AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

MONDAY
Advantages of Foreignness: Benefits of Creative Institutional Deviance
Wei Shi, Rice University
Robert Hoskisson, Rice University
The liability of foreignness has long been acknowledged as a key concept in international business research.
Departing from the cost side of foreignness, this paper explores intangible benefits of foreignness exclusive to
multinational enterprises in a host country in addition to tangible benefits such as preferential tax policies.
Intangible benefits of foreignness are defined as advantages of foreignness so as to distinguish from assets of
foreignness—tangible benefits of foreignness. Drawing on institutional theory and social comparison theory, we
propose that advantages of foreignness can lead to important firm specific performance-related outcomes,
which have been generally underestimated in the international business literature. (For more information,
please contact: Wei Shi, Rice University, USA: ws9@rice.edu)
Dependence Change and the Divesture of Formerly Acquired Foreign Subsidiaries
Jun Xia, West Virginia University
Xufei Ma, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Why do firms divest their formerly acquired foreign subsidiaries Building around the core concept of
dependence change, we argue that increased environmental dependence and subsidiary power reduce the
hazard rates of divestitures simultaneously. A sample of firms engaging in cross-border divestitures after
acquisitions is collected to test the argument in a multiple country setting. The results show that the hazard
rates of divestitures are lower if the mutual trade dependence between a firm's home and host countries
increases. Moreover, subsidiary power, as measured by three dimensions -- subsidiary acquisition expansion,
subsidiary network building, and reduced intrafirm competition -- also reduces the hazard rates. (For more
information, please contact: Xufei Ma, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR-PRC:
xufei@cuhk.edu.hk)
HRM Issues and Practices of Emerging Market Multinationals: The Case of Brazilian Multinationals
Kamel Mellahi, University of Warwick
David Collings, National University of Ireland, Galway
George Frynas, Middlesex University
As emerging market multinational enterprises (EM-MNES) increase their activities across borders, a key research
question is whether they are deploying host country or home country practices in their overseas subsidiaries.
This study aims to contribute to this ongoing conversation. Specifically, we examine the extent to, and
mechanisms by, which three major Brazilian MNEs adapt their HRM practices to local contexts. Four major
findings emerge. First, Brazilian MNEs exhibit a high degree of standardization of home country HR practices
and exhibit a considerable desire for global integration. Second, there are surprisingly few local, especially
cultural, adaptations to HR practices and corporate level practices appear to meet little or no resistance in
subsidiaries. Third, HR practices in Brazilian MNEs have evolved over time - in the early stage of
internationalisation, there was a considerably higher degree of local adaptation in all three cases. Fourth,
contemporary HR practices themselves originate from Western countries and Brazilian MNEs tend to "re-export"
Western practices rather than diffuse conventional local ones. These findings underscore the need for
broadening the conventional narrow view of home and host country practices and call for further research on
the supply-side of HRM practices in EM-MNEs. (For more information, please contact: Kamel Mellahi, University
of Warwick, United Kingdom: kamel.mellahi@wbs.ac.uk)
Knowledge Inflows and Subsidiary's Global Initiative in MNCs: The Perspective of Human Capital Theory
Wan-Ching Chen, Sun Yat-Sen University
AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings
Page 142