Research Summary: With respect to entry mode decisions, psychic distance may play two contradictory roles. On one hand, the transaction cost perspective is concerned with opportunism. Psychic distance magnifies the threat of opportunism, which encourages higher levels of control by foreign firms. Conversely, the new internalization perspective emphasizes the role of complementary assets controlled by local entities. Distance increases the need to access local knowledge, which encourages firms to seek joint ventures. By adopting an experimental approach and measuring managers' a priori perceptions of distance, this article contributes to the literature by providing a more sophisticated approach for discriminating between these effects. The results indicate that distance magnifies the need for firms to access complementary assets; however, distance does not appear to magnify the threat of opportunism. Managerial Summary: This article explores the role that psychic distance (i.e., differences across countries in culture, language, religion, etc.) plays in how firms enter foreign markets. Specifically, do they prefer wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) or do they prefer to form joint ventures (JV) with local players? One perspective argues that firms are concerned about potential partners in a foreign market taking advantage of them; thus, they will prefer the greater control a WOS offers. Conversely, firms may simply recognize that these differences put them at a disadvantage and prefer a JV as a way to gain local knowledge. Our experiments indicate that the latter explanation dominates. When entering very different countries, managers seem to prefer JVs in order to access key local knowledge.

Research Summary: Most Indian organizations operate within the technological frontier and focus on lowering costs, sometimes through frugal innovation or jugaad, to meet the constrained affordability of Indian consumers. Process and organizational innovations abound more than product or supply chain management innovations. Foreign multinationals, the major contributor of patents in India, appear to be uninhibited by the current state of the IP protection regime, although this has deficiencies in enforcement. A new noteworthy trend is the rise of start‐ups that hold promise as a source of product and business model innovations. Our analysis of the (limited) extant literature indicates a general dearth of empirical research on this topic relative to work on China; as such, there is scope for further research.Managerial Summary: This article offers a perspective on innovation in India by both Indian and foreign companies. Using an inward‐outward lens, we conclude that while many Indian organizations have been the source of myriad process and incremental—as well as frugal—innovations that have cumulatively created value for companies and consumers, much of this has happened within the technological frontier and has been focused on lowering costs to meet the constrained affordability of Indian consumers (inward lens). At the same time, foreign multinationals have played an important role in initiating patent‐creating R&D activity, mostly for global products (outward lens). Spillovers from these entities have, in part, fueled the emergent rise of start‐ups, many of which are pursuing product innovation and, in some instances, frugal innovation.

Research Summary: Research on the internationalization of family firms has flourished in recent years, yet the mechanisms through which family involvement shapes the determinants, processes, and outcomes of internationalization remain little understood and largely undertheorized. We contribute to research at the intersection of international business and family business by examining the roles of different sources of family firm heterogeneity and the context in shaping the determinants, processes, and outcomes of business internationalization. Drawing on this analysis, we summarize the articles published in this special issue and set out an agenda for further research aimed at advancing a more fine‐grained and contextualized understanding of internationalization in family firms.

Research SummaryForming informal ties with political agents is viewed as a viable strategy for multinational enterprises seeking to enter emerging countries. Less is known about the conditions under which political connection is most helpful for firms dealing with cross‐border institutional distance. We discuss the distinctive mechanisms through which emerging multinationals may benefit from both home and host political connections. Based on the strategy tripod perspective, we postulate that the importance of different types of connections depends on the overall configurations of a firm’s resources and industry characteristics, and these may change with institutional distance. Our analysis of a sample of Chinese high‐tech manufacturing firms yields new insights into political connections, institutional distance, and the strategy tripod perspective.Managerial SummaryPolitical connections play an important role in firms’ international expansion. In this study, we consider the importance of home political connections and host political connections in overcoming institutional barriers to foreign entry. We show that this importance varies, depending on firms’ resource bases and industry dynamics, and it may switch from a useful asset to a dispensable one under certain circumstances. We reach our conclusion from an analysis of Chinese high‐tech manufacturing firms’ foreign direct investment.

