P.W. (Paul) Beamish

• , (Forthcoming), "The Role of MNEs’ Internationalization Patterns in Their Regional Integration of FDI Locations", Journal of World Business.

  Abstract: MNEs use the regional aggregation and integration of their FDIs as an important part of their internationalization. However, little work has focused on explaining the extent of this regional integration. We develop and test new hypotheses about MNEs’ general international experience and international geographic scope (i.e., institutional diversity and international dispersion) as predictors of their extent of regional integration. The results from a sample of Japanese MNEs validate these effects, suggesting these MNE level variables are important for regional influences on their internationalization decisions. The results further our understanding of how MNEs organize their internationalization and strategic geographic foci.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2018.07.004

• , (Forthcoming), "Repeat Market Entries in the Internationalization Process: The Impact of Investment Motives and Corporate Capabilities", Global Strategy Journal.

  Abstract: Multinational firms often make multiple investments over time in a concentrated set of countries, accumulating superior knowledge and capabilities in these environments. Researchers have nonetheless uncovered factors that can lead firms to deviate from strategic trajectories defined by their prior investments. In a statistical analysis of country entry decisions by Japanese manufacturing firms over a 35-year period, we found that firms’ tendencies to re-invest in the same host countries were smaller for horizontal (i.e. market-seeking) investments but greater for vertical (i.e. efficiency-seeking) investments. We also found that organizational capabilities influence the geographic trajectory of international expansion: firms with stronger marketing and production capabilities were less likely to be influenced by the locations of prior entries and were more likely to invest in new countries.
  
  Research summary: This study examines strategic and resource contingencies that shape MNEs’ country location choices. Our analysis of overseas production investments by Japanese firms (19712006) finds that differences in investment motives (i.e. horizontal and vertical investment) and corporate capabilities (i.e. marketing and production capabilities) moderate how prior entries into a host country affect subsequent entry decisions. In general, the positive impact of prior entries on investment in a country is weaker for horizontal investments and stronger for vertical investments. A more nuanced relationship emerges when entry decisions are analyzed in conjunction with heterogeneous corporate marketing and production capabilities. The study illustrates the novel insights to be gained from analyzing the joint impact of path dependence, managerial intentions, and corporate capabilities on country location decisions.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1206

• , 2018, "Joint Ventures in China Revisited", Research Technology Management, June 61(3): 38 - 40.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2018.1445388

• , 2018, "Host market government corruption and the equity-based foreign entry strategies of multinational enterprises", Journal of International Business Studies, April 49(3): 346 - 370.

  Abstract: © 2017 Academy of International Business All rights reserved. While extant theory suggests that the pervasiveness of host market government corruption should influence the equity ownership decisions of foreign-investing multinational enterprises (MNEs), empirical research has produced inconclusive results. We leverage insights from transaction cost economics to advance an uncertainty-oriented framework which can be used to explain the impact of host market government corruption on the equity-based entry strategies of MNEs. We disaggregate government corruption into two distinct components (grand corruption and petty corruption). We propose that grand and petty corruption precipitate different types of uncertainty (environmental and behavioral) which motivate MNEs to vary their equity-based foreign entry strategies (entry mode and partnering). Hypotheses pertaining to the entry strategies of MNEs under conditions of more pervasive grand and petty corruption are developed and tested with a sample of 643 Japanese investments in 30 countries between 2004 and 2007. We find that the main effect of grand corruption and the interaction between grand and petty corruption significantly impact a MNEs entry mode. Further, while more pervasive grand corruption increases the likelihood that a MNE will engage in a joint venture investment with a host country partner, we find that an increase in petty corruption heightens a MNEs preference to invest with a home country partner.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41267-017-0115-7

• , 2018, "The 39 Country Initiative and Africa", Africa Journal of Management, March 4(1): 111 - 123.

