An in depth analysis of the key determinants of successful direct investment strategy by foreign firms in India, providing important cues to multinational companies in India and other developing countries on how to strategically invest in these host countries for the benefit of both the company and the country involved.

In the changing geography of innovation, multinational corporations play a key role as creators of knowledge. Innovation and the Multinational Firm investigates how innovation is managed within these firms by focusing particularly on subsidiaries and host-locations.

Given the global nature of business today and the increasing diversity within the workforce of so many industries and organisations, a cross-cultural component in management education and training has become essential. This is the case for every type of business education, whether it be for aspiring graduates at the start of their careers or senior managers wishing to increase their effectiveness or employability in the international market. The 4th edition of Understanding Cross-Cultural Management has been adapted in line with the feedback from our many readers, and boasts new case study material based on recent research, as well as a stronger focus on Asian cultures, thereby providing more non-Western examples. Understanding Cross-Cultural Management offers a selective but broad view of classic and contemporary thinking on cultural management and encourages you to apply theories and ideas to practice - and to relate them to your own experience - through various examples and cases from the business world as well as through a range of practical activities, including: * Cross-cultural concepts, which explain key ideas from leading theorists, thinkers and practitioners. * Case studies (many of them based on articles from the Financial Times), dilemmas and points for reflection, which enable you to judge internally and interact externally. * Spotlights in every chapter, which briefly illustrate the concepts being described. * Mini-cases with questions and points for discussion, which encourage consistent application of theory to practice. * Activities at the end of each chapter, as well as at the end of each of the book's three parts, which provide a broader and more integrated perspective on the material in each section. These encourage you to develop both your cross-cultural management skills and a critical view of research done in this area. This book has been written for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as practising managers and professionals, who are studying cross-cultural and international management as part of either specialist international business programmes or general business-related qualifications. This book is also a valuable resource for self-study, enabling readers to extend and to deepen their cross-cultural awareness.

Japan's economy and businesses are moving into the twenty-first century after a long and hard 'lost decade' of company redesign. They emerge with new management systems in place, but with their values unchanged. From the unique perspective of the author's pioneering analysis of the 1950s, the financial systems, personnel management methods and R&D capabilities are re-assessed, as is the role of the corporation in Japanese society. The book offers a comprehensive analysis of the financial and industrial changes that have taken place in Japan by one of its most highly regarded commentators.

This volume in the Academy of International Business series focuses on globalization and international business, and presents the work of leading international business scholars delivered at the 27th AIB conference. Contributions examine how the underlying characteristics of international business are changing. The book successfully brings together an integrated set of research concepts and results to present some contrasting views about the nature and effects of globalization as the multinational continues to develop in the 21st century.

This book addresses the multi-facet competitiveness of firms in China from an angle of strategic management of technology and innovation. The Chinese vanguard companies have been excellent in identifying strategic position and appropriately making strategic decisions, and effectively making strategy in action.

The Guangdong province is the forerunner of China's economic reform, it has developed rapidly in the last 20 years since opening up its economy to the outside world. This book covers the evolution of economic reform in Guangdong, its links to Hong Kong and other parts of China, and developmental strategies in different parts of Guangdong. The book analyzes the many factors that have contributed to economic reform and covers topics such as development of land, human resources, the agricultural sector, and industrialization, and reforms of state-owned enterprises and township and village enterprises.

The capability of MNCs to create, transfer and combine knowledge from different locations is an important determinant of corporate success. This book uses examples of knowledge-based firms - Hewlett-Packard Consulting & Integration, Siemens, Mazda, and Maekawa - to show that knowledge-based marketing is key to a sustainable competitive advantage.

This book explores the inner secrets of the Asian psyche that influence behaviour in business, politics, life and battle. As president of a company that assists American companies wishing to do business with Asians, Chin-ning Chu has found that most Americans are extremely unprepared to venture into the Asian business world; they try to apply practices used in American business, not realizing that Asians view the marketplace as a battlefield with a definite set of rules originating in the 4th century BC. Americans also tend to think of the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese as one culture, when in fact, their differences are very important in terms of doing business. As Chin-ning Chu writes, "Asians and Westerners think as differently as they speak". "The Asian Mind Game" gives advice, strategies and helpful tips such as information on local cultures, gift-giving, salutations, and the status of women.

