International Business Commons^™

The Geopolitics Of Infrastructuralized Platforms: The Case Of Alibaba, Hong Shen, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Contemporary digital platforms have become increasingly infrastructuralized, and started to raise geopolitical tensions with their global expansion. Amidst the heightened geopolitical competition between the US and China, the growing power of Chinese infrastructuralized platforms has made them the center of recent geopolitical dynamics. Drawing from an exploratory case study, this paper discusses Alibaba, one of the most prominent Chinese Internet giants, as an infrastructuralized platform, and highlights its geopolitical struggles. Often perceived as an e-commerce company, Alibaba has become ‘infrastructuralized’: its now-massive digital empire has moved beyond e-commerce, expanding into almost every aspect of China’s and global digital economy such …

Iq-Pass: Access To Growth, Arjen Van Klink Dr, Helen De Hann Dr

Case Studies

The market of (temporary) access control is one example of an industry that is impacted by digitization and internationalisation. New possibilities come up and ask for reaction from suppliers, but require the re-specification of needs from customers as well. It is also an illustration how new regulation, in this case especially related to privacy and migration, influences industrial dynamics. Related to new technological possibilities and legislative conditions, the industry is in a process of consolidation. This case focuses on a small but innovative company, IQ-Pass, developing its growth strategy in Europe within its constellation of being a subsidiary of the …

Dynamic Return Relationships In The Market For Cryptocurrency: A Var Approach, Julian Gouffray

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This paper examines how the Bitcoin-altcoin return relationship has evolved in periods between 2015 and 2020. To understand this relation, we observe data on the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and prominent altcoins Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, and Monero, which collectively represent over 90% of the market throughout the observed period. We employ a vector autoregressive model (VAR) to produce forecast error variance decompositions, orthogonal impulse response functions, and Granger-causality tests. We find evidence that Bitcoin return variation has increasingly explained altcoin returns and that market inefficiency increased between 2017 and 2020, as shown by increased Granger causality between Bitcoin and altcoins. These …

Business Education And The Development Of Feedback Skills: The Impact Of Student Peer Review Assignments., Kristy Cunningham, Vikkie Mccarthy, Al Tilooby

International Journal for Business Education

Business education not only strives to bridge the gap between related theories and applications but also seeks to develop student’s employability skills. Employability skills are generic skill sets of employees and potential employees that employers across industries value. Leadership, communications, and relationship building are examples of skills that employers have reported as valuable employability skills. Feedback receiving and giving are communications skills important for employment and professional development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the pedagogical device of peer reviews in business classes to develop students’ feedback receiving and feedback giving skills. Using the theoretical learning theory, connectivisim, …

A Decomposed Data Analysis Approach To Assessing City Sustainable Development Performance: A Network Dea Model With A Slack-Based Measure, Bowen Sun, Haibo Wang, Jaime Ortiz, Jun Huang, Can Zhao, Zelang Wang

International Business and Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

This paper deals with urban sustainable development in China. We propose a network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with a slack-based measure (SBM) to analyze the eco-efficiency of 284 Chinese cities, enabling us to find a way to open the “black box” in conventional DEA models and introduce social well-being factors into the model, and depict the role of local government in providing public service and improving social well-beings. We set up a framework of urban development by dividing the process of into two steps. The first stage is a production system translating inputs and natural resources into GDP and …

Revisiting Institutional Voids: Advancing The International Business Literature By Leveraging Social Sciences, Marleen Dieleman, Stanislav Markus, Tazeeb Rajwani, George O. White Iii

Faculty Publications

Institutions are vital for solving collective action problems and enabling functioning markets. Based on this notion, the institutional voids literature has offered a dynamic research agenda for international business scholarship. In this perspective article, we leverage work from political science, development economics, legal studies, and anthropology to: (a) expose hidden assumptions about institutional voids in the management literature; (b) propose new directions for research based on our revised assumptions; and (c) provide direction-specific theoretical constructs from other social sciences to stimulate theory-building and empirical inquiry into institutional voids. We develop a framework that identifies four revised assumptions about institutional voids …

