Call for Papers
Workshop on
Internationalization of Business Groups:
Illustrations from China and India
Date: 5 & 6 December 2013
Venue: National University of Singapore
Organized by
The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore
&
The Emerging Market Internationalization Research Group (EMIRG), University of Sydney
Business groups are collections of firms bound together in formal and informal ways in an intermediate sense for achieving an economic purpose (Yaprak & Karademir, 2009). They prevail in both developed and emerging economies (Ghemawat & Khanna, 1998) and constitute the dominant organizational form in many emerging economies (EEs) (Chung & Luo, 2008; Khanna & Rivkin, 2001). Scholars have utilized multiple theoretical perspectives for defining, characterizing and comprehending business groups. These groups play an important role in EEs by filling institutional voids and creating their own internal capital, labour and product markets (Khanna & Palepu, 1997).
Several studies have explored the performance of business groups in EEs. Most of these studies focus on domestic performances of these groups, or their affiliate firms, within home countries (e.g. Chacar & Vissa, 2005; Chang, Chung, & Mahmood, 2006; Douma, George, & Kabir, 2006; Khanna & Palepu, 2000a; Khanna & Rivkin, 2001). Only a small minority have explored the impact that affiliation to a business group has on the degree of internationalization of the focal firm, albeit with contradictions (e.g. Chang, 1995; Chittoor, Sarkar, Ray, and Aulakh, 2009). The issue requires deeper probing in the context of rising internationalization of EE firms, many of which are affiliated to larger business groups.
The purpose of this workshop is to address the issue of internationalization of business groups from two of the world’s largest EEs: China and India. Some of the main questions sought to be addressed are as follows:
1. How is the efficacy of business groups affected by the rapidly changing institutional environments in China and India? What are the technological, innovative, and regulatory responses of business groups to the domestic policy environment and to global developments respectively?
2. Business groups are social structures deeply embedded in the broader institutional environment of EEs like China and India. How does this affect the internationalization propensity and prospects of their affiliate firms?
3. What are the motivations (e.g. diversifying risk, economies of scale, technology transfers) for Chinese and Indian business groups to internationalize?
4. How do business groups from the two economies determine their choice of new markets, management structure of international affiliates and their functional relationships with these affiliates?
5. What are the organizational transformations taking place in business groups from China and India for responding to changes in the external institutional environment?
6. What are the contextual advantages/disadvantages of international expansion perceived by business groups from both countries?
7. What is the evidence of advantages/disadvantages transferring to foreign markets when Chinese and Indian firms internationalize their operations?
ISAS and EMIRG are pleased to issue this Call for Papers for the Workshop. Interested participants are requested to submit a title and an abstract (approximately 1000 words) latest by 31 July, 2013. The abstracts are to be sent to Professor Vikas Kumar ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) or Ms Pratima Singh ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>). Submitted abstracts will go through a double-blind peer-review process. Selected participants will be informed by 15 September 2013. Selected papers presented at the Workshop will be considered for publication in a special issue of a reputed journal or an edited volume.
The Workshop does not have any registration fee. Participants are expected to fully fund their expenses for attending the Workshop.
References
Chacar A, Vissa B. 2005. Are emerging economies less efficient? Performance persistence and the impact of business group affiliation. Strategic Management Journal 26 (10): 933-946.
Chang SJ. 1995. International expansion strategy of Japanese firms: capability building through sequential entry. Academy of Management Journal 38 (2): 383-407.
Chang S, Chung C, Mahmood IP. 2006. When and how does business group affiliation promote firm innovation? A tale of two emerging economies. Organization Science 17 (5): 637-656.
Chung C, Luo X. 2008. Human agents, contexts, and institutional change: the decline of family in the leadership of business groups. Organization Science 19 (1): 124-142.
Chittoor R, Sarkar M, Ray S, Aulakh PS. 2009. Third-world copycats to emerging multinationals: institutional changes and organizational transformation in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Organization Science 20 (1): 187(19).
Douma S, George R, Kabir R. 2006. Foreign and domestic ownership, business groups, and firm performance: evidence from a large emerging market. Strategic Management Journal 27 (7): 637-657.
Ghemawat P, Khanna T. 1998. The nature of diversified business groups: a research design and two case studies. The Journal of Industrial Economics 46 (1): 35-61.
Khanna T, Palepu K. 1997. Why focused strategies may be wrong for emerging markets. Harvard Business Review 75 (4): 41-51.
Khanna T, Palepu K. 2000a. Is group affiliation profitable in emerging markets? An analysis of diversified Indian business groups. The Journal of Finance 55 (2): 867-891.
Khanna T, Rivkin JW. 2001. Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets. Strategic Management Journal 22 (1): 45-74.
Yaprak A, Karademir B. 2010. The internationalization of emerging market business groups: An integrated literature review. International Marketing Review 27 (2): 245 – 262.
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