Is production the core competence for the internationalization of emerging country firms?

The rise of new multinationals in countries like Brazil provides an opportunity to revisit and carefully construct theories of how firms internationalize, a topic on which extant theory is weak. Brazilian firms are "infant multinationals", unlike developed country firms that are "mature multinationals". They are also internationalizing in a very different global context, and can do so on the basis of different competitive advantages than multinationals that came before. Therefore, this study aims at creating subsidies for theory building about early-stage internationalization. Emerging country firms have Production competences as main competitive asset to internationalize, what reflects their competitive positioning in home markets and their entry strategy in international markets. In the case of early-entrants - Western multinationals in the 1950s and Japanese in the 1980s - the Production competence played a key role for successful internationalization. Thus, the focus of the study is the role that the Production competence plays in the internationalization of late-entrants, the emerging country multinationals. The research design considers not only the position of the headquarters but also the initiatives of the subsidiaries and the dynamic interplay between both. The paper allows a better understanding of internationalization processes and the role of Production, when firms start building their own international networks. It brings relevant insights about the paths that are being followed by emerging country multinationals, the difficulties they find, the solutions they develop. These are important inputs not only for new theory building but also for managerial practice. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Internacionalização pelo Envolvimento de Atores Externos no Conflito Colombiano: Atuação da OEA na Desmobilização de Grupos Paramilitares na Colômbia

Internationalization of the Colombian Conflict by the Involvement of External Actors: Action by the OAS in Demobilizing Paramilitary Groups in Colombia This paper discusses the effects of the internationalization of the Colombian armed conflict, understood as the participation of foreign actors in programs regarding the resolution of the conflict. Through an analysis of the involvement of multilateral and state actors, the authors argue that this process involved the dilemma between unilateralism and multilateralism. The empirical analysis is centered on the intervention of conflict mediation mechanisms from the Organization of American States (OAS), specifically the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS), whose scope is aimed at demobilizing paramilitary groups in Colombia.

IINTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR AN EMERGING MULTINATIONAL IN BRAZIL: THE CASE OF JBS

The focus of this study is on questioning whether the traditional theories of internationalization are adequate to explain the international expansion of multinationals from emerging countries. Looking forward on this issue, we investigate the internationalization strategies adopted by JBS, a Brazilian multinational of the beef industry. The results show that the company adopted two of the five generic strategies specific to the context of emerging countries suggested by Ramamurti and Singh (2009): global consolidator and vertical integrator. Moreover, when analyzing the internationalization of the company under study, the speed of the process is highlighted when compared to traditional multinationals. It is concluded that the main mode of entry that allowed the international expansion was the acquisition and that this strategy has advantages to the company, such as access to strategic resources and rapid growth, possibly overcoming the liability of foreignness, the opportunity to compete globally and the diversification of segments that generate synergies to the company's activities.

Retinol binding protein 4 and retinol in steatotic and nonsteatotic rat livers in the setting of partial hepatectomy under ischemia/reperfusion

Steatotic livers show increased hepatic damage and impaired regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH) under ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), which is commonly applied in clinical practice to reduce bleeding. The known function of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) is to transport retinol in the circulation. We examined whether modulating RBP4 and/or retinol could protect steatotic and nonsteatotic livers in the setting of PH under I/R. Steatotic and nonsteatotic livers from Zucker rats were subjected to PH (70%) with 60 minutes of ischemia. RBP4 and retinol levels were measured and altered pharmacologically, and their effects on hepatic damage and regeneration were studied after reperfusion. Decreased RBP4 levels were observed in both liver types, whereas retinol levels were reduced only in steatotic livers. RBP4 administration exacerbated the negative consequences of liver surgery with respect to damage and liver regeneration in both liver types. RBP4 affected the mobilization of retinol from steatotic livers, and this revealed actions of RBP4 independent of simple retinol transport. The injurious effects of RBP4 were not due to changes in retinol levels. Treatment with retinol was effective only for steatotic livers. Indeed, retinol increased hepatic injury and impaired liver regeneration in nonsteatotic livers. In steatotic livers, retinol reduced damage and improved regeneration after surgery. These benefits of retinol were associated with a reduced accumulation of hepatocellular fat. Thus, strategies based on modulating RBP4 could be ineffective and possibly even harmful in both liver types in the setting of PH under I/R. In terms of clinical applications, a retinol pretreatment might open new avenues for liver surgery that specifically benefit the steatotic liver. Liver Transpl 18:1198-1208, 2012. (c) 2012 AASLD.

