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The methodological problems raised by the collection of foreign direct investment data
Scandinavian International Business Review
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Managing Network Connections in International Business D~sirde Blankenburg and Jan Johanson Organizational Structure, Sweden The knowledge about business relationships is considerable. Less is known, however, about how relationships are connected so that they form business networks. Analyses network connections in international business networks building on network exchange theory. Provides empirical evidence of the existence and role of network connections in an international business setting based on empkical data about 85 important business relationships of Swedish industrial suppliers. Analyses how network connections are managed. The overall implication is that a crucial issue in international business concerns the management of the connnclJons forging the business networks in which the firm is embedded. Tailor-made Strategic Processes to Meet the Firm's Portfolio and Financial Pressures: An Empirical Study Peter Lorange and Johan Roos Organizational Structure, Policy, Strategy Attempts to undertake an exploratory testing of the appropriateness of tailor-making administrative systems to the particular strategic situational contexts of different corporations. Specifically it is hypothesized that companies facing different portfolio pressures and/or different financial pressures need different strategy process designs, so as to cope with their distinct needs. Develops a conceptual scheme for such strategic process tailor-making, and carries out an exploratory clinical study based on examining the design of corporate-wide strategic processes in eight corporations. The result of the study provides a partial verification of the need to tailor-make strategic processes. The Internationalization of Service Firms: A Comparison with the Manufacturing Sector Peter J. Buckley, C.L. Pass and Kate Prescott International Business, Service Industries Integrates the various strands of literature on service industries in order to understand the behaviour of internationalizing service firms. Distinguishes between goods and service. Critically reviews the eclectic theory of the multinational enterprise, thus providing a framework for classifying factors affecting service industries. Posits two features which critically affect foreign market servicing decisions and the process of internationalization: the extent to which the service is embodied in physical goods which determines the degree of tradeability of the service; and the degree to which production and consumption of the service can be spatially separated. Expansion Strategies in International Markets: An Exploratory Study Kjell Gronhaug and Olav Kvitastein International Business, Norway Focuses on how business firms cope, or more precisely, how
they try to exploit perceived opportunities in international markets. Emphasizes basic assumptions about business firms in order to explain behaviour in domestic and foreign markets, i.e. their market dependence, the limited cognitive capacity of human actors, and the need for procedural and contextual rationality to exhibit purposeful behaviour. Develops a research perspective combining these assumptions with the well-known growth matrix to examine how business firms cope in international markets. Explores the perspective empirically among a sample of 114 Norwegian small and medium-sized firms involved in 266 international strategic business units (product markets). The findings demonstrate that business firms use a variety of expansion strategies, but also that the hypothesis of gradual involvement in more distant markets may be questioned. Highlights the managerial and theoretical implications of the findings.
Comparing Scanner Data with Traditional Store Audit Data Eijte W. Foekens and Peter S.H. Leeflang Consumer Behaviour, Europe, Marketing Research Traditional consumer panel data and retail audit data are still used for decision making in marketing in most V~st European countries, despite the availability of scanner data. Discusses several aspects of scanner data by comparing weekly scanner data with traditional bimonthly store audit data. More specifically, studies the effects of differences between the methods of registration, the levels of aggregation and the representativeness of the samples of stores. The analyses show that due to registration effects and differences in the composition of the samples there are substantial differences between the corresponding sales, market share and weighted distribution figures. Examines the consequences of these differences related to induced marketing decisions, calibrating marketing models using both samples.
The Methodological Problems Raised by the Collection of Foreign Direct Investment Data John Cantwell International Business, Investment Analysis, Statistics Data on foreign direct investment (FDI) are often used as a proxy for international production, though they are not ideal for this purpose. Not all international production is financed by FDI, and FDI data are generally collected for other purposes, typically relating to national balance of payments issues rather than industrial questions. There are definitions and institutional discrepancies in the measurement of FDI between countries. Shows that the differences between FDI flows and stocks are crucial. Inflation and exchange-rate changes create severe problems in making cross-country comparisons of FDI. Despite these difficulties, much would be gained through greater co-operation between international business researchers and the agencies responsible for FDI data collection.
