Theoretical contexts of managing people in emerging Chinese multinational enterprises

 This article aims at reviewing existing theories relevant to human resource management (HRM) and providing theoretical contexts to explain the importance of managing people across borders for emerging Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Assessing the practice of project-based JV between local and international contractors in the UAE

This paper is about assessing the practice of Project-Based Joint Ventures formed between local and international contractors in the UAE construction industry. This common practice nowadays, provides the means for contractors to quickly add resources to enhance project acquisition. Studies indicate that JVs are among the tools that contractors will need to get together in the face of increasing market demands. Specifically, Project-Based JVs are often used in the UAE Construction industry with an exceptional growth in an attempt to diversify from Oil and Gas. The UAE is very business friendly which makes it attractive for such kind of alliance or partnership for local contractors to get the necessary experience and for international contractors to minimize the risks associated with entering new markets. In this context, studies that evaluate this alliance phenomenon in the UAE construction industry are limited. The few industry-related studies have primarily focused on large, international JVs; yet, many JVs are formed on small and medium-sized projects within the UAE. The paper aims to assess the current practices and understand the many factors involved with forming, managing, and controlling JV partnerships. The research methodology adopted a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches. First, a closed question survey was disseminated to construction professionals in the UAE in light of the literature findings. Second, two case studies were demonstrated and analysed, then triangulated with the literature and survey findings to remove possible bias and improve the confidence in the collected data. The paper concluded that the JV in the UAE construction industry is mostly formed on project-basis rather than continuous collaboration. The management control mostly used in the UAE construction industry is shared management of activities in a venture with the operations shared between parents. The paper addressed major factors that lead to successful JV in the construction projects of the UAE which are namely trust, correct structure, communication, and partner’s commitment. Partners’ common objectives do not affect the JV success or failure. Willingness to adapt eliminates conflicts and enhances the JV success prospect.

Addressing the complexities of managing domestic and multinational corporate brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the differences between managing domestic corporate brands (DCBs) and multinational corporate brands (MCBs), and presents a framework highlighting six types of complexity associated with managing both forms of corporate brands in an international business context.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper proposes a framework addressing six types of complexity involved in managing DCBs and MCBs drawing on the literature related to corporate branding, corporate brands, and domestic and multinational corporations. The six types of complexity examined include: strategic role, organisational structure, culture, knowledge, positioning and extended responsibility.

Findings – The research identifies that DCBs have a lower degree of complexity in regard to strategic role, knowledge and positioning, but have a higher level in regard to organisational structure, cultural and extended responsibility complexity. MCBs face more complexity than DCBs across all dimensions because they operate across business environments and need to coordinate activities while adapting to environmental differences.

Practical implications – The findings highlight the importance of environmental complexity for firms managing brands globally. The issues of complexity identified in this paper need to be understood if firms are to effectively build and manage their corporate brands within and across markets.

Originality/value – The paper highlights the concepts of DCBs and MCBs, and identifies the factors that contribute to the complexity of managing these two types of corporate brands domestically and internationally.

Localized learning by emerging multinational enterprises in developed host countries: a fuzzy-set analysis of Chinese foreign direct investment in Australia

Firms learn general international management and foreign market specific knowledge in their internationalization process. Firms' strategic emphasis on generalized vs. localized learning is an important yet underexplored issue in the extant literature. Drawing on the theoretical framework of dynamic capability, and in the context of emerging multinational enterprises' FDI into developed host countries, this study examines the equifinal process-position-path configurations of firms that will motivate them to engage in localized learning (as opposed to generalized learning). Utilizing primary and secondary data of eleven Chinese foreign direct investments in Australia, collected at both headquarters and subsidiary levels, we conducted fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) that provided substantial support to our propositions. This study contributes to the internationalization process model by identifying equifinal process-position-path configurations, as well as their core and peripheral conditions that motivate localized learning at both the headquarters and the subsidiary levels.

The effects of perceived organizational support, perceived supervisor support and intra‐organizational network resources on turnover intentions: A study of Chinese employees in multinational enterprises

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of perceived organizational support (POS), perceived supervisor support (PSS) and intra-organizational network resources on the turnover intentions of the Chinese employees of multinational enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilized structured equation modeling to analyze survey data from 437 Chinese employees of five multinational enterprises operating in the Chinese service sector. Findings: The study found that POS was positively related to affective organizational commitment, which in turn was negatively related to turnover intentions. A direct relationship was revealed between PSS and turnover intentions, as well as a mediated relationship through POS. In contrast, the relationship between intra-organizational network resources and turnover intentions was fully mediated through POS. Research limitations/implications: The cross sectional design is a limitation of the study. Another limitation regards the generalisability of the findings outside the specific research context. Future research should be extended to different geographical and organizational settings. Practical implications: In order to promote employee retention, multinational enterprises operating in China could start by carefully targeting visible support on offer to their employees. Improving supervisor support is a relatively inexpensive and practical measure compared to the costly alternatives such as improving employee compensation, training and career development. Organizations should also consider improving co-worker support schemes in the workplace which enable individuals to build up their network resources. Originality/value: The study provided evidence for both a direct relationship between PSS and turnover intentions and a mediated one via POS, confirming the generalisability of previous findings to the Chinese context. In addition it made an original contribution by establishing that POS fully, rather than partially mediated the relationship between intra-organizational network resources and turnover intentions. This suggests that Chinese employees attribute instrumental and expressive support from others in the organization as coming from the organization itself.

Cross-border insolvency law and multinational enterprise groups: judicial Innovation as an international solution

The Article argues that courts confronting the effects of multinational enterprise insolvency must undertake a pragmatic incursion into the separate entity doctrine. This argument is premised on gaps in the current Model Law which confers significant discretion on the courts. Our research shows that courts have fashioned innovative solutions to fill the gaps and thatgreater recognition of the legitimacy of these judicial incursions into the separate entity doctrine would facilitate the reduction of transaction costs in the case of multinational group insolvencies. We identify criteriawhereby a court would be able to determine that the inherentseparateness of the corporate structure should be disregarded andthe group regarded as one.

Of Law, Lawlessness, and Sovereignty : Multinational Peacekeeping and International Law

Laws of war have been carefully defined by individual nations’ own codes of law as well as by supranational bodies. Yet the international scene has seen an increasing movement away from traditionally declared war toward multinational peacekeeping missions geared at containing local conflicts when perceived as potential threats to their respective regions’ political stability. While individual nations’ laws governing warfare presuppose national sovereignty, the multinational nature of peacekeeping scenarios can blur the lines of command structures, soldiers’ national loyalties, occupational jurisdiction, and raise profound questions as to which countries’ moral sense/governmental system is to be the one upheld. Historically increasingly complex international relations have driven increasingly detailed internationally drafted guidelines for countries’ interactions while at war, yet there are operational, legislative, and moral issues arising in multinational peacekeeping situations which these laws do not address at all. The author analyzes three unique peacekeeping operations in light of these legislative voids and suggests systematic points to consider to the end of protecting the peacekeepers, the national interests of the countries involved, operational matters, and clearly delineating both the objective and logical boundaries of a given multinational peacekeeping mission.