© 2017 Elsevier Inc. This paper examines how firm experience with armed conflict and host country engagement in conflict jointly affect the profitability of foreign subsidiaries. We test our hypotheses using a sample comprising 33,620 observations of foreign subsidiaries of 693 UK firms in 212 countries over the period 1999¿2008. We show that (1) firm experience with conflict has a horizontal S-shaped relationship with subsidiary profitability, (2) extrastate conflict in the host country is positively related to subsidiary profitability and (3) the impact of firm experience with conflict is negatively moderated by the level of engagement of the host country in extrastate conflicts.

© 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to propose a new theoretical perspective on the organizational design of offshoring service organizations by adopting an information processing perspective which incorporates the factors of collaborative information technologies, task commoditization and global customer service delivery that are characteristic of modern-day knowledge-intensive service (KIS) organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyze data from a large multiyear survey of offshoring service providers conducted in 12 countries. Findings: The authors show how use of collaborative technology is significantly and positively related to spatial and configurational dispersion, task commoditization is significantly and positively related to spatial and temporal dispersion and need for global customer presence is not related to spatial, temporal or configurational dispersion. Research limitations/implications: The paper integrates concepts from management information system (MIS), operations management and international business to show how collaborative technology, task characteristics and customer service requirements affect the global dispersion of KISs. Practical implications: The results show how use of collaborative technology, task characteristics and global customer service requirements need to be jointly considered in the global dispersion of activities by KIS providers. Originality/value: The study sheds light on the effect of the key factors on different dimensions of global dispersion (i.e. spatial/temporal/configurational dispersion) in offshoring service provider organizations. Second, it shows how the traditional information processing perspective on organizations can be updated and applied to KIS organizations by incorporating the factors of global collaborative information technologies, task commoditization and global customer service.

Despite many years of research, empirical studies of the relationship between internationalization and performance of firms have given conflicting results. Contractor, Kundu, and Hsu (2003) and Lu and Beamish (2004) have recently proposed a three-stage theory of international expansion that attempts to reconcile the conflicting findings. However, other studies suggest that there are good reasons to believe that firms from less-developed countries (LDCs) differ in their internationalization from firms in developed countries. Furthermore, little research has been conducted on service firms in LDCs. This paper aims to fill some of this gap by testing the internationalization-performance relationship in a sample of service firms in the Asia-Pacific region. The study confirms the three-stage model but adds two new dimensions. First, the results show that the internationalization-performance relationship varies significantly depending on whether internationalization is intra-regional or extra-regional. Extra-regional sales/total sales showed significant and positive relationships with return on assets (ROA) in all three models but combined foreign sales/total sales showed no significant relationships with ROA and surprisingly intra-regional sales showed a significant relationship only in the quadratic model. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An extensive body of literature in sociology and anthropology has shown that different societies have developed different structures for exchange of items such as goods, status and information. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how social exchange theory can help illuminate many of the underlying bases of different ethical perspectives in debates about social exchanges. Social exchange theory is applied to three common types of knowledge exchange - R&D joint ventures, commercial intellectual property exchange and academic exchange. Two key factors that underlie different ethical perspectives are shown to be differences in structures for social exchange and differences in views of the alienability of knowledge from its originator. © Springer 2005.

R&D alliances and outsourcing elements of the new product development process are now commonplace practices among many firms. However, little previous work has examined how these organizational choices influence project knowledge and learning. Based on a comparison of three new product development projects in the software industry, this paper examines how task partitioning in the project influences learning and knowledge development within the firm. The paper suggests that internal development projects encourage synthetic learning and development of architectural and tacit knowledge; in contrast, outsourcing and joint ventures encourage analytic learning and development of component and explicit knowledge. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suggests another dimension of research in, and application of, knowledge management. This theoretical paper adopts a conceptual, multi-disciplinary approach. First, knowledge can be stored and transmitted via institutions. Second, knowledge ¿subnetworks¿ or smaller groupings within larger networks can become key repositories of knowledge. The concept of knowledge ¿subnetworks¿ needs to be tested against empirical evidence, which should include a cross-national comparison of knowledge-based cities. The paper provides some insights to policy makers in designing or developing global cities. It is one of the few papers that discusses the connection between knowledge management and growth of global cities. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

One of the greatest problems facing luxury goods firms in a globalizing market is that of counterfeiting. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different types of counterfeiting that take place in the fashion industry and the ethical issues raised. We argue that the problem partly lies in the industry itself. Copying of designs is endemic and condoned, which raises several ethical dilemmas in passing judgment on the practice of counterfeiting. We analyze the ethical issues in a number of different types of counterfeiting encountered in the fashion industry. We conclude with some observations on the general implications for ethics in intellectual property rights.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of tacit knowledge in successful knowledge-based cities. It focuses on a case study of Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan. The growth of successful knowledge-based cities is dependent on three interrelated processes that create and transfer tacit knowledge in cities: Local knowledge creation, transfer of knowledge from external sources and transfer of that knowledge into productive activities. Researchers need to focus on processes for the creation and transfer of tacit knowledge in cities, and designers and policy makers of knowledge-based cities need to focus on creating tacit knowledge in cities. Discusses the connection between tacit knowledge and growth of global cities. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

New e-technologies such as mobile Internet phones and interactive television are widely predicted to generate a wealth of opportunities through the creation of new e-business models. At the same time, numerous high-profile Internet ventures have gone belly-up and millions of investors around the world have been caught out. A focus on the successes can give the impression that an ingenious business model is all that is needed to create a thriving e-firm. But do these models really matter? What can we learn by examining the Internet failures, or the problems inherent in each model? What are the real key factors determining the survival or failure of e-firms?

This paper discusses how the nature of electronic commerce affects strategic decision making. First, some features of electronic commerce are identified that distinguish it from traditional business - new markets, knowledge-based competition, speed of change and increasing returns. Next, how each of these features affects strategic decision making is demonstrated. Finally, how the process has changed following the internet stock market crash and may continue to change in the future is discussed. © 2003 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

As Internet retailers move into mainstream markets and traditional retailers venture onto the Internet, an increasingly important management question is how to successfully combine 'real' and 'virtual' operations. This paper aims to highlight some of the key management issues and critical success factors in 'real-virtual retailing'. Three case studies are compared to illustrate the different issues facing Internet start-ups, established retailers and suppliers. Two issues in particular are highlighted as being critical - (1) management of supply and distribution (2) integration of real and virtual systems - and we suggest a practical framework that can be used to analyse these issues in 'real-virtual retailers'. © 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.