Hardbound. This volume provides a selection of the top papers that were presented at an international conference held in Cesme, Turkey in May 1998.

Among many factors contributing to a corporation's success, none is more crucial than reputation. It affects the way management makes decisions and the positions it takes, and how it takes them, on critical issues. A good reputation is also a signal to the market--one way that stakeholders will know that a corporation is successful. Riahi-Belkaoui looks at the most crucial functions and influences that determine corporate reputation, among them, the way it affects a firM's market value; the quality of its disclosures; how well its earnings are managed, how its executives are compensated. He also addresses other processes, such as international production, the informativeness of earnings, accounting choices, and the characteristics of earnings forecasts. The result is a succinct, readable, probing study for corporate decision makers in various functions of the firm, their academic colleagues, and knowledgeable onlookers who need ways to evaluate and buttress their investment decisions.

Riahi-Belkaoui examines the process of reputation-building first, then the role of corporate reputation and how market value and accounting value differ. He moves to the impact of contextual factors of multinationality and corporate reputation on accrual and cash flow valuation models. In Chapter Four he shows how corporate audiences construct the reputations of firms by interpreting information signals about the firms from various monitors. He then reports the result of an empirical study of the 100 most international firms, which supports the general hypothesis that corporate audiences construct reputations on the basis of information and firms' earnings management. In Chapter Six he turns to the relationship between the level of corporate reputation and managers' ccounting choices, and in Chapter Seven examines the value relevance of earnings, cash flows, multinationality, and corporate reputation. Chapter Eight advances the hypothesis that corporate boards control top management behavior by means of compensation, but also by judging them on organizational effectiveness and social performance. He restates a general model of international production, and in Chapter 10, hypothesizes that the level of corporate reputation affects both the informativeness of earnings and the magnitude of discretionary accounting accrual adjustments. He ends the book by providing empirical evidence of the relationship between economic performance and organizational effectiveness, a measure of overall social performance.

This comprehensive analysis discusses how American and non-American multinational corporations (MNCs) can plan, manage, and control their business activities and invest in four selected Middle East countries: Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabaia--and as a special unique feature, a fifth country, Israel. Abdallah covers in detail the tax systems and regulations and their effect on business in the Middle East. He looks at the future of the business environment and its effect on accounting in the Middle East during the first decades of the new century, and examines the role of different local and international organizations that are helping to make the Middle East an excellent place to do business.

Combining the Arab countries with Israel into a single volume, and writing in a remarkably clear style, Abadallah offers practical guidelines for Americans and other MNCs, potential international investors, large accounting firms, and even Middle East governments themselves. He helps businesses conduct feasibility studies for joint venture startups in the Middle East countries covered; helps MNCs manage their business more effectively and avoid conflicts with governments or cultural attitudes; offers managers and officers an understanding of Middle East environmental factors that may significantly affect their businesses; helps MNCs evaluate the performance of Middle East subsidiary managers; helps MNCs develop strategic transfer pricing policies that fit Middle East countries and which go according to accounting systems and practices there as well as in their home countries; and goes deeply into the accounting systems and practices of the countries under analysis here and compares them with both U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Accounting Standards. This volume is of special value to corporate executives in or planning to enter the Middle East market, graduate students, and teachers of international business and accounting, and practicing accountants with Middle East clients (or who seek to acquire them).

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the management and investment strategies of Japanese multinational companies, examining foreign investment from a Japanese perspective by studying international business practices and the behaviour of multinational companies in the global environment. Beginning with an overview of recent trends in international capital flows and the role of international mergers and acquisitions, it describes the global environment for Japanese multinational companies as it affects Japanese foreign direct investment, as well as the impact of Japanese foreign investment in the host countries. The domestic cultural environment of Japanese companies is investigated, providing a background to the understanding of the expansion of Japanese business activities throughout the world. Foreign investments in various parts of the world are examined in detail, as are their impact on the domestic economy of Japan. A comprehensive analysis of the strategic planning process in Japanese multinational companies follows, and the book concludes with an assessment of the management and leadership styles of Japanese multinational companies and how they differ from Western leadership styles. This book is a valuable source of information about recent developments in the international economy in which Japan is playing a prominent role.