Research SummaryHow information about social networks affects firms’ global expansion is an important but rarely investigated question. We argue that different sources of network information will affect a firm's investment activities in the global market, but their relative importance may vary. Moreover, the influence of network information can be bounded by the global trade network. The results from a sample of cross‐border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities conducted by U.S. publicly listed firms reveal that although M&A experience of both interlocking and joint venture partners affects the focal firm's global expansion, the effect of interlocking partners is more influential than joint venture partners. Meanwhile, when mutual trade dependence between countries is high, the positive effect of network information from board interlocks diminishes.Managerial SummaryFirms are hesitant to engage in cross‐border M&As, because it is difficult for them to get information about local business practices and environmental idiosyncrasies. This study shows that firms can deal with this challenge by accessing relevant information from the M&A experience of interlocking partners and joint venture partners. The information generated from the M&A experience of interlocking partners is even more valuable and important than that of joint venture partners in shaping firms’ cross‐border M&A decisions. Moreover, the M&A experience of interlocking partners and joint venture partners is particularly valuable for firms contemplating M&A activities in a country with relatively fewer buyer‐seller exchange networks with their home country.

Research summaryWe examine the conditions under which boundary spanners positively contribute to intra‐MNC knowledge sharing. Specifically, we argue that the knowledge‐sharing behavior of boundary spanners should not be taken for granted, as it is affected by the individual's motivation to share knowledge and is contingent upon the immediate organizational context in which the individual is located. An analysis of data covering 482 individuals located in different business units of a Danish MNC confirms our arguments.Managerial summaryBoundary spanners are employees who act as knowledge intermediaries between many individuals from within and outside their organizations. They are well connected internally and externally and share knowledge across MNC units to a greater extent than non‐boundary spanners. However, their contribution to knowledge sharing should not be taken for granted as it depends on their motivation and their immediate context.

Research SummaryMultinational enterprises create and capture value through appropriate business models that fit both distinctive capabilities and dynamic markets. The key elements of a global business model include propositions for adding customer value and capturing a share of that value, methods to control, deploy, and utilize critical resources, and integrated processes that deliver value to target global customers. These factors explain the diversity in business models, with international competition in geographically dispersed markets further fortifying this diversity and complexity. This article demonstrates ways forward in theorizing about business models, applying these models in the global context, discussing capabilities and strategies necessary for value generation from a global business model, and relating the choice of model to the strategic context of the modern multinational firm.Managerial SummaryMNEs seek value in the global marketplace through distinctive business models, as is the case in other markets. Global markets add layers of complication, as the MNE needs both a global umbrella business model and a local business model for each product and international host market. Because the global business environment is highly dynamic and each host market offers unique contextual characteristics, simple and fixed business models are not feasible. This article offers insights into how aspects of the business model and the multinational firm must be adapted to locational characteristics.A video abstract is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSNWO4zk2Q.

Research summaryPro‐market reforms in emerging markets evolve in a temporal pattern, however extant studies examining the impact of pro‐market reforms have eschewed temporality. We propose that the net impact of reforms on firm performance is contingent on the temporal strategic fit of the firm's strategic choice with the external environment. Using internationalization as the strategic choice, we posit that a positive impact of internationalization is contingent on whether or not firms entrain (synchronize) the temporal parameters of their internationalization activities with those of pro‐market reforms. Robust empirical support for these arguments comes from longitudinal panel data related to Indian automotive firms from 2001 to 2010, contributing to our understanding of the role of the temporal strategic fit of firms’ strategic choices during institutional transitions.Managerial summaryManagers of emerging market (EM) firms have faced pro‐market reforms in their home markets, leading to a high degree of competition. Hence, it is pertinent for EM firms to know the intricacies of their response during such changes. We suggest that managers should frame their strategic responses by considering not only the role of “what” and “how,” but also the impact of “when” and “at what rate.” We find firms that shape their responses in synchronization with the changes in the external environment are in the best position to mitigate the erosion of their profitability. As such, this study focuses on the impact of temporal fit of internationalization activities with pro‐market reforms by EM firms and has implication for managers of economies in transition.