Journal of International Business Studies, Jan 20, 2023
We propose the concept of opportunity belief as a means of understanding individuals as the inter... more We propose the concept of opportunity belief as a means of understanding individuals as the interpreters of their contexts over the internationalization process of a firm. To illustrate the concept, we conducted a microhistorical analysis on one of the largest forest industry MNEs with an internationalization history of more than 150 years. Historical archival data and rich secondary material provided access to the reasonings of individuals over the firm's internationalization. This allowed depiction of different types of opportunity beliefs as the drivers of internationalization actions within particular historical contexts. We portray opportunity belief as a complementary lens to current internationalization models focusing primarily on firm-level development.
Companies' international growth may take several forms, but increasingly the most common alternat... more Companies' international growth may take several forms, but increasingly the most common alternatives for organizing growth are various hybrid forms. In this volume, hybrid organizations refers to the business activities that fall in between markets and hierarchies (Powell, 1987) and the governance structures that have been created around them. In particular, we focus on two concepts intimately related with the phenomenon of hybrids in international business: alliances and networks. The definition of alliances and networks is not straightforward and previous research differs in its views about whether alliances are actually networks, networks can be seen as alliances or are the two totally separate? For example, Gulati (1998, p. 293) represents the latter view when he looks at embeddedness of alliances, that is, 'voluntary arrangements between firms involving exchange, sharing or co-development of products, technologies or services', in social networks, that is, 'a set of nodes (e.g., persons, organizations) linked by a set of social relationships (e.g., friendship, transfer of funds, overlapping membership) of a specified type' (ibid., p. 295). Mainela and Puhakka (2008, p. 17), in turn, define an international joint venture as 'a small international network-a triad'. Research on both alliances and networks has been extensive during the past decades (see, for example, Hohenthal et al., 2014; Niesten and Jolink, 2014), but still many questions remain unanswered, and we do not seem to know sufficiently how they affect the organizations involved. It has been argued that one of the main reasons for inconsistency in research results stems from the fragmented nature of the research and a lack of broader theoretical approaches. Additionally, empirical findings originate often from cross-sectional and single-country studies conducted among companies based in Western economies. This book attempts to overcome the previously mentioned problems by combining different streams of literature, research methods and researchers with different backgrounds. Furthermore, it amalgamates different types of knowledge by including
This article explores preconditions and developmental dynamics of institutional innovation in hig... more This article explores preconditions and developmental dynamics of institutional innovation in higher education organizations as an outcome of a collaborative educational initiative – a university-based experimental space. Such collaborative learning configurations are often designed to stimulate local economic development after a downturn in regional industrial landscapes. The experimental space studied here had a twofold mission: providing re-skilling and re-education opportunities for unemployed ICT professionals and equipping them with business and employment bonds with regional game industry companies. To imbue a static outcome of institutional innovation with dynamic features, and to further develop the concept of Triple Helix spaces, we incorporated three sequential forms of institutional work in our analysis: boundary work, distancing work, and anchoring work.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine subsidiary positioning within the dynamic busines... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine subsidiary positioning within the dynamic business networks in the context of multinational companies (MNCs). The research question of the study is: How does the positioning of a subsidiary emerge through strategic practices in the dynamic business networks of an MNC? Design/methodology/approach The study relies on the IMP view on strategy with a focus on market positioning activity and the strategy-as-practice approach. Positioning is seen as a question of strategic practices in the interactive spheres of the subsidiaries. In the empirical part of the study, the authors examine the practices of a forest machine industry multinational through longitudinal interview and archival data on three of its sales subsidiaries in Sweden, Russia and the USA. Findings The study defines core tensions in subsidiary interactive spheres and the related strategic practices that shape the positioning of the subsidiaries. The study models the practice-ba...
ABSTRACT In this article we regard embeddedness in relationship networks as a key issue in the de... more ABSTRACT In this article we regard embeddedness in relationship networks as a key issue in the development of an international joint venture (IJV). We look at IJVs from a perspective which highlights the role of network relationships and of networking behaviour. This perspective suggests that the development of an IJV is not a dyadic or an organisation-level process, but is rather a process embedded in extensive networks of relationships and driven by individual-level action for relationship-building. We elaborate on this network action perspective to IJVs by reference to a longitudinal case study of the 12-year development process of a greenfield equity IJV. In interpreting the findings we suggest convincing, compromising, resourcing, internal organising and legitimising as the behaviours associated with the changing of the relational embeddedness and the developing of the IJV.