Revisiting Institutional Voids: Advancing The International Business Literature By Leveraging Social Sciences, Marleen Dieleman, Stanislav Markus, Tazeeb Rajwani, George White Iii

Faculty Publications

Institutions are vital for solving collective action problems and enabling functioning markets. Based on this notion, the institutional voids literature has offered a dynamic research agenda for international business scholarship. In this perspective article, we leverage work from political science, development economics, legal studies, and anthropology to: (a) expose hidden assumptions about institutional voids in the management literature; (b) propose new directions for research based on our revised assumptions; and (c) provide direction-specific theoretical constructs from other social sciences to stimulate theory-building and empirical inquiry into institutional voids. We develop a framework that identifies four revised assumptions about institutional voids …

Alternative Modes Of Entry And Unexpected Events In Franchising, Alexander Rosado-Serrano, Antonio Navarro-García

Journal of Global Business Insights

Store-in-store franchising or corner franchising is the application of a franchise format within another business, such as big box retailers, supermarkets, and gas stations; and pop-up stores are temporary store formats opened in shopping malls or other venues for a short period. Despite the regular application of these strategies by franchisers, the academic literature on store-in-store franchising and pop-up stores is relatively limited. There is a particular need after the COVID-19 outbreak to construct new lenses through which to explore how these modes of entry adapt to the new environment of business interruptions and border closures. Motivated by this research …

A Multiple Case Study On Small And Mid-Size Enterprise Managers’ Lived Experiences On The Impact Of Job Losses On Outsourcing Practices, Nicholas M. Watson

The Qualitative Report

There is a greater need to understand how economic insecurities contribute to outsourcing practices. Previous research documented that small and medium-sized enterprises gained limited advantages from outsourcing. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study design was to explore the contribution of consumer job losses on outsourcing practices. A semi-structured open-ended interview was used to collect data from the 13 participants from the furniture, bedding, and wooden industries in Jamaica. From the analysis of the data collected, two themes emerge: (1) affordability and (2) market trends. The findings obtained from this research suggest that consumer job losses contributed to outsourcing …

Populist Syndrome And Nonmarket Strategy, Daniel J. Blake, Stanislav Markus, Julio Martinez-Suarez

Faculty Publications

Although recognized as a defining feature of the current political era, populism and its implications for non-market strategy remain undertheorized. We offer a framework that (a) conceptualizes populism and its progression over time; (b) outlines the risks populism generates for firms; and (c) theorizes effective nonmarket strategies under populism. Our framework anchors the political risk profile of populism in three interdependent elements: anti-establishment ideology, de-institutionalization, and short-term policy bias. These elements jointly shape the policymaking dy-namics and institutional risks for firms under populism. Our analysis shows how firms can calibrate two nonmarket strategies – political ties and corporate social responsibility …

Developing Global Competence In A Virtual Classroom, Maggie Mahoney, Marina Sebastijanovic, Olivia Miljanic

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Developing Global Competence in a Virtual Classroom

In today’s globalized economy, effective leaders must be able to relate to and work with people from diverse cultures. Higher Education has a leading role in creating global citizens through intentional student global competence development opportunities, such as education abroad (American Council on Education, 1998). The importance of developing global competence is reflected in an increasing number of new curricular programs with a global focus offered by universities. As one of the many strategic and systematic efforts to promote global education, the Institute for International Education’s Generation Study Abroad program reports a 300% …

The Impact Of E-Service Quality On The Customer Satisfaction Of Electronic And Small Appliances Online Shoppers In Saudi Arabia, Majed A. Almobarak

Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this quantitative study, which utilized a non-experimental, correlational predictive design, was to evaluate the association between perceptions of e-service quality by Saudi Arabian adult residents and their overall satisfaction with the online retailer from which they buy their electronics and small appliances products. The study also sought to determine to what extent e-service quality factors, as a group and independently, predict the customer satisfaction of the participants of this study. The participants of this study were limited to adults (18 years of age or older), male and female, who live in any region of Saudi Arabia, and …

The Impact Of Terrorism On Risk Perceptions: An Analysis Of The Dutch Market Behavior And Attitudes Towards Egypt, Rami K. Isaac

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This research aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of terrorism on risk perceptions and attitudes of Dutch travel behavior towards Egypt. The research process involved an online self-administered method created with one of the leading research and web-based survey tools called Qualtrics. The questionnaire was filled in by 414 respondents. Findings indicate that (potential) Dutch tourists are less likely to take risks when traveling with children. For instance, people that usually travel with children state to avoid traveling to countries within the MENA region because of unrest related to terrorism. Over half of the sample size would …

How Agriculture Could Uplift A Nation And Its People: Providing Analytical Data To Farmers In Belize, Thomas G. Stephenson

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Agriculture is the bedrock of the Belize economy, but is plagued by routine issues. These problems hurt not only the economy of Belize, but also the health and well being of its citizens. By working with the Ministry of Agriculture my team surveyed the Stann Creek district of Belize to address these issues and provide much needed information to local farmers.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: A Meta-Analysis Of Ceo Overconfidence, Strategic Risk Taking, And Performance, Barbara Burkhard, Charlotta Sirén, Marc Van Essen, Dietmar Grichnik, Dean A. Shepherd

Faculty Publications

Although overconfidence is acknowledged as one of the most common managerial decision-making biases, much uncertainty remains about its implications for firm performance. To resolve this uncertainty, we investigate how and why CEO overconfidence is related to firm performance using meta-analytic techniques on a sample of 199 studies. In particular, relying on behavioral decision theory, we develop alternative hypotheses regarding the impact of CEO overconfidence on firm performance. Contrary to the conventional belief that CEO overconfidence is detrimental, this study reveals that CEO overconfidence is, on average, beneficial for firm performance. Drawing on recent refinements of upper echelons theory and theoretical …

The Relationships Among Locus Of Control, The Impostor Phenomenon, And Math Anxiety In Business Majors, Tiffany L. S. Tovey, Stephanie Kelly, Wiley Brown

International Journal for Business Education

The importance of quantitative literacy in business education cannot be overstated. A barrier to enhancing quantitative skills for many business majors is their math anxiety, an angst some individuals experience when working with numbers. This study explored the relationship between math anxiety, locus of control, and impostor phenomenon in business students. 220 business students (undergraduate and graduate) from a two moderately sized southeastern universities in the United States participated in an online survey that assessed these three phenomena. A linear regression was run to understand the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that more than one fifth of math …

Subsidiary Staffing, Location Choice, And Shareholder Rights Effectiveness, Nathaniel C. Lupton, Vishaal Baulkaran, Yeonji No

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Institutional differences between countries influence strategic choices and performance of international businesses, but the unintended effects of legal institutions on firm legitimacy have received less attention. We argue that, while minority shareholder rights protection in an investment location does not directly protect shareholder interests abroad, the normative and mimetic effects it has on host country managers can mitigate agency problems. Using Japanese FDI established between 1986 and 2013 we find that (a) subsidiaries established in host countries with higher shareholder rights protection employ a smaller proportion of Japanese expatriates, (b) shareholder rights protection enhances a country’s FDI attractiveness, and (c) …

Chinese-Backed Fintech Lending Boom: How Did Indonesia Respond?, Angela Tritto, Yujia He, Victoria Amanda Junaedi

Diplomacy and International Commerce Reports

Peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending has the potential to boost innovation and financial inclusion in emerging markets, yet it can also incur investment and borrower-related risks, such as privacy breaches.

Driven by regulation control in China, Chinese investments flocked to Indonesia, causing a rapid expansion of online lending platforms.

