Papers by Grazia Santangelo
Journal of International Business Studies, 2011
The internationalization process model suggests that firms internationalize by building positions... more The internationalization process model suggests that firms internationalize by building positions in foreign markets and networks, following iterative cycles of learning and changes in commitment. However, as subsidiaries evolve, commitments may be decreased as well as increased, a phenomenon that has rarely been studied. Moreover, it remains an open question why strategic intentions at the outset of an investment project differ from the actual operations established. We address these questions by extending the model and combining it with Mintzberg and Waters' framework of strategy formation. Specifically, we suggest that commitment decisions correspond to statements of intended strategy, while network positions correspond to realized strategies. The processes of learning, opportunity creation and trust building triggered by commitment decisions are, however, moderated by institutional influences that lead to divergences between realized and intended strategies. We test propositions derived from this framework on a survey data set of subsidiaries of multinational enterprises in Hungary, Lithuania and Poland, and find that institutional voids and institutional uncertainty affect subsidiary strategy implementation, but in opposing directions. Under high institutional uncertainty, investors prefer low commitment but flexible modes that enable later commitment increases, whereas institutional voids increase up-front information search and adaptation costs that reduce the likelihood of early post-entry adjustments. Our analysis reinforces the need for more differentiated theoretical analyses of how institutions affect business strategies over time.
We investigate the effect of research and development (R&D) offshoring from highincome regions to... more We investigate the effect of research and development (R&D) offshoring from highincome regions to prominent emerging economies. Specifically, we examine whether there is a complementary relationship between a region's home and foreign investments in R&D that affects home's regional knowledge production. Using a theoretical framework based on economic geography and the literature on international knowledge sourcing, we conjecture that high-income regions would have a comparative advantage in high-tech R&D, while emerging economies would have an advantage in medium/low R&D. Complementarity should obtain when the comparative advantages of the geographical areas are utilized. We find overall empirical support for this prediction.
Strategic Change, 2003
ABSTRACT The widespread adoption of advanced information and communications technology (ICT) is g... more ABSTRACT The widespread adoption of advanced information and communications technology (ICT) is generally regarded as a powerful driver for undermining bureaucratic management. ICT-enabled organizations are often associated with flattened organizational structures, decentralization of resources and activities, teamwork and the empowerment of employees.Those lines of argument are questioned with reference to knowledge management, security, the development and implementation of intranets and intranets and the findings of surveys carried out over a period of 3 years on the use of codes of conduct governing the use of ICT by employees in a wide range of organizations.Evidence is presented that the increasing use of Internet technology has not been accompanied by the expected move away from bureaucratic management but rather by increasing employee regulation and discipline, motivated largely by management concerns about the security and efficient operation of information systems.Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Progress in International Business Research, 2008
ABSTRACT The Information Technology (IT) revolution has accelerated the internationalising of pro... more ABSTRACT The Information Technology (IT) revolution has accelerated the internationalising of production by decreasing transport costs, developing telecommunications, and favouring the implementation of a flexible automated production system. At European level, the 1970s microelectronic revolution has clearly underlined the European lag in high-tech sectors since the IT European market is clearly characterised by a strong penetration of American multinationals as well as by low rates of technological innovation. After both political (i.e. member states) and economic (i.e. European companies) actors have unsuccessfully tried to fill this gap, the regional integration option (i.e. the European Union - EU) seems to be the more suitable solution. Indeed, the European IT market started developing its own features after the launch of the European Strategic Programme for Research in Information Technology (ESPRIT). Within this framework, this paper will look at the regional co-operative initiative (i.e. ESPRIT) both as the starting point of the EU high-tech policy and as a further step towards a full European integration.
ABSTRACT A world-wide process controversially defined liberalisation is occurring in he financial... more ABSTRACT A world-wide process controversially defined liberalisation is occurring in he financial sector. Its main causes can be identified in the changes of the international order after the end of the Cold War as well as in the technological revolution affecting production. As suggested in this paper, this process has implied a de-regulation and re-regulation carried out in an international arena fragmented in regional blocks. In this contest, the implementation of a European Single Market for financial services has been accelerated. De facto, states members are applying the provisions present in the Treaty of Rome, which were not taken into any account in the past. Moreover, in the last years, the path toward a financial integration has continued through new legislation within the European Community. This paper will propose a reading of the Single Market for financial services as a response to the process of financial transnationalisation. This approach to the issue will be supported by two arguments. First of all, the creation of a common financial market has provided the European states with a means of participation in the international re-formulation of this sector; second, the establishment of the Single Market for financial services should prevent European Union (EU) members from financial instability.
ABSTRACT The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War generated a multilate... more ABSTRACT The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War generated a multilateral order in which new actors are looking for their reintegration in the new international system. In this context, the situation of the Baltic states (i.e. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) is rather peculiar when looking at geography and history. Geographically closed to the Nordic democracies and historically linked to Germany, the young republics have been attempting to reinsert themselves internationally by revitalising these connections. In order to achieve this goal, the Balts were likely to go through two possible avenues (i.e. the creation of a Nordic-Baltic regional organisation and the Baltic integration in the European Union - EU). In this paper, the choice of the latter will be explained by two main arguments: the recent integration of Finland and Sweden in the EU as well as the attraction for the stable institutionalisation of the EU integration as an historical factor.
TECHNOLOGY, MARKET STRUCTURE AND INTERNATIONALIZATION The technological capacity of nations is in... more TECHNOLOGY, MARKET STRUCTURE AND INTERNATIONALIZATION The technological capacity of nations is increasingly seen as a crucial influ-ence on their international competitiveness and growth prospects. Yet, technology does not receive due attention in development ...
ABSTRACT A world-wide process controversially defined liberalisation is occurring in he financial... more ABSTRACT A world-wide process controversially defined liberalisation is occurring in he financial sector. Its main causes can be identified in the changes of the international order after the end of the Cold War as well as in the technological revolution affecting production. As suggested in this paper, this process has implied a de-regulation and re-regulation carried out in an international arena fragmented in regional blocks. In this contest, the implementation of a European Single Market for financial services has been accelerated. De facto, states members are applying the provisions present in the Treaty of Rome, which were not taken into any account in the past. Moreover, in the last years, the path toward a financial integration has continued through new legislation within the European Community. This paper will propose a reading of the Single Market for financial services as a response to the process of financial transnationalisation. This approach to the issue will be supported by two arguments. First of all, the creation of a common financial market has provided the European states with a means of participation in the international re-formulation of this sector; second, the establishment of the Single Market for financial services should prevent European Union (EU) members from financial instability.
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Papers by Grazia Santangelo