We examine the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI)

No abstract

PurposeAlthough multinational enterprises (MNEs), according to John Dunning's work, are driven by motives of ownership, location, internalization and, ultimately, higher returns, these business entities, by virtue of their transnational products and services, and extensive reach and resources, provide direct and indirect mechanisms that can shape political and social outcomes. This paper seeks to explore those mechanisms in the context of the so‐called “Arab Spring”, the popular uprising that has ensued in a number of Arab countries. The paper also aims to explore virtual public spheres, the platform from which the Arab Spring was launched, and which owes much to the presence of MNEs.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is grounded on the theoretical construct of the virtual public sphere. The approaches taken are that of a general review and secondary research.FindingsThe main findings of this paper are three‐fold. First, in the examination of the role of MNEs and the virtual public sphere in the Arab Awakening, it is found that the new information and networking technologies have already made a sizable impact in terms of paving the way toward political and social changes. Second, it is found that foreign investments in Arab media, mobile, and internet markets are dominantly regional. Third, behind the social media phenomenon in the Arab world are “born‐global” American firms (MNEs), notably Facebook, Inc., Twitter, Inc., and Google, Inc.Originality/valueMost research on the Arab Spring has not incorporated the likely distinctive influence of MNEs. In addition, the paper highlights the association between regional and transnational orientations of business activities of multinational firms and political outcomes.

This study aims to explore the depiction of cultural values on global websites. There exists a research gap in terms of better understanding cross-cultural differences in web communications between the Arab and Western worlds. Thus, we conducted content analysis to examine the cultural values on websites from Arab countries and the U.S. The results suggest that local websites of Arab countries and the United States tend to differ significantly from each other on cultural contents. The proposed cultural findings can serve as a guide for creating culturally congruent international websites.

Purpose The growth of global e-commerce presents significant opportunities for global expansion. Yet it has not leveled the playing field between emerging markets e-commerce corporations (EM-ECCs) and advanced markets ECCs (AM-ECCs). While AM-ECCs have been expanding overseas with considerable success, EM-ECCs have been less disposed to internationalize and have been content to serve and defend their home turfs against foreign rivals who wield monopolistic advantages. Leveraging the network, ownership, location and internalization (N-OLI) theoretical framework, this paper aims to examine the variables affecting the internationalization of AM-ECCs and EM-ECCs. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted an exploratory research method using multiple corporate cases to focus on understanding the dynamics present within single settings, capture corporate context and allow comparison between cases. Findings The findings suggest that AM-ECCs, in comparison to EM-ECCs, are endowed with favorable and strong network-based advantages, ownership-based advantages, location-based and internalization-based advantages that make them more capable of pursuing internationalization aggressively. However, EM-ECCs are induced to pursue regionally-focused internationalization due, on the one hand, to capital scarcity, weaknesses on network-based and internalization-based advantages and, on the other hand, to geographical strength and strong location-based advantages emanating from knowledge of the home region. Originality/value This paper identifies the internationalization challenges that EM-ECCs face with respect to AM-ECCs. While extending the theoretical discussion of the N-OLI framework in light of EM-ECCs, this paper also extends the EM-ECC strategies within local and regional markets, including emerging markets such as India and the Middle East. This extension supports the assertion that regional focused strategies are not immune to technological advantages which support the notion of a regional strategic growth strategy because of localization advantages and capital leverage limitations. Finally, the paper expands the analysis to some emerging markets that have attracted less attention in the literature, namely, India and the Middle East.