The present study approaches international venturing with a deep contextualized view, emphasizing... more The present study approaches international venturing with a deep contextualized view, emphasizing the social setting in which international entrepreneurial behavior is embedded. Relying on a review of research on contextual influences on international entrepreneurship and the concept of high-growth venturing, we develop a conceptualization of a collective activity-based start-up industry for international high-growth venturing. Through an empirical study of the start-up industry in Israel, we explicate the contextual determinants of international venturing in start-up industries. We contribute to the understanding of start-up industries as a particular growth frontier in international business.
Abstract: Current views on value creation emphasize the role of the customer, mutual investments,... more Abstract: Current views on value creation emphasize the role of the customer, mutual investments, and value co-creation. Nevertheless, at present the customer-focused research concentrates on value expectations and value experiences as outcomes but disregards the analysis of potential value that is dependent on the customer’s activity and learning in the process. The present study explores customer perceived value as a multidimensional phenomenon incorporating expected, realized, and potential dimensions. Using a real-life experiment, the study shows the role of customer learning particularly in realizing the potential value of novel technological services. To understand and achieve the potential value, customers need first to unlearn their current practices, second, to learn how to use the novel service, and third, to envision the best ways to use the novel service. Hence, a sacrifice made in the present day (i.e. learning efforts) will increase the potential value-in-use in the fu...
Studies on network dynamics are analyzed from the viewpoint of alternative conceptual and methodo... more Studies on network dynamics are analyzed from the viewpoint of alternative conceptual and methodological approaches provided for research on network change. The paper emphasizes particularly two definitional and methodological challenges; business network is never a single unit or a one-dimensional phenomenon and networks change as a result of human action and interaction. Therefore, conceptual and methodological tools are sought for the capture of various levels of processes without losing the holistic understanding, and the agency of individuals in network change. The study presents a typology of network change that can be used by other researchers in explicating their research approaches. It concludes by discussing different conceptual and methodological solutions to understand multi-level processes and get access to change generating actions over time to offer a basis for further research on network change.
Journal of International Business Studies, Jan 20, 2023
We propose the concept of opportunity belief as a means of understanding individuals as the inter... more We propose the concept of opportunity belief as a means of understanding individuals as the interpreters of their contexts over the internationalization process of a firm. To illustrate the concept, we conducted a microhistorical analysis on one of the largest forest industry MNEs with an internationalization history of more than 150 years. Historical archival data and rich secondary material provided access to the reasonings of individuals over the firm's internationalization. This allowed depiction of different types of opportunity beliefs as the drivers of internationalization actions within particular historical contexts. We portray opportunity belief as a complementary lens to current internationalization models focusing primarily on firm-level development.
Companies' international growth may take several forms, but increasingly the most common alternat... more Companies' international growth may take several forms, but increasingly the most common alternatives for organizing growth are various hybrid forms. In this volume, hybrid organizations refers to the business activities that fall in between markets and hierarchies (Powell, 1987) and the governance structures that have been created around them. In particular, we focus on two concepts intimately related with the phenomenon of hybrids in international business: alliances and networks. The definition of alliances and networks is not straightforward and previous research differs in its views about whether alliances are actually networks, networks can be seen as alliances or are the two totally separate? For example, Gulati (1998, p. 293) represents the latter view when he looks at embeddedness of alliances, that is, 'voluntary arrangements between firms involving exchange, sharing or co-development of products, technologies or services', in social networks, that is, 'a set of nodes (e.g., persons, organizations) linked by a set of social relationships (e.g., friendship, transfer of funds, overlapping membership) of a specified type' (ibid., p. 295). Mainela and Puhakka (2008, p. 17), in turn, define an international joint venture as 'a small international network-a triad'. Research on both alliances and networks has been extensive during the past decades (see, for example, Hohenthal et al., 2014; Niesten and Jolink, 2014), but still many questions remain unanswered, and we do not seem to know sufficiently how they affect the organizations involved. It has been argued that one of the main reasons for inconsistency in research results stems from the fragmented nature of the research and a lack of broader theoretical approaches. Additionally, empirical findings originate often from cross-sectional and single-country studies conducted among companies based in Western economies. This book attempts to overcome the previously mentioned problems by combining different streams of literature, research methods and researchers with different backgrounds. Furthermore, it amalgamates different types of knowledge by including
