This volume explores Malaysian business in the era that began with the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1999. The contributions, by a broad range of international experts, are informed by a wish to identify what Malaysia needs to do to sustain economic growth, remain internationally competitive and further social stability in the post-crisis period. Malaysia's unconventional response to the crisis suggests that its business community has developed a new level of confidence in its ability to adopt and sustain innovative policies even when these strategies challenge the international financial community. This response is perceived as evidence that Malaysian business has indeed entered a new era characterised by a high level of confidence in the nation's capacity to weather the external periodic shocks that are a feature of the current wave of globalisation. The book argues that there are grounds for optimism in this regard while recognising that the true test will occur when Malaysia is compelled to confront a major decline in its international export markets brought on by a truly major crisis such as an OECD-wide recession. Business scholars and professionals as well as readers interested in Asian business and economics will find this volume informative.

Unlike other economies, family businesses in China are greatly affected by the derived Confucian culture, excessive marketization, as well as the seemingly endless institutional supervision by a transitional Chinese government. China has a strong historical legacy, devoted to patriarchal values and strong family-centered traditions. This volume explores the social foundations and historical legacies of families, business families, and family businesses in China. It begins with an overview of a household, family, and clan in ancient China before an examination of the economic, social, and cultural functions that the family system served in Ancient China as well as the four unique features that distinguish the family system in ancient China from those in western societies. It later discusses the evolution of the family system and the rise of family business before the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Finally, it evaluates the family system before and after the "Open-up and Reform" in 1978. This interdisciplinary work, incorporating sociological, anthropological, and institutional contexts pertaining to China, offers researchers the first advanced perspective of the development of family firms in China.

Globalization and the Small Open Economy investigates the specific role of small open countries in a globalizing economic system and assesses the unique pressures and opportunities afforded them by globalization. Traditionally, in contrast to large countries, small open economies (SOEs) have relied on international economic policy rather than domestic policy as a means to foster national economic development. Their firms also have a far greater reliance on host countries to gain competitive advantage than those of larger nations. This would suggest that globalization has potentially a far greater impact on SOEs than on large countries. The contributors to this volume concur with this view and seek to outline the challenges and opportunities faced by policymakers and managers of multinational enterprises from SOEs. They examine the role of government, environmental policy, inward and outward foreign direct investment and multinational management and conclude that, on balance, globalization provides more of an opportunity than a threat to economic growth in these countries. An innovative collection with fascinating new insights on the present and future role of small, open countries in the global economy, this will be an important new reference source for academics and students, public policy research institutes, international business scholars and trade economists.

Research on the internationalisation process of firms shows that the development of experiential knowledge is a major factor in explaining firms' internationalisation. However, our knowledge of how this takes place is limited. The detailed mechanisms of learning, and the effects of the duration of the firm's international operations, have not been studied in depth. Using examples from Denmark, Finland, South Korea, New Zealand and Sweden, the contributors to this book examine these factors and test the basic assumptions of the internationalisation process of firms. In doing so, they explore how firms accumulate knowledge on foreign markets and analyse whether the number of countries in which firms operate influences the quantity and quality of knowledge accumulated. The effect is to expand our understanding of the use of knowledge and the international transfer of knowledge in the internationalisation process. Learning in the Internationalisation Process of Firms will be of great interest to scholars, researchers and practitioners of international business and management.

This volume contains a selection of John Dunning's best known and highly acclaimed writings on the theory of international business activity. Spanning more than three decades, the 16 contributions trace the evolution of his thoughts and ideas as an economist, from his first article on the determinants of international production, published in 1973, to his most recent essay on relational assets, networks and global business activity, completed in 2002. Theories and Paradigms of International Business Activity gives particular prominence to the author's much renowned eclectic paradigm, which he first promulgated at a Nobel Symposium on the international allocation of economic activity in 1976. Since then, the author has written over 60 articles, pamphlets and chapters in books which have extended, refined and updated his theorizing on the interface between trade, FDI and MNE activity, in the light of the changing characteristics of the world economy and advances in international business scholarship. This, the first of two volumes of John Dunning's work, is essential reading for all students, scholars and researchers with a special interest in the reasons behind the explosive growth in post-war FDI and the globalization of business activity.