  Abstract: Management education in Africa’s poorest countries suffers from the greatest resource constraints of any continent on earth. At least three major challenges exist: lack of current teaching material; very expensive books/photocopies, making an insufficient quantity of materials available; and too few qualified faculty. In 2010, the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada established a three-pronged strategy to help improve management education in 39 of the world’s poorest countries. Of these, 32 are in Africa. The primary purpose of its approach is poverty reduction. It is premised on the belief that if managers and entrepreneurs can make more sound business decisions, failures will decline, and prosperity will increase. The viability of all three elements of the strategy has been proved in various Ivey initiatives over the past 20 years in different geographies. This article reviews the history of the 39 Country Initiative to date in relation to Africa, provides some ideas about the way forward, and some personal observations.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322373.2018.1437988

• , (Forthcoming), "An institutional response model to economic liberalization: Japanese MNEs’ ownership choices in China", Asia Pacific Journal of Management: 1 - 27.

  Abstract: © 2017 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature This study investigates how Japanese MNEs are adapting their ownership choices to accommodate China’s economic liberalization. Drawing upon the institution-based view of the firm, we propose an institutional response model that is simultaneously based on the progress of economic liberalization and the accumulation of subsidiary experience. This model suggests that Japanese MNEs increasingly adopt higher ownership levels in their subsidiaries because of the combined effects of deepening deregulation on foreign investments, declining pure uncertainty, and increasing contingent uncertainty during economic liberalization. It also suggests that the progress of economic liberalization continuously changes the combination of the two types of institutional uncertainty (pure and contingent), contextualizing the influence of subsidiary experience on Japanese MNEs’ ownership choices. Using data for Japanese investments in China between 1991 and 2013, we construct a latent growth-curve model to provide empirical evidence for the proposed institutional response model.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-017-9549-5

• , 2017, "Caught in the crossfire: Dimensions of vulnerability and foreign multinationals' exit from war-afflicted countries", Strategic Management Journal, July 38(7): 1478 - 1498.

  Abstract: Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Research summary: When war occurs in a country, some foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) stay on, while others flee. We argue that MNE responses to external threats depend on the firm's vulnerability, which we decompose into exposure (proximity to threat), at-risk resources (potential for loss), and resilience (capacity for coping). We test the independent and interactive effects of these dimensions using a geo-referenced sample of 1,162 MNE subsidiaries in 20 war-afflicted countries between 1987 and 2006. We find that highly valuable resources can become liabilities when exposed to harm, and the best way to cope with external threats may be to exit. Our findings extend the resource-based view and real options theory by demonstrating the bounded value of resources and options in the face of environmental contingencies. Managerial summary: A recent survey of multinational enterprise (MNE) executives revealed that 30 percent of the respondents believed that their firms were exposed to collateral damage from war, with more than 90 percent expecting risks to rise. Yet, 25 percent of the executives indicated that their firms had no continuity plan. Our study of MNEs in war-afflicted countries highlights the costs of not having a response strategy in place. We find that, in war zones, otherwise highly valuable locations and resources can become sources of vulnerability that prompt early withdrawal from a host country. Our work further highlights the value of real options thinking—where structural solutions such as building redundancy into a portfolio of options may exist in advance of problems—for navigating hostile environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.2599

• , 2017, "The Scaffolding Activities of International Returnee Executives: A Learning Based Perspective of Global Boundary Spanning", Journal of Management Studies, June 54(4): 511 - 539.

  Abstract: © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies This study contributes to the literature on global boundary spanning by taking a learning perspective that positions the boundary spanner as an active change agent. Grounded in a practice-based theory of knowledge, it considers boundary spanning as the negotiation of knowledge and relationships across fields of practice. We argue that global boundary spanning is a long-term commitment to help internal members become aware of foreign knowledge practices, see these practices as valuable, and adopt them internally. We frame the activities of the boundary spanner within a scaffolding framework that theorizes boundary spanning as a combination of ability, persistent willingness, and opportunity. Here scaffolding refers to the cognitive, relational, and material supports enacted by boundary spanners that facilitate organization members’ engagement in practices that allow for the awareness, capacity building, and commitment to adoption of foreign practices. We draw on interviews from international returnee managers employed in large Korean financial firms.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12266

• , 2017, "Multinational enterprise regional management centres: Characteristics and performance", Journal of World Business, February 52(2): 296 - 311.

