Module description
What is the module about?
This module looks at how multinational enterprises (MNEs) navigate in the international landscape given country and institutional differences.
Who should do this module?
Everybody who is interested in better understanding country differences and how they matter for businesses. This module is of relevance to those thinking about a career in an MNE, or in a start-up with international presence.
Provisional Workshop Outline
Workshop 1: International Business and the MNE
Core Reading Meyer, K. (2013) ‘What is, and to what purpose do we study, international business?’ AIB Insights, 13(1): 10-13.
Recommended Reading Ghoshal, S., and Bartlett, C.A. (1990) ‘The multinational corporation as an interorganizational network’, Academy of Management Review, 15(4): 603-625.
Additional Reading Roth, K., and Kostova, T. (2003) ‘The use of the multinational corporation as a research context’, Journal of Management, 29(6): 883-902.
Workshop 2: Institutional approaches to capitalist diversity
Core Reading Jackson, G., and Deeg, R. (2008) ‘Comparing capitalisms: Understanding institutional diversity and its implications for international business’, Journal of International Business Studies, 39(4): 540-561.
Recommended Reading Kostova, T., and Roth, K. (2002) ‘Adoption of an organizational practice by subsidiaries of multinational corporations: Institutional and relational effects’, Academy of Management Journal, 45(1): 215-233.
Additional Reading Kaspar, M. (2017) ‘The role of AIB and IB in a de-globalizing world’, AIB Insights, 17(4): 6-9.
Workshop 3: Comparative corporate governance
Core Reading Wright, M., Siegel, D., Keasey, K., and Filatotchev, I. (eds) (2013) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Governance, Oxford: Oxford University Press Chapter 1 (Introduction)
Recommended Reading Chapter 2 (Regulation and comparative corporate governance)
Additional Reading Chapter 32 (Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility)
Workshop 4: Comparative HRM and employee voice
Core Reading Hannon, E. (2011) ‘International and Comparative Employee Voice’, in Edwards, T. and C. Rees, International Human Resource Management: Globalization, National Systems and Multinational Companies. 2nd edition. New York: FT/Prentice Hall.
Recommended Reading Edwards, T., Sánchez-Mangas, R., Jalette, P., Lavelle, J., & Minbaeva, D. (2016) ‘Global standardization or national differentiation of HRM practices in multinational companies? A comparison of multinationals in five countries,’ Journal of International Business Studies, 47(8): 997–1021.
Additional Reading Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., & Ackers, P. (2004) ‘The meanings and purpose of employee voice’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(6): 1149-1170.
Workshop 5: Comparing liberal market economies and coordinated market economies
Core Reading Hall P.A., and Soskice, D. (2001) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 1.
Recommended Reading Hall, P.A., and Gingerich, D.W. (2009) ‘Varieties of capitalism and institutional complementarities in the political economy: An empirical analysis’, British Journal of Political Science, 39(3): 449 - 482.
Additional Reading Spiegel Online (2013) ‘Cowboys on the Rhine: US firms flout German labor practices’ http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/amazon-and-other-uscorporations-flout-german-labor-laws-a-900615.html
Workshop 6: MNEs: Internationalisation and entry mode
Core Reading Johanson, J., and Vahlne, J. (1977) ‘The internationalization process of the firm: A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments’, Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 23-32.
Recommended Reading Brouthers, K.D., Geisser, K.D., and Rothlauf, F. (2016) ‘Explaining the internationalization of ibusiness firms’, Journal of International Business Studies, 47(5): 513-534.
Additional Reading The Economist (2018): ‘Fifty shades of Greyhound: How Flixbus conquered the European coach market’ https://www.economist.com/business/2018/05/10/howflixbus-conquered-the-european-coach-market
Workshop 7: International CSR
Core Reading Johanson, J., and Vahlne, J. (1977) ‘The internationalization process of the firm: A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments’, Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 23-32.
Recommended Reading Brouthers, K.D., Geisser, K.D., and Rothlauf, F. (2016) ‘Explaining the internationalization of ibusiness firms’, Journal of International Business Studies, 47(5): 513-534.
Additional Reading The Economist (2018): ‘Fifty shades of Greyhound: How Flixbus conquered the European coach market’ https://www.economist.com/business/2018/05/10/howflixbus-conquered-the-european-coach-market
Workshop 8: Organizing the MNE
Core Reading Birkinshaw, J. (1997) ‘Entrepreneurship in multinational corporations: The characteristics of subsidiary initiatives’, Strategic Management Journal, 18(3): 207-229.
Recommended Reading Filatotchev, I., and Stahl, G.K. (2015) ‘Towards transnational CSR: Corporate social responsibility approaches and governance solutions for multinational corporations’, Organizational Dynamics, 44(2): 121-129.
Additional Reading The Guardian (2012) ‘Ikea apologises over removal of women from Saudia Arabia catalogue’ https://www.theguardian.com/
Workshop 9: MNEs in emerging markets
Core Reading London, T., and Hart, S.L. (2004) ‘Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: Beyond the transnational model’, Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5): 350-370.
Recommended Reading Anderson, J., and Markides, C. (2012) ‘Strategic innovation at the base of the pyramid’, MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(1): 83-88.
Additional Reading Garrette, B., and Karnani, A. (2010) ‘Challenges in marketing socially useful goods to the poor’, California Management Review, 52(4): 29-47
Workshop 10: MNEs from emerging markets
Core Reading Cuervo-Cazurra, A., and Genc. M. (2008) ‘Transforming disadvantages into advantages: Developing-country MNEs in the least developed countries’, Journal of International Business Studies, 39(6): 957-979.
Recommended Reading Ramamurti, R. (2012) ‘What is really different about emerging market multinationals?’, Global Strategy Journal, 2(1): 41-47.
Additional Reading Ibeh, K., Adeleye, I., and Ajai, O. (2018) ‘The rise of African multinationals: Are IB Scholars paying sufficient attention?’, AIB Insights, 18(4): 10-14.
Assessment details
75% Examination
25% Group presentation