Global Capitalism, FDI and Competitiveness comprises 15 of John Dunning's most widely acknowledged writings on the changing characteristics of the global economy over the past three decades. In particular, it examines how these events have shaped, and been shaped by, the growing internationalization of all forms of business activity. The book is dived into five thematic sections, each of which illustrates a particular aspect of change and the author's analysis of it. The volume examines: * the main features of the new global economy, its origin, opportunities and challenges * the author's recent writings on the factors affecting the location of economic activity by international firms, and the implications for national and regional governments * the changing nature and form of the contribution of FDI and cross-border strategic alliances to economic development and to the restructuring of national economies * the relationship between FDI, the competitive advantages of international firms and the productivity and dynamic comparative advantage of the economies in which they operate. * an examination of the changing role and power of national governments as they seek to evaluate and influence the extent of both inbound and outbound FDI. This volume will be warmly welcomed by all scholars and researchers of international business and particularly those interested in globalization, regional economics and FDI.

In this fresh examination of the Microsoft antitrust case, Richard Gordon critically examines the economics of the US government's arguments. The conclusion is that the government presented a sketchy, incoherent, invalid economic case and relied upon creating the impression of misdeeds to persuade the courts. The primary charge is that Microsoft possessed an impregnable monopoly in operating systems for personal computers. According to the government, Microsoft created, included in its operating system, and vigorously promoted its internet browser solely to prevent the development of the Java/Netscape alternative. The promotion of this browser was considered predatory. Microsoft allegedly undertook similar acts against other companies. According to Gordon, the government failed to present even a clear statement of its charges and failed to substantiate the critical allegations. In this book, he concentrates on the underlying economics of the case and reviews the germane theory. He presents and evaluates implicit government arguments as well as Microsoft's refutations. Readers in economics, law and public policy will find this well researched analysis enlightening.

Small and medium-sized businesses hoping to enter the international business realm have multiple internal and external challenges to overcome before they can expand. Such challenges can include technological developments, market conditions, and reduction in global trade barriers, though these factors are continuously changing. Determining the correct course of action can be difficult depending on the goals of the company. Trends and Issues in International Planning for Businesses is an essential reference source that focuses on key external and internal factors that enable or disable the creation and enhancement of success opportunities for firms that wish to expand internationally. Featuring research on topics such as cultural norms, international trade, and global marketing, this book is ideally designed for international organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, managers, executives, directors, business consultants, policy managers, business professionals, academicians, researchers, and students seeking coverage on issues that influence firms in their international planning.

The advent of the Information Age has transformed the ways in which individuals work, travel, and conduct their daily activity. Anna Nagurney and June Dong lay out the theory of supernetworks, networks that exist over and above existing electronic networks, in order to formalize decision-making in the Information Age. Supernetworks are conceptual in scope, graphical in perspective, and, with the accompanying theory, predictive in nature. In this book, the authors provide a unifying framework for the study of decision-making by a variety of economic agents including consumers and producers as well as distinct intermediaries in the context of today's networked economy. They provide the conceptual, analytical, and computational tools for the study of supernetworks. Their approach is rigorous and of sufficient generality and detail to give added insight into the behavior and structure of large-scale, interacting and competitive network systems, such as transportation, telecommunication, and financial networks. Areas studied include: supply chain networks with electronic commerce, financial networks with intermediation, telecommunicating versus commuting decision-making, teleshopping versus shopping decision-making, as well as transportation and location decisions. Case studies drawn from practice are provided for illustration purposes. Academics and practitioners in economics, business, and operations research along with management scientists, transportation and logistics researchers, computer scientists and applied mathematicians will find this book fascinating and useful.

