Li

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This research explores the link between a gravity model and welfare frameworks and then applies the quantitative model system to analyze how trade and welfare is affected by the Minimum Required Performance Limits (MRPL) in the shrimp importing market of European Union.

The quantitative model system consists of two parts: first, this study uses the “phi-ness” gravity model to investigate the trade effects of MRPL on EU shrimp market. The “phi-ness” gravity model partitions the standard variables to avoid biased estimation caused by the correlation between time and country fixed effects and policy variables. The Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) …

The Alien Tort Statute Of 1789 And International Human Rights Violations: Kiobel V. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., Paula Alexander Becker

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. involves an action under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The case was brought in the United States, Southern District of New York, by the widow of Dr. Barinem Kiobel, a Nigerian activist and member of the Ogoni tribe, and others for human rights violations committed in the Niger River Delta. Defendants include Royal Dutch Petroleum, Shell Transport and Trading Co., and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. Although the human rights violations including murder and torture were allegedly committed by the Nigerian military government, it is claimed that the Royal Dutch Petroleum defendants aided …

Industry-Specific Human Capital And Wages: Evidence From The Business Process Outsourcing Industry, Keongtae Kim, Sunil Mithas, Jonathan W. Whitaker, Prasanto K. Roy

Management Faculty Publications

Human capital is becoming more critical as the global economy becomes more information intensive and service intensive. While IS researchers have studied some dimensions of human capital, the role of industry-specific human capital has remained understudied. The IT-enabled business process outsourcing (BPO) industry provides an ideal setting to study returns to human capital, because jobs in this industry are standardized and many professionals in this new industry have come from other industries. We build on IS and Economics literature to theorize returns to human capital in the BPO industry, and we test the theory using data for over 2,500 BPO …