Papers by Gabriel Robertstad Garcia Benito
Why Some are Less Willing to Share:Competitive Domains and Knowledge Transfer in Multi-Unit Organizations
Review of international business and strategy, Feb 11, 2022
Well-functioning institutions are repeatedly claimed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) b... more Well-functioning institutions are repeatedly claimed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) by reducing the costs and uncertainty of economic activity. Nonetheless, it has been argued that institutions may matter less for FDI in the primary sector. This study theoretically and empirically investigates the role of institutions for attracting FDI in agricultural and in extractive activities. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses worldwide country and sector level data on inward FDI for the period 1996 to 2007. The key independent variables property rights protection, corruption and democracy, are measured using World Bank Governance Indicators and Polity IV as data sources. Fixed effect panel regression, Tobit regression, and generalized method of moments are used for data analysis. We corroborate the importance of institutions for aggregate FDI. Disaggregating by primary subsector, we find that agricultural FDI, like aggregate FDI, is attracted by institutional features such as rule of law and property rights protection and democracy, while extractive FDI is not. We also find some evidence that corruption deters FDI in both primary subsectors. We take a first step towards linking the largely empirical institutions-FDI literature more closely with the economics-based theoretical discussions of FDI risk grounded on a property rights approach, to discuss issues such as effective control rights over investments, which may vary between sectors. We also explore a novel idea that extractive activities may be less sensitive to institutions because the time horizon is limited by the depletion of the resource, resulting in an inherently relatively short-term commitment to a host-country location.
The Interplay of International Alliance and Subsidiary Portfolios: Implications for Firm Performance
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2023
Chain Strategies and Modes of Foreign Market Penetration in Agribusiness
Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, Aug 3, 2000
ABSTRACT. Over the last decade, cross-border activity has increased considerably in the food indu... more ABSTRACT. Over the last decade, cross-border activity has increased considerably in the food industry. So far, the internationalization of food producers has attracted most of the attention. In this paper, we argue that food chains also play an important role in the recent changes ...
Global Strategy Journal, May 1, 2016
We discuss the concept of corporate headquarters and outline a simple model of where MNEs locate ... more We discuss the concept of corporate headquarters and outline a simple model of where MNEs locate their corporate headquarters. In line with substantial empirical evidence, this model emphasizes the inertial forces that tie MNEs to the location where they have historically first been established. We then aggregate our analysis to the national level to identify the determinants of the number of MNE headquarters in a given country. On that basis, we offer a critique of the study by Coeurderoy and Verbeke [this issue], and outline directions for future research.
De-Internationalization: The Other Side of Internationalization
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Jul 19, 2023
Management International Review, Nov 3, 2017
Global Strategy Journal, Nov 1, 2016
We investigate whether listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) benefit more from internationalizati... more We investigate whether listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) benefit more from internationalization than listed private enterprises. We argue that SOEs have a greater scope for benefitting from internationalization due to their previous domestic focus and because of government-related firm-specific advantages they can utilize for their internationalization. In listed SOEs, these factors may matter more than non-economic objectives and corporate governance deficiencies that could reduce SOEs' economic benefits from internationalization. Empirical analysis on a sample of listed Norwegian firms provides modest support for the hypotheses. There is no indication that state ownership reduces the benefits of internationalization.
Journal of International Business Studies, May 15, 2019
We use internalization theory to analyze the establishment and entry mode decisions of state-owne... more We use internalization theory to analyze the establishment and entry mode decisions of state-owned (SOE) and privately owned (POE) enterprises. We enrich internalization theory by building on insights from economic theory of corporate governance and taking into account particular characteristics of SOEs such as non-economic motivations, long-term orientation, and different risk preferences. We examine foreign entries over a 10-year period in the Canadian oil and gas industry. This single-country and single-industry context features foreign SOEs and POEs from a wide range of home countries, allowing a focused study of the combined influence of state ownership and home-country factors. Compared to POEs, SOEs tend to prefer acquiring stand-alone assets rather than firms, and to take lower ownership shares. We also find that differences between SOEs and POEs diminish when home countries are characterized by high government quality and market orientation and identify differences between types of SOEs, with partially owned SOEs exhibiting behaviors more similar to POEs than fully owned SOEs. We demonstrate how our enrichment of internalization theory strengthens its predictive and explanatory capacity. Our results also show that SOEs from strong and market-oriented institutional environments are similar to POEs and can be studied using the traditional internalization theory.
The micro-mechanics of foreign operations’performance
Routledge eBooks, Sep 25, 2003
Multinational Enterprise Organizational Structures and Subsidiary Role and Capability Development: The Moderating Role of Establishment Mode
Group & Organization Management
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) develop structural configurations for managing their geographica... more Multinational enterprises (MNEs) develop structural configurations for managing their geographically dispersed and disaggregated activities. These structures can be classified as (a) simple headquarters configurations (involves corporate, regional, divisional headquarters and mandated units) involving few direct reporting relationships; (b) network organizations involving no direct reporting relationships; and (c) matrix configurations involving multiple reporting relationships. While these structures are built for handling various complexities and purposes, it is unclear how they influence subsidiary role and capability development. We hypothesize how these structures influence subsidiary development and propose a moderating role of MNE establishment mode on the direct structure-subsidiary development relationship. Based on data from 429 foreign subsidiaries in New Zealand, our results show that subsidiary development varies across the structures such that simple headquarters confi...