Globalizing Europe examines the involvement of the European Union in the deepening integration that results as trade and transnational production link markets and economic systems across the world. This process is posing a unique challenge to European decision-makers to implement measures that will maximize the benefits and reduce the costs of globalization. As Europe expands and becomes more integrated it is being obliged to assume greater control over the development of its external economic relations. To effect this, the authors propose that member states play a more active and constructive role in the global political economy. They advocate the planning and implementation of major initiatives that could ensure greater stability in the world economy. Because of the magnitude of the economic bonds developing between the EU and the USA, special attention is paid to the trends and issues associated with the evolution of Atlantic relations. One of the greatest challenges the authors highlight, and a theme implicit throughout the book, is that the EU's external problems may receive inadequate attention due to the complexities of its decision processes. EU-level decision-making may become more introspective, rather than global, in outlook. Combining firm, industry, regional and country levels of analysis with the diverse and provocative views of the authors, this book will be essential reading for scholars of international economics, international political economy, and international business and finance.

Entrepreneurs engaging in international business face business environments that are fundamentally different from their home countries. Despite decades of entrepreneurship research, we know little about these entrepreneurs and their strategic behaviour in establishing and managing transnational operations. This book applies an institutional perspective on transnational entrepreneurship to empirical investigations of transnational corporations (TNCs) from Hong Kong and Singapore. Henry Wai-chung Yeung argues that significant variations in institutional structures of home countries explain variations in the entrepreneurial endowments of prospective transnational business networks. This is illustrated by empirical data from two in-depth studies of over 300 TNCs from Hong Kong and Singapore and over 120 of their foreign affiliates in Asia. Entrepreneurship and the Internationalisation of Asian Firms is a timely contribution to theoretical and empirical studies in international business and will be widely read by those interested in international business, industrial economics, organisation studies, political economy, regional studies and economic geography.

The agricultural and food sectors have developed into a prominent industry, impacting economic markets on an international scale. In certain regions, there is a significant potential for creating increased competitive advantage in these business areas. Exploring the Global Competitiveness of Agri-Food Sectors and Serbia's Dominant Presence: Emerging Research and Opportunities includes academic coverage and perspectives on enhancing the competitiveness of the Serbian food industry in the global marketplace. Highlighting pertinent topics such as exports, international trade, and manufacturing considerations, this book is an ideal resource for academics, researchers, graduate students, and professionals actively involved in the agri-food industry.

Since the 1970s, there have been many changes to the ways in which Japanese firms have conducted business. The editors of this volume examine the strategies of Japanese subsidiaries in the new global economy and present, in four parts, a comprehensive picture of the nature of Japanese multinational enterprises.The book addresses the overall nature of Japanese investment in international markets, and its broader implications for corporate performance. The entry mode choice and its relationship to performance is then examined, in an attempt to establish overall trends in the performance of various modes. The focus then shifts explicitly to joint ventures since nearly half of all Japanese subsidiaries take this form. Finally, the management strategies that Japanese firms have used in their foreign subsidiaries are investigated. Japanese Subsidiaries in the New Global Economy utilizes empirical analyses based on a very large, longitudinal data set, coupled with state of the art conceptual development. This volume provides a complete current picture of the international strategy of Japanese firms, which will be both useful and informative for researchers, scholars and policy makers in international business, international economics, foreign investment, joint ventures and expatriate management.

The EU has taken a leading role in calling for a round of new trade negotiations in the WTO to deal with the issues of globalisation. Proposals in the EU call for expansion into new areas such as global investment, competition, and environmental rules in addition to liberalisation negotiations on agriculture and services. Issues such as global governance, capital mobility, and labour standards are also explored. Brigid Gavin questions if the EU's call for path-breaking global negotiations is too ambitious and whether or not it will fail to achieve the required response from its trading partners. The book demonstrates how the EU has evolved constitutionally beyond the internal market into a highly developed system of multi-level governance. Non-state actors such as NGOs, labour unions and private industry groups have been increasingly engaged in the discussion, decision-making and implementation of policy. The volume therefore contains important lessons for the WTO. Exploring path-breaking reforms for increased parliamentary control of globalisation in the WTO, and providing a concrete model for implementation, this volume will be invaluable to academics, policymakers and NGOs in the areas of European studies, institutional relations and international business.