If there's anything more challenging than designing a company, it's designing a global company. Balancing strategy and structure becomes even more daunting when geography, foreign governments, and worldwide customers and products are thrown into the mix. And no single design works for all organizations. In this book, internationally recognized expert Jay Galbraith shows companies how to match their own strengths and strategies with proven design options. Whether they're exporting their first product or already operating around the world, Galbraith gives companies the information they need to build flexible, global networks. And through real-world examples, he shows how successful international businesses are already navigating the global environment.

This book develops a conceptual framework for understanding the network of relationships that exists around the hub of large multinational firms. The authors bring together perspectives from international business and the organizational analysis of networks to explain their model which is supported by case evidence from several sectorsDStelecoms, autos, chemicals, retailing, and financial services.

Culture may not be the only factor to affect organizational structure. Size, strategic location, the industrial climate, the complexity of the task in hand and the kind of technology used all exert an influence and profoundly affect the relations between members of an organization. Managers therefore have to contend with weighing culture against other variables when trying to implement organizational structure.If culture is but one among a range of factors, then why are cross-cultural management skills so important? Mead crisply answers this question at the outset and his views may be summarized as follows. Today's business world is global and therefore firms are forced to establish branches and subsidiaries outside their national boundaries. Managers have to deal with people from other cultures, and it is imperative that they develop the ability to interact with individuals who have different cultural priorities. Effective cross-cultural management increasingly means working with people from different cultures and learning to tolerate differences when devising shared priorities.In today's economic climate, market forces appear to have an increasingly anthropological dimension. The ethnocentric manager, for example, who is unable or unwilling to deal with members of other cultures has fewer career opportunities. To accommodate these changes management schools are giving increasing priority to teaching cross-cultural management skills. International Management combines theory and practice, and includes a variety of exercises to enable students to apply general concepts to specific situations.Mead acknowledges the difficulty in providing a single definition of culture, but does not duckthe issue. Instead he provides a succinct account of the sociological and anthropological positions before moving on to the management literature. This publication deserves a warm welcome because it acknowledges the contribution made by anthropologists to the understanding of culture. As Richard Mead demonstrates, there is clearly a great deal of scope for making more use of anthropological insights in clarifying the role of culture in international management. The book is aimed at students and has been written with admirable clarity, and should be of value to anyone involved in teaching applied social sciences.

Advances in Applied Micro-economics

This collection explores the expansion of Japanese multinational firms into Asia, a process which parallelled the region's growth as a major economic region. The contributors discuss a wide range of topics, including the reasons for moving manufacturing to other countries, the flow of trade between Japan and these countries, technology transfer within firms, the impact of Japanese management practices in other Asian countries, and competition between Japanese and American firms in Asia.

This book examines the relationship between multinational firms and emerging markets, a relationship which has changed profoundly in the period from the 1950's to the late 1990's.
Governments and multinational firms have moved from a situation of conflict to one where government policies were seen as a constraint on the activities of MNE's, and finally to an era of cooperation. This relationship has been reflected in (and driven by) academic writing on the subject, of which this book is a selection of the best examples. The readings in part one show how the critical conflictual elements of the relationship were emphasized in the period 1950 to 1975. Latterly, writing has emphasized cooperation, even harmony, and writers have pointed out that free trade based on cooperative advantage can bring benefits for all.
The most profound change in the world economy in the early post-war period was the emergence of successive waves of Asian 'newly industrializing countries' (NIC's) as key players, bringing new competition to Western nations and fostering the notion of a 'loss of competitiveness' in the developed countries, as well as changing the nature of FDI in the developing countries. These issues are covered in part two. As outward oriented policies replaced protectionist ones, emerging country multinationals became salient: the analysis of their strategies is the subject of part three. Part four examines how the policies of host governments towards inward investment have been shaped by the increasing interdependence of global economic activity. Asian emerging countries went beyond NIC status to become full global competitors, and the post-communist nations began to enter the worldeconomy as new NICs. The danger facing many economies was that of being left on the fringes as globalisation drew countries together, either through expanded world trade and FDI or through the creation of trading blocs (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN-AFTA). The wholly new issues which have inevitably been thrown up by these changes are examined in the final part of this collection.

