This paper extends prior scholarly works on entrepreneurial failure, entrepreneurial resilience and learning from failure by examining how the effects of prior experiences of entrepreneurial business failure (EBF) manifest in the entrepreneurial process of subsequent venture formation. We elucidate the pre-founding and post-founding effects of prior EBF via insights drawn from 25 serial entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The findings demonstrate that entrepreneurs were often motivated to start another venture as a result of the economic hardship and social stigmatization that occurs after business closure. We identified a three-stage fine-grained process perspective of successive entrepreneurial engagement (e.g. pre-founding, formation and development, and post-founding conditions and effects on subsequent entrepreneurial ventures). These stages shed light on entrepreneurial fragility, entrepreneurial resiliency and the development of anti-fragility capabilities that are conducive to subsequent venture formation and survival. We shed light on how individual-level factors shape how prior failure experiences can shift from liability immediately after business collapse and at pre-founding to become an asset during and after new-venture formation. Such learning from past failure is vital in adapting to dynamic environmental changes, especially those observed in emerging-market settings. Taken together, we demonstrate how entrepreneurs bounce back from errors, failures and setbacks.

Despite the considerable research on strategic persistence, there remains a lack of understanding as to why companies persist with underperforming workers. Our study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by integrating the concepts of the paradox of success, external legitimacy, nepotism and the escalation of commitment perspectives to develop an integrated explanation for persistence with underperforming workers. Drawing on insights from two emerging economies in Africa: Ghana and Nigeria, we uncovered that persistence with underperforming workers stem from information hoarding, favouritism through tribalism and externally imposed constraints. Our study also articulates the underlying processes inherent in such persistence. The wider implications for theory and public policy are examined.

A B S T R A C TOn the basis of a qualitative study in two emerging economies, we advance the literature on lateral hiring by developing an integrated phase model to explain how the effects of lateral hiring unfold to affect the originating firm and its employees. Our work uncovered two types of effects on the originating firm, i.e. first-order and second-order effects. Our stage model elucidates how the psychological and emotional effects are manifest to affect the existing employees. Personnel poaching appear to have triggered the quest for meaning and attempts by the existing employees to enhance their visibility, career adaptability and marketability. We discuss implications for practice, theory and research on lateral hiring.

PurposeGiven that institutional and cultural factors affect the transfer of HRM practices between multinational companies (MNCs) and their subsidiaries, the paper set out to investigate the explanatory mechanism for the replication of transferred HRM practices and the factors likely to influence the choice of transfer mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachUsing an exploratory qualitative approach, 40 interviews were conducted with senior managers and employees in two MNC subsidiaries located in the alcoholic beverage and oil industries in Nigeria.FindingsThe findings suggest that organizational culture (OC) was the mechanism for MNC HRM replication and inhibition. In addition to explaining the mechanisms for HRM practice replication, the authors developed a conceptual framework to explain how clan and hierarchical OC influence the extent to which human resource (HR) practices are replicated or inhibited and how institutional and cultural factors influence the choice of OC.Originality/valueThe study uncovered that MNCs deploy hierarchical OC to oversee the replication of transferred practices. Interestingly, the authors found that institutional and cultural environments were key factors that influenced the choice of mechanism for overseeing the replication of HR practices. The conceptual framework can help managers of MNCs to understand how to replicate transferred HRM practices in developing countries.

Purpose -In this introduction paper, we aim to first highlight the different intellectual discourses and contributions to the 'special issue' on critical perspectives on international business in Africa. We also introduce the details of the contributions included within this special issue.Design/methodology/approach -The paper briefly presents Africa as a fertile but under researched context for international business scholarship notwithstanding the growing number of contributions in recent times. This is followed by a brief review and discussion of each paper in this special issue.Findings -The paper captures the findings and contributions of the papers featured in this issue.Originality/value -The paper sets the context in which the other papers that comprise this special issue can be situated. Moreover, the paper engages with key issues and challenges relevant to African business and offers critical perspectives on the theory and practice of international business within Africa.