This topical book interprets firms, governments and economic change from an entrepreneurial perspective. Essentially, it applies the Austrian theory of human agency and evolutionary theories of the firm to explain economic organisation, the state and institutional change. Tony Yu begins by discussing the nature of entrepreneurship and the firm followed by an analysis of the role of entrepreneurship in economic change. He thoroughly analyses the process of economic development in late industrialisers, within an entrepreneurial framework outlined within the book. The author argues that ordinary and extraordinary discovery are associated with routine or imitative entrepreneurship and Schumpetarian entrepreneurship respectively. Using this classification, the author shows how it is the interaction of various types of entrepreneurial activities that transformed East Asian latecomers such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong from traditional agrarian and fishing economies into international centres of trading, service industries and finance. Firms, Governments and Economic Change will be of special interest to scholars of industrial economics, entrepreneurship and Asian studies. It will also be of use to governmental organisations responsible for economic development, as the analysis is thoroughly up to date easy to understand.

For three decades F.M. Scherer has been writing on questions of competition policy from multiple perspectives as a professional economist, consultant in numerous antitrust and international trade proceedings, and (for two years) chief economist of the US Federal Trade Commission. This volume collects 26 of his most important papers, both previously published and unpublished, on a broad array of competition policy issues. The papers address the historical antecedents and rationale of competition policy, the logic of market definition, the implications of pricing strategies pursued by enterprises with monopoly power, tradeoffs between competition goals and the attainment of static and dynamic efficiency, implementing effective remedies in merger and monopoly cases and the role of competition policy in an increasingly open world economy.

The growth in global competitiveness and interdependence has led to an increased interest in the role of industrial policy in achieving economic growth objectives. Heather Smith reignites the contentious debate of the role of the state using East Asian economic development in general with particular emphasis on Taiwan and Korea. Using quantitive techniques, the author analyses the view that industry policy interventions were a necessary factor explaining Taiwan's economic performance in the 1980s. Lessons for other countries attempting to upgrade their industrial structure are drawn from the comparative industrialisation experience of Taiwan and Korea, along with: * a comprehensive discussion of strategic industry policy with an application to East Asia. * discussion on the impact of the 1997-1998 financial crisis in Korea * a critique of the structuralist/revisionist literature in the light of the financial crisis. This highly topical study constitutes essential reading for governmental and non-governmental policymakers, business leaders and academics alike.

This book aims to bring the insights gained through this process to the public. It not only promotes the idea of fair wealth itself but also to gives a holistic view on how Chinese based companies are doing regarding various aspects of Fair Wealth. It also explains the theory foundation, methodology and rating system to help people better understand the evaluation system itself.

In the past three decades a number of important changes have made international business more complex and exciting. The rapid and continuous changes in information and communications technology (ITC), reduced trade barriers among countries, andregionalization have increased the links and dependency among firms from various countries. This has created opportunities for increasing expansion to new markets and increasing global integration while simultaneously posing many challenges. This book views international business as a complex and integrated system and takes a systems approach to study and analyze the changes thus enabling readers to assess global business opportunities and risk in a comprehensive and integral manner. The topics presented in this book allow practitioners, scholars, and students of international business to have a broad understanding of the most relevant issues in a changing international environment.

This book incorporates theoretical framework and management cases in discussions on social enterprise in China. The authors look to address two fundamental questions about social enterprises in China that have been very controversial over the years. First, what is social enterprise? This book proposes a framework that defines Chinese social enterprises based on social entrepreneurship, and includes ten case studies for justification. Second, who are well-performed social enterprises with financial viability and proved social impact? The book describes in detail some of the leading social enterprises in China. It is aimed at a wide target audience. Practitioners will learn experience and lessons from the case studies. Academics can use the cases in different teaching contexts, and gain research inspirations from our framework and case studies. Policy makers, accreditation agencies, professional service providers, and institutional investors will learn to identify and evaluate promising social enterprises.

This book provides a detailed look at the birth, growth and expansion of African Multinational Enterprises (AMNEs). Specifically, it explores the historical, ideological, political and macroeconomics forces that shaped modern day Africa and the role they play in fostering the emergence and growth of AMNEs. It also examines some of the challenges these enterprises have faced in this venture including poor infrastructure, deficient supply chains, and opaque institutional and regulatory frameworks and the innovative ways by which they overcame them. In this way, this book provides practitioners and students with not only a detailed insight into AMNEs but also their potential competitive advantage in the international business stage.