Internacionalização pelo envolvimento de atores externos no conflito colombiano: atuação da OEA na desmobilização de grupos paramilitares na Colômbia

This paper discusses the effects of the internationalization of the Colombian armed conflict, understood as the participation of foreign actors in programs regarding the resolution of the conflict. Through an analysis of the involvement of multilateral and state actors, the authors argue that this process involved the dilemma between unilateralism and multilateralism. The empirical analysis is centered on the intervention of conflict mediation mechanisms from the Organization of American States (OAS), specifically the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS), whose scope is aimed at demobilizing paramilitary groups in Colombia.

Estratégia internacional de uma multinacional emergente brasileira: o caso JBS

Este estudo preocupa-se em questionar se as teorias tradicionais de internacionalização são adequadas para explicar a expansão internacional das multinacionais de países emergentes. Procurando avançar nessa questão, investigam-se as estratégias de internacionalização adotadas pela JBS, multinacional brasileira do setor frigorífico. Os resultados evidenciam que a empresa adotou duas das cinco estratégias genéricas específicas ao contexto de países emergentes sugeridas por Ramamurti e Singh (2009): consolidador global e integrador vertical. Além disso, ao analisar a internacionalização da empresa em estudo, chama atenção a velocidade do processo, em comparação às multinacionais tradicionais. Conclui-se que o principal modo de entrada que possibilitou a expansão internacional foi a aquisição e que essa trouxe vantagens à empresa, como o acesso a recursos estratégicos, o crescimento rápido, a possível superação da liability of foreignness, a oportunidade para competir globalmente e a diversificação dos segmentos de atuação que geram sinergias às atividades da empresa.

O papel dos relacionamentos interpessoais na internacionalização de instituições de ensino superior

A literatura sobre internacionalização de IES negligencia dois aspectos desse processo: as diferenças dos processos de internacionalização na graduação e na pós-graduação e o papel das redes de relacionamentos dos docentes no processo de internacionalização. O propósito deste artigo é discutir o papel dessas redes de relacionamentos no processo de internacionalização da pós-graduação. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo comparativo de casos de duas universidades confessionais brasileiras (PUC-RS e PUC-SP). Os resultados mostram que, em ambos os casos, as políticas de internacionalização são formuladas para as IES como um todo, não contemplando as especificidades da graduação e da pós-graduação, e que as redes de relacionamento dos docentes podem ter um papel relevante no processo de internacionalização de IES, sobretudo no nível da pós-graduação.

O efeito do grau de internacionalização nas competências internacionais e no desempenho financeiro da PME brasileira

O objetivo deste artigo é identificar a relação entre o Grau de internacionalização (GRI), o desempenho financeiro e o desenvolvimento de competências internacionais das Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. O aumento do GRI, mediado pelo desenvolvimento das habilidades em lidar com o mercado internacional (Knight & Kim, 2009), assegura competências internacionais que podem distinguir as PMEs com alto GRI das PMEs que operam localmente (Penrose, 1959; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997). Por meio de uma survey aplicada em 114 empresas de até 200 funcionários (Ministério do Desenvolvimento da Indústria e do Comércio Exterior [MDIC], 2010), esta pesquisa testou a hipótese que o aumento do GRI desenvolve competências internacionais e melhora o desempenho financeiro. Devido à utilização de construtos de natureza complexa, a existência de erros e a necessidade de se identificarem múltiplas relações simultaneamente, a modelagem de equações estruturais (SEM) foi utilizada como técnica estatística. Os resultados indicam que, com o aumento do grau de internacionalização, a PME desenvolve competências internacionais e, assim, apresenta um desempenho superior. A relação de mediação do desenvolvimento de novas competências entre o aumento do GRI e o desempenho financeiro organizacional explora uma nova abordagem nos negócios internacionais, principalmente para as PMEs.