Temporality and the first foreign direct investment
Journal of World Business
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Domestic Alliance Formation and the Foreign Divestment Decisions of Firms
Progress in International Business Research, 2017
Abstract This study examines the effect of domestic alliances on firms’ foreign divestment decisi... more Abstract This study examines the effect of domestic alliances on firms’ foreign divestment decisions. We argue that foreign subsidiaries face a higher risk of being divested when firms form new alliances with other firms in their home country. Alliances at home involve resources and may divert attention away from international operations. Also, opportunities emerging from entering into new relationships with other firms domestically may lead firms to reconfigure their value chain activities and resources across locations, thereby increasing the probability of foreign divestment. Using data from the electronic and electrical equipment industries in the USA over the period 2001–2008, we empirically investigate the link between domestic alliances and foreign divestment. We find that increases in domestic interfirm collaboration indeed significantly affect firms’ propensity to divest foreign operations.
From local to global innovation: The role of subsidiaries’ external relational embeddedness in an emerging market
International Business Review, 2018
Abstract This study examines factors that influence the development and transformation of local i... more Abstract This study examines factors that influence the development and transformation of local innovations into global innovations from an emerging market subsidiary. We argue that subsidiaries’ relational embeddedness with the external local network is essential for the development of local innovations. Turning local innovations into global ones is the result of the level of innovativeness evoked by the subsidiary located in an emerging market. However, the transformation of local into global innovations is more likely to happen in the case of subsidiaries having previous reverse knowledge transfers in functional areas. Reverse knowledge transfers indicate internal embeddedness, which is essential for local innovation to be transformed into global innovation. We draw on survey evidence from 131 foreign subsidiaries operating in Brazil. Using a Structural Equation Modeling technique, our results support our hypotheses and show that subsidiaries’ relational embeddedness with the external local network is positively associated with local innovation, which is transformed into global innovation, especially when innovation is developed in the subsidiary´s functional areas with previous reverse knowledge transfers. We draw implications for the field of subsidiary management research, specifically to understand the role of local innovation from foreign subsidiaries in emerging markets.
British Journal of Management, May 25, 2020
Globalization has motivated firms to expand into foreign markets, but internationalization is inh... more Globalization has motivated firms to expand into foreign markets, but internationalization is inherently dynamic. Many firms have exited foreign markets for various reasons, but some later decide to re-enter those same markets. Based on a case study of a Brazilian multinational's activities in Mexico, this study contributes to the literature on re-entry decisions of multinational enterprises and their outcomes, focusing on the roles of institutional voids and the experiences of decision-makers during such processes. The findings suggest that companies learn from their mistakes and reconsider how they approach reentry and the resources that may need to be mobilized. However, the learning process is not straightforward as it is clouded by international knowledge myopia. This study highlights how multiple actors and considerations influence re-entry events.
The future of global strategy
Global Strategy Journal, Aug 1, 2022
Research SummaryGlobal strategy, that is, the analysis of strategy in an international context, h... more Research SummaryGlobal strategy, that is, the analysis of strategy in an international context, has co‐evolved with the dramatic changes in the global economy in the 21st century. Research advances have enabled a more sophisticated understanding of how firms develop strategies in an increasingly turbulent global environment in which societal expectations, technological advances, and political decisions are all in a state of continuous change. In this article, we reflect and provide suggestions for how the field may evolve on five key themes of global strategy: cooperation, coordination, governance, politics, and innovation. We also outline suggestions for future research on global issues that are gaining increasing centrality in business decisions: climate change, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics.Managerial SummaryThe study of how the context affects firms' strategies has changed with the transformation of the world in the 21st century. Research has provided a better understanding of how managers create and implement strategies in response to changes in societal expectations, technological advances, and political decisions. In this article, we reflect and provide suggestions for future studies on five key themes of global strategy: cooperation, coordination, governance, politics, and innovation in multinationals. We also outline suggestions for analyzing the increasingly important grand challenges that affect business decisions: climate change, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics.
The Termination Dilemma of Foreign Intermediaries: Performance, Anti-Shirking Measures and Hold-Up Safeguards
Advances in international marketing, Sep 8, 2007
For many exporting firms, success in foreign markets hinges to a large extent on the performance ... more For many exporting firms, success in foreign markets hinges to a large extent on the performance of their foreign intermediaries (Albaum, Strandskov, & Duerr, 2002; Ellis, 2000; Root, 1987). In spite of the key role played by intermediaries in foreign marketsie sales ...
Journal of International Business Studies, Nov 26, 2018
We investigate the role of domestic interfirm networks for the foreign divestment decisions of fi... more We investigate the role of domestic interfirm networks for the foreign divestment decisions of firms. We argue that firms' foreign operations risk being divested when a firm becomes more central in its domestic network. Positive changes in firm centrality at home facilitate access to information about new business opportunities, but they may also lead firms to consider reconfiguring their value chain activities and resources across locations. The resulting opportunity costs of maintaining foreign operations could subsequently lead to their divestment. Moreover, we argue that the positive association between an increase in firm centrality in the domestic network and foreign divestment is stronger under higher uncertainty, as pursuing new business opportunities at home becomes more appealing. We distinguish between firm-specific uncertainty and domestic market uncertainty. We test and get support for our hypotheses using foreign subsidiary data from U.S. firms in the ICT industry.
Dealing with high-risk environments: Institutional-based tools to reduce political risk costs
Journal of International Management, Aug 1, 2023
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Papers by Gabriel Robertstad Garcia Benito