This article explores preconditions and developmental dynamics of institutional innovation in hig... more This article explores preconditions and developmental dynamics of institutional innovation in higher education organizations as an outcome of a collaborative educational initiative – a university-based experimental space. Such collaborative learning configurations are often designed to stimulate local economic development after a downturn in regional industrial landscapes. The experimental space studied here had a twofold mission: providing re-skilling and re-education opportunities for unemployed ICT professionals and equipping them with business and employment bonds with regional game industry companies. To imbue a static outcome of institutional innovation with dynamic features, and to further develop the concept of Triple Helix spaces, we incorporated three sequential forms of institutional work in our analysis: boundary work, distancing work, and anchoring work.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine subsidiary positioning within the dynamic busines... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine subsidiary positioning within the dynamic business networks in the context of multinational companies (MNCs). The research question of the study is: How does the positioning of a subsidiary emerge through strategic practices in the dynamic business networks of an MNC? Design/methodology/approach The study relies on the IMP view on strategy with a focus on market positioning activity and the strategy-as-practice approach. Positioning is seen as a question of strategic practices in the interactive spheres of the subsidiaries. In the empirical part of the study, the authors examine the practices of a forest machine industry multinational through longitudinal interview and archival data on three of its sales subsidiaries in Sweden, Russia and the USA. Findings The study defines core tensions in subsidiary interactive spheres and the related strategic practices that shape the positioning of the subsidiaries. The study models the practice-ba...
ABSTRACT In this article we regard embeddedness in relationship networks as a key issue in the de... more ABSTRACT In this article we regard embeddedness in relationship networks as a key issue in the development of an international joint venture (IJV). We look at IJVs from a perspective which highlights the role of network relationships and of networking behaviour. This perspective suggests that the development of an IJV is not a dyadic or an organisation-level process, but is rather a process embedded in extensive networks of relationships and driven by individual-level action for relationship-building. We elaborate on this network action perspective to IJVs by reference to a longitudinal case study of the 12-year development process of a greenfield equity IJV. In interpreting the findings we suggest convincing, compromising, resourcing, internal organising and legitimising as the behaviours associated with the changing of the relational embeddedness and the developing of the IJV.
The present study approaches international venturing with a deep contextualized view, emphasizing... more The present study approaches international venturing with a deep contextualized view, emphasizing the social setting in which international entrepreneurial behavior is embedded. Relying on a review of research on contextual influences on international entrepreneurship and the concept of high-growth venturing, we develop a conceptualization of a collective activity-based start-up industry for international high-growth venturing. Through an empirical study of the start-up industry in Israel, we explicate the contextual determinants of international venturing in start-up industries. We contribute to the understanding of start-up industries as a particular growth frontier in international business.
Abstract: Current views on value creation emphasize the role of the customer, mutual investments,... more Abstract: Current views on value creation emphasize the role of the customer, mutual investments, and value co-creation. Nevertheless, at present the customer-focused research concentrates on value expectations and value experiences as outcomes but disregards the analysis of potential value that is dependent on the customer’s activity and learning in the process. The present study explores customer perceived value as a multidimensional phenomenon incorporating expected, realized, and potential dimensions. Using a real-life experiment, the study shows the role of customer learning particularly in realizing the potential value of novel technological services. To understand and achieve the potential value, customers need first to unlearn their current practices, second, to learn how to use the novel service, and third, to envision the best ways to use the novel service. Hence, a sacrifice made in the present day (i.e. learning efforts) will increase the potential value-in-use in the fu...
Studies on network dynamics are analyzed from the viewpoint of alternative conceptual and methodo... more Studies on network dynamics are analyzed from the viewpoint of alternative conceptual and methodological approaches provided for research on network change. The paper emphasizes particularly two definitional and methodological challenges; business network is never a single unit or a one-dimensional phenomenon and networks change as a result of human action and interaction. Therefore, conceptual and methodological tools are sought for the capture of various levels of processes without losing the holistic understanding, and the agency of individuals in network change. The study presents a typology of network change that can be used by other researchers in explicating their research approaches. It concludes by discussing different conceptual and methodological solutions to understand multi-level processes and get access to change generating actions over time to offer a basis for further research on network change.
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Papers by Tuija Mainela