Similar to what happened in China prior to the regulatory crackdown, the P2P lending boom in Indonesia saw a rise in unethical and illegal business practices. The government responded by creating new regulations and institutions to mitigate risks without stifling the potential for financial inclusion.

A proactive approach towards monitoring and regulating …

Urban Utopia Or Pipe Dream? Examining Chinese-Invested Smart City Development In Southeast Asia, Yujia He, Angela Tritto

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

With increasing public–private partnership and international cooperation in smart city development across the Global South, Chinese firms are poised to take advantage of growing business opportunities, a situation that few studies have examined. This empirical case study of the Forest City, a Chinese-invested greenfield smart city project in Iskandar Malaysia, begins to fill that gap. This megaproject represents the coming together of overlapping economic development interests of the local authorities and the profit motivations of the Chinese investor. However, the project’s use of the ‘smart city’ discourse contrasts with the reality of limited technology adoption. Its visibility and considerable socio-economic …

Security Simulations In Undergraduate Education: A Review, Joseph J. Simpson, Aaron Brantly

International Business and Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

Several decades of research in simulation and gamification in higher education shows that simulations are highly effective in improving a range of outcomes for students including declarative knowledge and interest in the topic being taught. While there appears to be a broad array of options to provide education in an undergraduate setting related to security, no previous reviews have explored computer-based simulations covering all facets of security. Given the increasing importance and adoption of interdisciplinary educational programs, it is important to take stock of simulations as a tool to broaden the range of problems, perspectives, and solutions presented to students. …

Indonesian Accounting Students’ Self-Confidence To Adopt Artificial Intelligence (Ai), Gina Andani, Lindrianasari Lindrianasari, Reni Oktavia, Ratna Septiyanti

Jurnal Akuntansi dan Keuangan Indonesia

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) in accounting as the impact of industrial revolution 4.0 has raised various concerns regarding the future of accountants and the possibility that accountants will be replaced by AI. Businesses are continuously adopting AI globally and particularly in Indonesia, AI adoption raises concerns that accountants will be replaced with AI due to the lack of competence to work with AI. A descriptive study with a quantitative approach was conducted in January 2021 by distributing questionnaires that collected a convenience sample of 476 respondents from universities across Indonesia. The required criteria of respondents are the active …

Enhancing Sales Education By Incorporating An Innovative International Role Play, Diane R. Edmondson, Lucy Matthews, Hannah Makarczyk

Atlantic Marketing Journal

In today’s society, the global marketplace has become more relevant to all businesses to help ensure sustainability (Hummel, 2012). In marketing, students pursuing a career in sales can find significant opportunities; however, there are unique skills needed when selling internationally (Salesforce, 2021). Prior research has highlighted lost revenue due to internationally incompetent employees (Daniel, Xie, & Kedia, 2014). A content analysis of 139 Sales Education Foundation universities was completed to determine the extent to which international sales education is currently being incorporated in sales curriculum. Results indicate that only 6.5% include some international sales element as part of their program. …

The Role Of Enterprise Europe Network In Export Activities Of The Western Balkan Smes, Bojan Ćudić, Matjaž Klemenčič

Economic and Business Review

The Western Balkan region (WB) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lag behind the EU-28 counterparts in their export activities. The positive influence of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) on local business support organisations and the local businesses is identified as a contributing factor to that improvement. To investigate the EEN's role in the export of the WB SMEs in the period 2014–2017, the authors used available statistical data on export from the WB countries. The survey was conducted in three phases, with the samples of 1,463, 222, and 12 companies. Analysed results of the EEN activities in the WB show …

Jostling For Space In Africa’S Business Periphery: A Review Of The Growing Competition Between Indigenous And Chinese-Owned Enterprises, Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