  Abstract: © 2016 Elsevier Inc. In multinational enterprises (MNEs), regional management centres (RMCs) most frequently take the form of either dedicated regional headquarters (RHQs) or regional management mandates (RMMs) assigned to operating subsidiaries. We identify a series of critical differences in characteristics and performance between RHQs and RMMs, using a longitudinal sample of 855 Japanese RMCs across 41 countries. We also investigate parent-level differences between MNEs with distinct RMC configurations. We propose a structural complement to regional strategy extensions of the integration-responsiveness framework, and provide an important large sample baseline, aiding new theoretical and empirical research into MNE regional management strategy and structure.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.12.011

• , 2017, "Foreign Subsidiary Exit from Africa: The Effects of Investment Purpose Diversity and Orientation", Global Strategy Journal, February 7(1): 58 - 82.

  Abstract: Copyright © 2016 Strategic Management Society 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.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1142

• , (Forthcoming), "The Transferability of Western Business Education to the East", Journal of Management Studies.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12281

• , 2016, "How does regional institutional complexity affect MNE internationalization?", Journal of International Business Studies, December 47(6): 697 - 722.

  Abstract: © 2016 Academy of International Business. International business research is only beginning to develop theory and evidence highlighting the importance of supranational regional institutions to explain firm internationalization. In this context, we offer new theory and evidence regarding the effect of a region's "institutional complexity" on foreign direct investment decisions by multinational enterprises (MNEs). We define a region's institutional complexity using two components, regional institutional diversity and number of countries. We explore the unique relationships of both components with MNEs' decisions to internationalize into countries within the region. Drawing on semiglobalization and regionalization research and institutional theory, we posit an inverted U-shaped relationship between a region's institutional diversity and MNE internationalization: extremely low or high regional institutional diversity has negative effects on internationalization, but moderate diversity has a positive effect on internationalization. Larger numbers of countries within the region reduces MNE internationalization in a linear fashion. We find support for these predicted relationships in multilevel analyses of 698 Japanese MNEs operating in 49 countries within 9 regions. Regional institutional complexity is both a challenge and an opportunity for MNEs seeking advantages through the aggregation and arbitrage of individual country factors.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2016.20

• , 2016, "The spatial structure of foreign subsidiaries and MNE expansion strategy", Journal of World Business, April 51(3): 438 - 450.

  Abstract: © 2015 Elsevier Inc. Drawing on internalization theory and economic geography research, we examine how the spatial structure of MNE subsidiaries in supranational regions affects subsidiary location choices. Our analysis of foreign production investments by Japanese manufacturing firms from 1971 to 2006 supports our theoretical predictions: firms were more likely to establish new production subsidiaries in countries geographically more proximate to existing production subsidiaries, but not to trading subsidiaries, in the same region. The proximity effect diminished for production subsidiaries engaged in accessing natural resources or R&D. Performance of production subsidiaries was also stronger for those closer to other production subsidiaries in the same region.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2015.12.001

• , 2016, "The mutual construction of knowledge transfer and shared context in capability development within the networked MNC", Knowledge Management Research and Practice, February 14(1): 150 - 157.

  Abstract: © 2016 Operational Research Society Ltd. Consistent with the knowledge-based view of the firm, capability augmentation in the multinational corporation (MNC) entails the adaptation and diffusion of knowledge within a network of globally dispersed subsidiaries. We used case study methodology to examine the transfer of knowledge practices within four MNCs in order to identify specific mechanisms through which social context impacts efficiency and effectiveness of transfer, as well as the resulting development of associated capabilities. The primary findings of this study are the identification of mechanisms that headquarters can use to create mutual interdependencies among subsidiaries, which in turn hasten capability development and enhance knowledge flow; and the mutually constructive roles of knowledge transfer and shared context, through promotion of organizational knowledge use. The manner in which these coordination and control mechanisms are implemented facilitates the integration of different units within the networked MNC.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2014.25

• , 2016, "Cooperative strategies in international business and management: Reflections on the past 50 years and future directions", Journal of World Business, January 51(1): 163 - 175.

  Abstract: © 2015 Elsevier Inc. Over the past 50 years, cooperative forms of governance such as equity joint ventures and other strategic alliances have received tremendous attention in international business and management research. This article traces the history of this research over these past five decades with particular emphasis on the critical role that (Columbia) Journal of World Business has played in disseminating scholarly and managerial expertise on the successful management of cross-border, inter-firm collaboration. We highlight the evolution of interest in different contexts, phenomena, theories, and methodologies, along with the factors that have driven interest in these topics. Several suggestions for future research are also provided.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2015.08.013

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