This book re-examines management theory `after Globalization'. Combining key names and studies from across the world, it explores the local realities that resist universal theories and that permeate the daily lives of practising managers.

The book provides a comprehensive and critical reflection on the widely documented phenomenon of globalization in business. It assesses the implications of the diversity of individual economies and enterprises for general theories of management and concludes by presenting new approaches to the study and research of management and organizations.

?From our vantage point at Save the Children, one of the largest US-based international relief and development agencies, founded in 1932, the shared-power, no-one-in-charge-world that Barbara C. Crosby describes presents myriad new challenges and opportunities to civil society, non-governmental organizations and citizen-leaders dedicated to positive change. Barbara C. Crosby?s book helps us understand the forces defining this new environment and the most promising leadership practices for achieving our goals within it.? -- Gary Shaye, Vice President of International Programs, Save the Children In today?s world, critical public problems ? like environmental degradation, poverty, and the AIDS epidemic ? spill beyond national boundaries. Those who lead campaigns to remedy these problems must be skilled in bringing very diverse people together and pursue common goals in an ever-changing global environment. These leaders need to build and sustain interorganizational networks that can thrive in many cultures and geographic regions. Leadership for Global Citizenship offers these leaders a comprehensive leadership framework and practical guidance for inspiring and mobilizing citizens around the world to join in local and global initiatives to promote the common good. Barbara C. Crosby presents numerous examples from case studies of leadership in two transnational citizen organizations, Amnesty International, and the International Women?s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). Previous books and articles have focused on the global commons as a territory wherein the world?s citizens partake of vital natural and social resources and build global civil society. This book is the first to focus on the leadership concepts and practices that can help strengthen collective action across national boundaries to sustain the commons and promote the common good. This book also offers practical guidance for people who want to build and sustain transnational citizen organizations and networks, which are growing in numbers and impact. Crosby offers tools for the exercise of leadership in the global commons, including group assessments, multiple perspectives on team and organizational dynamics, systems thinking, the democratic process, and the search for cross-cultural ethical principles.

This book brings together research on the spread of Japanese multinational firms around the World. The authors examine how Japanese managers adapt management styles and manufacturing processes to workers in other countries.

Multinationality, or the degree of internationalization, has favorable financial results and implications. Highly valued by the market as a hidden asset, multinationality is related to earnings management, systematic risk, capital structure, and growth opportunities as measured by the investment opportunity set. Riahi-Belkaoui examines the performance results of a multinational strategy and concludes that multinationality can be quantified and does play a significant role in keeping a firm healthy and growing. His book is a far-reaching examination of the data and a persuasive argument for why firms should make multinationality a critical part of their overall business strategy.

Riahi-Belkaoui presents research results supporting multinationality. He confirms that the market reacts more favorably the larger (smaller) cash flows are (accruals), and he shows that the preference of cash flows over accruals will increase under conditions of high multinationality and high reputation. He argues that the level of multinationality affects net income and net worth and thereby, political costs and risk. Analyzing the association between multinationality and systematic risk as measured by the market model beta, he finds that systematic risk is positively related to the level of multinationality after controlling for corporate reputation and other factors. He examines the role of multinationality and profitability as determinants of the investment opportunity set and considers whether a firM's investment opportunity is associated with corporate financing. Finally, he investigates whether disclosure policy, level of economic risk, and the nature of the alignment of financial and tax accounting explain differences in financial analysts' forecast error internationally. The book concludes with a model of the determinants of the investment opportunity set of multinational firms.

In the global marketplace, the companies that can draw on worldwide operations to meet commercial challenges accrue a competitive advantage. Those who remain homebound will not sustain the competitive onslaught of globally oriented firms. Companies from all nations are entering into mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances in the race for survival. This book encompasses, in a single volume, a broad description of the global aspects of management, human resource management, marketing, accounting, and finance. It is tailored to be a practical guide for managers in order to broaden their background in global operations and to enhance their appreciation for such operations for the benefit of their companies and their careers.

