Theorising from Case Studies: Towards a Pluralist Future for International Business Research

Research Summary This study considers the exit likelihood of foreign subsidiaries operating in Africa and identifies strategic orientations that can improve their chances of survival. We find that, on average, subsidiaries entering the African market have a greater exit likelihood than those entering the OECD market. However, those subsidiaries entering the African market with diverse investment purposes or greater market‐seeking orientation are less likely to exit, as they tend to enjoy flexibility, adaptability, and learning advantages useful in mitigating economic challenges and/or tapping into strategic opportunities. Managerial summary This study examines how the decision to enter African markets relates to the exit probability of MNE subsidiaries. Using a longitudinal, paired‐sample design of Japanese foreign subsidiaries operating in Africa and OECD countries, we find that entry to Africa increases the hazard rate of subsidiaries, but that subsidiaries entering with more diverse investment purposes and greater market‐seeking orientation have a better survival likelihood. Consistent with the institutional‐based theory of corporate diversification, our findings introduce purpose diversity and market‐seeking orientation as potential mechanisms to mitigate the hazards of institutional voids/instability. Also, by looking at the phenomenon of within‐subsidiary diversity (of purposes) and its interaction with institutional conditions, we advance the notion of subsidiary scope and its implications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foreign Subsidiary Exit from Africa: The Effects of Investment Purpose Diversity and Orientation

Getachew

Beamish

2017

“…Exploratory case study research is particularly appropriate for exploring the early stage relationship between complex and dynamic issues (Eisenhardt, 1989;Gibbert, Ruigrok, & Wicki, 2008). The extant literature has called for more qualitative case studies in the international business (IB) field in general (Birkinshaw, Brannen, & Tung, 2011;Cuervo-Cazurra, Andersson, Brannen, Nielsen, & Reuber, 2016;Welch, Piekkari, Plakoyiannaki, & Paavilainen-Mantymaki, 2011), emphasizing the value of case studies as an appropriate tool for investigating social and political dynamics in MNEs (Dorrenbacher & Gammelgaard, 2016;Geppert & Dorrenbacher, 2014;Levy & Reiche, 2017). As such, case studies are uniquely suited to opening the black box of "how," "who," and "why" questions (Doz, 2011) in the context of corporate HQ-subsidiary relationships (Collings & Dick, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sowing the seeds of subsidiary influence: Social navigating and political maneuvering of subsidiary actors

Conroy

Collings

Clancy

2018

Research Summary: This paper emphasizes the social and political dimensions of subsidiary influence in strategically repositioning the subsidiary's mandate. The specific skills subsidiary actors deploy in attempting to influence corporate headquarters have largely been neglected in existing literature. Drawing from a micro‐political perspective, we provide a more nuanced, fine‐grained understanding of subsidiary influence by illuminating how influence is augmented and enriched through the concomitant effects of subsidiary actors' social and political skills. Using a multiple case study analysis and drawing on qualitative interviews, we illustrate how subsidiary actors' social skills are used to continuously create, maintain, and develop spaces of social engagement with corporate decision makers, whereas political skill involves the ability to leverage social spaces by developing specific influence tactics such as targeting, showcasing, and framing. Managerial Summary: Subsidiaries of multinational companies play an increasingly dominant role in the global business environment. The role of the individual subsidiary actor in influencing corporate management is crucial to the development of the subsidiary mandate. Despite this, very little is known about the microlevel skills individual subsidiary actors draw upon to influence the development of their mandates. This article explores how subsidiary actors channel key social and political skills in strategically repositioning their mandates within the multinational enterprise. We find that subsidiary actors may use their social skills to establish increased interaction and communication with key corporate decision makers, whereas political skill is used to develop a variety of influence tactics.

“…The aim of this study is to extend theory by using contextual explanations through multiple case studies (Welch, Piekkari, Plakoyiannaki, & Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, 2011). A qualitative case study method allows a detailed analysis of processes and enables to investigate activity systems and structures as well as causal relationships of activities, a perspective strongly supported by various academics in the process research field (Langley, 1999;Van de Ven, 2007) as well as by practice theory scholars (e.g., Jarzabkowski, Bednarek, & Lê, 2014;Johnson et al, 2003).…”

Section: Research Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of offshoring on knowledge‐intensive services: A study of activities in service production processes

Brandl

2019

Research summary: In order to identify the impact of offshoring on knowledge‐intensive services (KIS), the activities related to the transfer and co‐creation of knowledge in the service production process are studied in this paper. The concepts of activity systems and activity structures from practice theory are used to analyze these activities. A qualitative case study of multiple offshored KIS shows that offshoring changes activity systems and structures within the production process. Activities related to the transfer of knowledge are reduced while the co‐creation of knowledge remains evident in the process. As a result, KIS become more modularized and less customized, evidencing changed KIS characteristics. The paper adds to service offshoring and international service management literature and extends practice theory. Managerial summary: This paper studies how knowledge‐intensive services (KIS) are impacted by a geographic relocation of the services across country borders. The relocation, termed offshoring, implies that the service client and provider are geographically separated and need to interact on a distance in order to produce the service. As the service production is dependent on the transfer of existing knowledge and co‐creation of new knowledge by clients and service providers, the geographic distance is challenging KIS production processes. An empirical analysis finds that the geographic distance is changing the way the services are produced. The transfer and co‐creation of knowledge are reduced leading to fewer interactions between clients and service providers, mainly knowledge coproduction remains important. These changes lead to altered KIS production processes and service characteristics.