Organizational Change and Global Standardization: Solutions to Standards and Norms Overwhelming Organizations takes an organizational change approach to the overflow of standards and norms, looking at how to deal effectively and ethically with four kinds of standards and norms businesses face when they go global: (1) accounting & finance (2) international & world trade,(3) social and (4) safety & quality & environment. It is part of a larger problem faced by not only business, but every sort of organization - how to live with the epidemic of standards and norms, often in conflict, many just unnecessary, and a few that are quite helpful and important. There are good reasons to have International Standards Organization (ISO), International Labor Organization (ILO), World Trade Organization (WTO), North Atlantic Treaty Association (NAFTA), International accounting Standards Boards (IASB), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)), and many more standard-setting organizations issuing, auditing, proposing codes of ethics, and certifying standards and norms. However, there are important, poorly understood organizational change consequences to the contagion of standards and norms. This volume brings together a unique group of authors who are working on a pragmatic way for organizations to deal with an overflow of standards and norms that are often at heads, ambiguous, or simply created to produce more work for a burgeoning standards setting industry. The aim of Organizational Change and Global Standardization is to stimulate a critical analysis within the framework of analytical and pragmatic approach to an overwhelming bureaucratization of the managed and organized global activities.

This book represents a continuation of an uninterrupted record of international research pertaining to high technology small firms (HTSFs) over a period that has witnessed a rebirth of interest in the growth problems of the small firm, and is a further addition to a portfolio of specialist work by academics and practitioners on the issues facing new technology-based firms (NTBFs).
The book begins with a conceptual overview on the broad theme of innovation in NTBFs, providing a theoretical perspective on the problems of innovation at the end of the twentieth century and setting in context the more specific contributions to follow. A continuing theme of HTSF research is innovation management, and seven chapters are included under this heading focusing on topics such as university spin-out companies and the role of non-executive directors. The successful management of innovation in NTBFs is clearly critical to their survival and growth. Another key and recurrent area of interest to researchers concerned with the problems of NTBFs is finance, with three chapters here addressing the funding problems faced by NTBFs during often lengthy periods of product development. The book concludes with a set of contributions which deal with the increasingly important issues of clustering and location as they affect NTBFs.
The chapters included in this book represent a strong set of themes indicative of what key workers in the area of NTBF development are thinking at the turn of the millennium. These issues of effective management, funding and networking are key themes that will continue in the new millennium.

The internationalization of emerging economies has brought new perspectives to international business development. Focusing on the extensive impact these emerging economies and firms have had, this volume covers the strong players, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as dynamically developing economies such as Mexico and the Philippines. The contributors review topics such as the role of institutions and resource dependency on outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies, and the role of the global mindset and psychic distance on the performance of subsidiaries of firms originating from emerging economies. It explores new horizons in international business development and addresses challenging perspectives.

This book provides an innovative account of how the globalization of production and the emergence of global value chains impacts on trade preferences, lobby strategies and the political influence of EU firms. It sheds new light on the complex EU-China trade relations.

"The complete story of the devastating BP oil spill of 2010. The author puts forward an objective account of what happened, a documentation of the true costs, not the hyperbolic costs, and an explanation of the science and business of the spill and its remediation"--

This book examines how the internationalization of corporate activities has affected the commercial policy preferences of Japanese corporations. Using case studies of three industrial sectors and of Keidanren (Japan's most influential business federation), the author argues that growth of international operations is one of the major reasons why internationally oriented firms and their main business federation have committed themselves to promoting the opening of keiretsu groups, and to promoting market access for foreign firms and products. The book includes much new and valuable information about business-government relations, political conflict and policy making and implementation processes in Japan.

This book focuses on management challenges in different types of companies, ranging from small to large, from private to public and from service to manufacturing in the African context. With empirical data from countries as diverse as Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia, it discusses the increasing economic importance of the African continent, covering relevant topics on sustainability and environmental issues, exports, logistics, HR issues, innovation and financial reporting. Through different conceptual insights and empirical case studies, the research presented serves as a useful resource for academics, students, and policy-makers interested in in-depth studies on management challenges in Africa.