Managers, executives, and students of international business will find this practical guide a one-stop resource for understanding the practice of doing business on a global scale.

How is --- or was --- business organized over borders? The book offers an historical background. It explores the history and development of the 'free-standing company'. These were compannies, distinct from the classic multinational enterprise, established to organize and to manage business abroad for a European or North American parent company. These firms proliferated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period of extraordinary globalization. Leading international scholars --- economists and historians --- provide evidence on and analysis of the operations of free-standing companies in different parts of the world from 1830 to 1996.

This examination of multinational location strategy focuses on the areas of economics, management and policy. It discusses issues such as regionalism and international trade; location patterns, local content rules and foreign direct investment; and, plant location in Eastern European countries.

Internalization theory, despite criticism of its empirical deficiency, has dominated the industrial organization approach to the multinational enterprise and its foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. Liu improves the empirical foundations of internalization theory, through the elaboration of the FDI signaling framework, which holds that a firm's direct foreign investment influences the perceptions of less-informed market participants. The signaling concept is derived from the premise that a firm's intangible assets in know-how cannot be correctly priced in a market with asymmetric information, and this motivates the firm's decision to undertake FDI. If the premise is correct, the firm's decision is based on inside information, and the firm's action reveals that information to the market. The firm's FDI internalization is evidence of management's confidence in its intangible assets, and its action may further influence market perceptions. The hypotheses generated along this line of analysis are subjected to investigation, and the evidence supports the FDI signaling proposition. Moreover, the study represents an indirect test of internalization theory. As a result, internalization is transformed from a untested theory to an empirical result.

Japanese foreign direct investment surged into Western markets in the late 1980s provoking intense policy debates in Europe and America. How did the European authorities respond to this 'Japanese Challenge'? How did their response compare to the US policy record? Does this international business activity give any insights into the idea of increasing convergence of behaviour of the world's capitalist economies? To answer these questions, Mark Mason investigates European policies towards the Japanese Challenge in cross-national and historical perspectives. He compares the policy response of European governments with that of the US government by contrasting case studies in three key sectorsthe automobile industry, consumer electronics, and banking. The case studies are then examined in the context of wider policy patterns and models across the entire Triad throughout the postwar period. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in international business history, Japanese investment policies, international trade, corporate strategy, and government-industry relations.

Dr. Hines draws on her own extensive worldwide research and her consultations with major multinational corporations to provide a comprehensive, detailed study of the rationale underlying the emergence of global private power, ways to find opportunities for further development within the global private power business, and alternative methods and techniques for its development and finance. Her book shows that, with assistance from bilateral and multilateral government agencies such as the International Finance Corporation and the various national export-import banks, project debt ratios resonably low. Equity is usually contributed to the project by all the major participants. Global competition for viable power projects is tending to reduce costs and increase plant efficiencies. This work is a major contribution to our understanding of what global power privatization is, where it is being implemented and how it is done, and the various considerations that energy executives and public policymakers worldwide should keep in mind when they seek financing for their private power projects.

Global power plant development commonly starts with regional and country risk analysis as the developer views alternative opportunities and compiles a prospectus for potential investors. As the developer analyzes the financial, market, operating, resource, political, and other risks, he or she usually considers possible methods of risk mitigation. With the participation of key host and home country and foreign partners, the developer selects the new location, the type of power plant and necessary equipment for the desired output, the fuel types and sources, the potential customers, the private financing methods, and the possibility of financial guarantees from the host government and bilateral and multilateral organizations. The markets of Asia, Latin America, and Europe present unusually good opportunities at the turn of the new century.

Present and potential multinational managers need a concise, modern, practical, and effective guide to dealing with the highly competitive international marketplace of tomorrow. This balanced approach to multinational, cross-cultural management is for large and small companies in a wide range of product and service industries. Actual company experiences are studied to show the common frameworks which are used to manage diversity from the decision making and action viewpoint of the individual manager. Surviving and prospering in the present environment; anticipating and adapting to new situations; generating ideas that manage and exploit change; and leading the creation of change across industries and markets are all dealt with in detail.