1,1 2
Managing Network Connections in International Business D~sirde Blankenburg and Jan Johanson Organizational Structure, Sweden The knowledge about business relationships is considerable. Less is known, however, about how relationships are connected so that they form business networks. Analyses network connections in international business networks building on network exchange theory. Provides empirical evidence of the existence and role of network connections in an international business setting based on empkical data about 85 important business relationships of Swedish industrial suppliers. Analyses how network connections are managed. The overall implication is that a crucial issue in international business concerns the management of the connnclJons forging the business networks in which the firm is embedded. Tailor-made Strategic Processes to Meet the Firm's Portfolio and Financial Pressures: An Empirical Study Peter Lorange and Johan Roos Organizational Structure, Policy, Strategy Attempts to undertake an exploratory testing of the appropriateness of tailor-making administrative systems to the particular strategic situational contexts of different corporations. Specifically it is hypothesized that companies facing different portfolio pressures and/or different financial pressures need different strategy process designs, so as to cope with their distinct needs. Develops a conceptual scheme for such strategic process tailor-making, and carries out an exploratory clinical study based on examining the design of corporate-wide strategic processes in eight corporations. The result of the study provides a partial verification of the need to tailor-make strategic processes. The Internationalization of Service Firms: A Comparison with the Manufacturing Sector Peter J. Buckley, C.L. Pass and Kate Prescott International Business, Service Industries Integrates the various strands of literature on service industries in order to understand the behaviour of internationalizing service firms. Distinguishes between goods and service. Critically reviews the eclectic theory of the multinational enterprise, thus providing a framework for classifying factors affecting service industries. Posits two features which critically affect foreign market servicing decisions and the process of internationalization: the extent to which the service is embodied in physical goods which determines the degree of tradeability of the service; and the degree to which production and consumption of the service can be spatially separated. Expansion Strategies in International Markets: An Exploratory Study Kjell Gronhaug and Olav Kvitastein International Business, Norway Focuses on how business firms cope, or more precisely, how
they try to exploit perceived opportunities in international markets. Emphasizes basic assumptions about business firms in order to explain behaviour in domestic and foreign markets, i.e. their market dependence, the limited cognitive capacity of human actors, and the need for procedural and contextual rationality to exhibit purposeful behaviour. Develops a research perspective combining these assumptions with the well-known growth matrix to examine how business firms cope in international markets. Explores the perspective empirically among a sample of 114 Norwegian small and medium-sized firms involved in 266 international strategic business units (product markets). The findings demonstrate that business firms use a variety of expansion strategies, but also that the hypothesis of gradual involvement in more distant markets may be questioned. Highlights the managerial and theoretical implications of the findings.
Comparing Scanner Data with Traditional Store Audit Data Eijte W. Foekens and Peter S.H. Leeflang Consumer Behaviour, Europe, Marketing Research Traditional consumer panel data and retail audit data are still used for decision making in marketing in most V~st European countries, despite the availability of scanner data. Discusses several aspects of scanner data by comparing weekly scanner data with traditional bimonthly store audit data. More specifically, studies the effects of differences between the methods of registration, the levels of aggregation and the representativeness of the samples of stores. The analyses show that due to registration effects and differences in the composition of the samples there are substantial differences between the corresponding sales, market share and weighted distribution figures. Examines the consequences of these differences related to induced marketing decisions, calibrating marketing models using both samples.
The Methodological Problems Raised by the Collection of Foreign Direct Investment Data John Cantwell International Business, Investment Analysis, Statistics Data on foreign direct investment (FDI) are often used as a proxy for international production, though they are not ideal for this purpose. Not all international production is financed by FDI, and FDI data are generally collected for other purposes, typically relating to national balance of payments issues rather than industrial questions. There are definitions and institutional discrepancies in the measurement of FDI between countries. Shows that the differences between FDI flows and stocks are crucial. Inflation and exchange-rate changes create severe problems in making cross-country comparisons of FDI. Despite these difficulties, much would be gained through greater co-operation between international business researchers and the agencies responsible for FDI data collection.