This book explores corporate purpose--a company's expressed overriding reason for existing--and its effect upon strategy, executive leadership, employees, and, ultimately, on competitive performance. Sharply challenging the conventional wisdom that corporations should be dedicated to shareholder wealth creation, the author presents a compelling argument that the path to competitive advantage and outstanding long-term financial performance lies instead in a customer-focused corporate purpose.
The book is in four parts. Part I shows how corporate purpose exerts a powerful effect on strategy, management, and the meaning employees derive from their work. A customer-focused purpose harmonizes these critical factors and enables leaders to push strategic thinking deeper into the organization and at the same time to grant employees a greater degree of autonomy. In contrast, a goal of maximizing shareholder wealth sows the seeds of conflict among the market-oriented purpose, product-focused strategies, and the individual values of employees.
Part II critiques the logic of "value-based management" and the relationship of the firm to the equity markets. It explores the validity of extending traditional concepts of property rights to share ownership, concluding that the separation of stock ownership from the responsibility for, and managerial control over, corporate actions makes traditional property rights arguments inapplicable to the underlying assets of a corporation.
Part III examines the functioning of corporate purpose in a global economy. When a firm operates globally, purpose needs to retain its motivational power across national boundaries, which a shareholder-focused purpose does not do.
Part IV explores the implications of corporate purpose for leaders, arguing that infusing an organization with a worthy purpose is an essential responsibility of leadership. Purpose is the foundation for the shared values that define organizational character, raise moral aspirations, and enhance performance. Drawing upon a wide range of thought from the world of business as well as from historical studies, cultural anthropology, philosophy, theology, and psychology, "Leading with Purpose" is sure to be an essential text as businesses move into the twenty-first century.

This book provides in-depth insights into the practices that lead to success in outsourcing global services. Written by internationally acclaimed academics, it covers best practices on IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing and netsourcing. This book is a must read for any practitioner, academic or student concerned with global sourcing.

Hoffman explores worldwide developments in the field of business ethics. The book is unique in that it not only discusses ethical issues faced by transnational corporations, but it also addresses the possibilities for international cooperation after the cold war, as well as regional business ethics issues from around the world. Included in the volume are discussions of business ethics in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Pacific Rim, and North and South America. A variety of issues and cases are contained in the volume including: the BCCI scandal, the IBM-Fujitsu case, intellectual property rights, transnational codes of ethics and theoretical and empirical studies about the moral responsibilities of transnationals, ethics and international law, ethics and development, and business ethics and cultural differences.

The work begins with a brief introduction that summarizes major themes contained in the book. The essays are collected in five sections. Section one contains cases and issues that are unique to regions and nations worldwide. Section two focuses on cases involving ethics and international law. These first two sections include a number of regional studies including ones from Brazil, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Hong Kong, and case studies including the BCCI scandal and the IBM-Fujitsu case. Section three features analyses of ethical issues faced by transnational corporations, for example, their relationship to host nations, their social responsibilities, and ethics programs within transnationals. Section four contains a summary and a debate about the development of transnational codes of business conduct including a discussion of efforts being sponsored by the United Nations. Finally, section five looks into the ethical problems that arise during economic development. Included here are contributions that raise questions about ethics and emerging financial markets, land-use, and the role of multinational corporations. This volume of essays will be an important resource for courses in business ethics, and international law, as well as a useful addition to business, academic, and public libraries.

Confronting the wide range of factors that management face in relation to global changes, this volume focuses on the implication of these changes for all organizations. By presenting its case using a variety of analytical tools ranging from formal game theoretical systems to inductive models based on case studies, this volume concentrates on three main areas: the implications of global change on the competitive environment for employment and working practices; the influence of the international business environment in decision-making; and the importance of cultural and institutional diversity. Through its comprehensive approach, this book aims to stimulate business managers, academics and students to clarify, develop and extend the many complex scenarios that are integral to the debate on how business organizations may benefit from the challenges produced by global change.

It is imperative for the business community to act now to create global, industry-wide standards of conduct. Corporate strategy expert S. Prakash Sethi along with notable experts on issues of global codes of conduct take an in-depth look at global structures and how regulation works from a corporate perspective, providing case studies of several industries and governments who have begun implementing voluntary codes of conducts, including Equator Principles, ICMM, and The Kimberly Process. He assesses the many types of self-regulations that are currently underway and provides critical analysis for making these more effective, making this a must-read for academics, policy-makers, and corporate leaders.

The idea that each country should have one currency is so deeply rooted in people's minds that the possibility of multiple and concurrent currencies seems unthinkable. Monetary systems contribute to problems of high unemployment and social distress during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the monetary system can be part of the solution. This book discusses 'monetary plurality', which is the circulation of several currencies at the same time and space. It addresses how multiple currency circuits work together and transform socio-economic systems, particularly by supporting economies at the local level of regions and cities. The book shows that monetary plurality has been ubiquitous throughout history and persists at present because the existence of several currency circuits facilitates small-scale production and trade in a way that no single currency can accomplish on its own. Monetary plurality can improve resilience, access to livelihoods and economic sustainability. At the same time, it introduces new risks in terms of economic governance, so it needs to be properly understood. The book analyses experiences of monetary plurality in Europe, Japan, and North and South America, written by researchers from East and West and from the global North and South. Replete with case studies, this book will prove a valuable addition to any student or practitioner's bookshelf.