Present and potential multinational managers need a concise, modern, practical, and effective guide to dealing with the highly competitive international marketplace of tomorrow. This balanced approach to multinational, cross-cultural management is for large and small companies in a wide range of product and service industries. Actual company experiences are studied to show the common frameworks which are used to manage diversity from the decision making and action viewpoint of the individual manager. Surviving and prospering in the present environment; anticipating and adapting to new situations; generating ideas that manage and exploit change; and leading the creation of change across industries and markets are all dealt with in detail.

The functioning of the global economy depends very much on the quality and quantity of information provided by multinational corporations, not only to investors and taxing agencies but also to governmental policymakers. Underlying this is the concept of disclosure adequacy. It refers to ways in which the quality of information that MNC's divulge about their economic transactions can be measured, and such information and its adequacy can vary widely from country to country. How this happens and why it should be so-what the nature of disclosure adequacy and its determinants are-is the subject of Riahi-Belkaoui's latest Quorum book. Academics in finance and accounting will recognize quickly the beginnings of a contingency theory of disclosure adequacy internationally, one that identifies various relativisms and presents empirical evidence for their validity. Financial analysts and other investment professionals will gain useful ways to work with (and make sense of) foreign firms' annual reports, while public policy people will find insights to aid in the harmonization of accounting principles.

Riahi-Belkaoui's contingency approach to disclosure adequacy identifies determinants based on cultural, linguistic, political, civil, economic and demographic relativisms, on legal and tax relativisms and even on religious relativism. He presents evidence that accounting for information adequacy does in fact have a positive impact on economic growth. It is also an ideal mechanism by which firms can control conflicts created by favorable or unfavorable information regarding the general investment climate of a particular country. He examines international differences in disclosure adequacy, then proves there is a positive relationship between the functionings of global stock exchanges and economic and human development. From there he discusses the relationship between disclosure adequacy and political, economic, and civil factors. Finally, he examines four cultural dimensions-individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-and their impact not only on disclosure adequacy but on the way the entire accounting enterprise is practiced internationally.

Large multinational corporations shape our lives to an enormous extent. How is the growth, power, and significance of big business to be explained and understood? Focusing on the issues of ownership, control, and class formation, Corporate Business and Capitalist Classes explores the implications of changes in the nature of big business, which affect both the businesses themselves, and the economic and political milieu in which these multinationals operate. Up-to-date empirical evidence is reviewed in a wide-ranging comparative framework that covers Britain and the United States, Germany, France, Japan, and many other societies, including emerging forms of capitalism in China and Russia. Unlike other specialist texts in the area, Corporate Business and Capitalist Classes relates its concerns to issues of social stratification and class structure. The first and second editions of the book (under the title Corportations, Classes and Capitalism) were enthusiastically received, and the present edition reviews new theoretical ideas and empirical evidence that has emerged in the ten years since the second edition appeared. The text has been completely re-written and re-structured, and it relates its concerns to contemporary debates over `disorganized capitalism' and post-industrialism.

As foreign direct investment of U.S. multinational firms increases rapidly, some key questions emerge from this trend: What is the true nature of multinationality and what are its impacts on firm performance? Both questions are answered in this book through an examination of the nature of multinationality and its alternative measures and the effect of the degree of multinationality on firm performance, where firm performance is expressed by firm value, financial performance, prediction performance of earnings forecasts, diversification strategy and ownership structure, and corporate financing. The book is of value to all those interested in international business, finance and accounting issues, including professional accountants, business executives, teachers, researchers, and students.

Since the operations manager of today is faced with global scenarios, people and cultural skills have become more critical for success than analytical tools in a global 21st century. The main themes in production and operations management are operations strategy, productivity, and quality. These themes are manipulated to serve those involved in production and operations management including employees, customers, and owners. Experienced operations managers recognize that they accomplish their goals through people, and that the skills in dealing with people are often neglected. This operations book focuses on a new type of human-centered production management designed to broaden the operations managers' thinking in the human interactions area, and to expand problem-solving processes geographically from domestic to global.

This work should be of interest to CEOs and corporate and departmental executives who deal with operations and productions. Individuals in academic areas dealing with management, operations management, international business, and organizational behavior should also find this book of interest.