This paper reviews recent research and related studies on the ongoing competition between Chinese and local entrepreneurs in the lower rungs of Africa’s business sector. Several studies have noted that since entry, Chinese firms have been able to undercut African entrepreneurs, thanks to superior networks and better financing. However, other findings portray more positive impacts of Chinese presence, including higher employment and tax revenues, and better supply of goods and services. It is possible to surmise that this jostling for space in Africa’s business periphery will not last. Ultimately, it must yield to changes in the host countries’ political economy …

Reskilling And Upskilling : To Stay Relevant In Today’S Industry, Rhea Sawant, Bryan Thomas, Swati Kadlag

International Review of Business and Economics

The rapid modernization and influx of various new technologies and methodologies currently being employed today greatly and continuously changes the definition of professional competence expected of employees that work for companies that are directly or indirectly impacted because of these advancements or changes, this creates a demand for new jobs requiring new skill sets and so, one finds that in order to keep relevant to the workforce, refreshing and adding to one’s skill set has become a necessity. Candidates thinking about entering the job market need to possess the right kind of skills for the right kind of job and …

Can Blended Learning Address Indian Academic Issues?, Vijay Joshi, Sukanta K. Baral

International Review of Business and Economics

Over the years, India has implemented social reforms aimed at providing education to all. This is observed from the growth in GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) over the years that has resulted in a decrease in the number of students absent in schools. Coronavirus, nonetheless, has disturbed this scenario and is testing the functions, efficiencies, and practices of India's schooling framework. This research paper, written for stakeholders in government, and the education sector, anticipate the extent to which there is a need of continuing the imparting of education. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the …

Gaining A Better Understanding Of Higher Education: During And Post-Pandemic Scenario, Krati Sethi, Manas Roy

International Review of Business and Economics

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, faculty as well as the students have had to respond to “out of the ordinary” difficulty by quickly switching from traditional class - room education to online learning forms via “virtual classrooms”. Students facing challenges and continuing facing difficulties for various reasons required to adapt this modification in this delivery of curriculum becoming un attentive. Few solutions have been developed for students to assist them in freely transferring to virtual classrooms and maintaining proper online learning etiquette. A series of recommendations is offered in the present study to help students so that they can explore …

Prevalence Of Duesenberry’S Relative Income Hypothesis In Nepalese Economy, Rajendra Adhikari

International Review of Business and Economics

Present paper examines the prevalence of Duesenberry’s relative income hypothesis in Nepalese economy during 1974/75-2019/20 through ARDL bound tests under DEF and Davis-SK specifications. The ARDL under DEF specification is found to be not valid. However, the ARDL bound test under Davis-SK specification is found valid. There exists cointegration among average propensity to consume, demonstration effect and ratchet effect. The coefficient of demonstration effect is found to be negative and that of ratchet effect to be positive as reported by ARDL models. The error correction model also implies that short run shocks significantly affect long run relations among the variables. …

A Ten-Year Cross-National Examination Of The Dance Between Intuition And Rationality In Entrepreneurial Processes, C. Troise, D. Matricano, E. Candelo, Leon Schjoedt

International Business and Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

Entrepreneurs rely, to a degree, on intuition while they also rely on rationality. Both are associated with formation of expectations for new venture creation as well as perseverance of efforts in managing the new venture and its creation. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data from three distinct countries over a ten-year period are used in logistic regression analysis to find, not unexpectedly, that intuition and rationality vary in impact across countries and over time. While the findings confirm past findings, they also provide intriguing new insights into the dance between intuition and rationality in entrepreneurial processes.

An Ethical Discussion About The Responsibility For Protection Of Minors In The Digital Environment: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Charles Alves De Castro, Aiden Carthy, Isobel Oreilly Dr

Articles

Many ethical questions have been raised regarding the use of social media and the internet, mainly related to the protection of young people in the digital environment. In order to critically address the research question "who is responsible for ethically protecting minors in the digital environment?", this paper will review the main literature available to understand the role of parents, the government, and companies in protecting young people within the digital environment. We employed a holistic process that covers a state-of-the-art review and desk research. The article is divided into four sessions; (1) Government Policies from the European Union (EU) …