Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how colonization experience, length and recency in emerging market multinational enterprise (EMNE) home countries may influence the relationship between formal/informal institutional distance and EMNE equity participation in target firms across border. Design/methodology/approach The study uses panel data of combined measures of formal and informal institutional distance, as well as colonization experience and a variety of firm-level and country-level controls to conduct regression models. The data sample consists of 1,725 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) deals between 2001–2015 across different emerging markets. Findings The findings show that EMNEs are generally likely to choose higher equity participation when there is greater formal institutional distance between the home country and the target firm country, while equity participation is lesser when there is greater informal institutional distance. However, for EMNEs from countries that were colonized, the authors found that colonization experience, colonization duration and years since colonization play a significant role in altering how formal and informal institutional distance affects equity participation choices. Originality/value This study shows that EMNEs from formerly colonized countries approach cross-border M&As differently, interpreting institutional distance and institution-based view in unique ways. This study shows how postcolonialism shapes decision-making. The authors also extend existing frameworks, such as the liability of foreignness, by introducing colonization experience as an additional theoretical lens to understand institutional distance in acquisition decisions.

Purpose This paper aims to explore how Indigenous-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) pursue internationalization through nonmarket strategies, emphasizing sustainability orientation, Indigenous-to-Indigenous trade networks and cultural capital. The authors highlight how these nonmarket approaches – rooted in unique cultural values and community relationships – complement market strategies to build legitimacy and competitive advantage in global markets. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a narrative synthesis approach, drawing illustrative examples from secondary sources such as Indigenous business websites, panel discussions, news articles and existing case studies. These examples serve as narrative vignettes to contextualize the conceptual discussion, selected based on their relevance, recency and regional diversity. This approach grounds theoretical arguments in practice while maintaining transparency about source selection. Findings Indigenous-owned SMEs use nonmarket strategies grounded in cultural values such as sustainability, reciprocity and community well-being. They develop Indigenous-to-Indigenous trade networks that function as trust-based bridges across borders, mitigating institutional voids and opening new channels for market access. Through Indigenous corporate diplomacy and stakeholder engagement, these firms act as cultural ambassadors, navigating regulatory environments and shaping perceptions to enhance credibility. Leveraging cultural capital (e.g. traditional knowledge, authenticity and storytelling) allows them to build legitimacy and differentiate their offerings. Together, these nonmarket strategies provide Indigenous SMEs with complementary pathways to internationalization alongside traditional market entry modes. Practical implications The findings encourage policymakers and business leaders to recognize the nonmarket strengths of Indigenous enterprises. Supporting Indigenous-led sustainability initiatives, facilitating Indigenous business exchanges and forums and including Indigenous representatives in trade dialogues are ways to enhance the international success of these firms. Indigenous entrepreneurs are advised to actively communicate their cultural commitments and sustainability practices as competitive assets in global markets so as to manage their reputations and stakeholder relationships effectively. Social implications Advancing Indigenous SMEs on the world stage contributes to economic reconciliation and the preservation of cultural heritage. Success of Indigenous SME models socially conscious business practices, benefiting broader society through the promotion of sustainable development and diversity in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, Indigenous diplomacy and trade networks reinforce political empowerment and solidarity among Indigenous peoples across countries, strengthening a more inclusive global economic system. Originality/value This work reframes Indigenous SMEs as proactive strategists in international business rather than passive actors constrained by institutional deficits. It extends nonmarket strategy discourse by introducing the notion of Indigenous corporate diplomacy and by highlighting Indigenous-to-Indigenous trade as an emerging form of international business network. By integrating cultural capital and sustainability into the analysis of nonmarket strategy, the perspective broadens international business theory to include historically underrepresented Indigenous voices and knowledge systems.

Purpose Jean Boddewyn’s (1929–2022) work in international business political behavior launched a stream of research at the intersection of international business (IB) and strategic management that is now referred to as international nonmarket strategy (INMS). This article aims to pay tribute to Boddewyn’s scholarly legacy by providing an overview of his seminal contributions in this domain with the purpose of stimulating future research. Design/methodology/approach We examined the entirety of Boddewyn’s body of work and identified his seminal contributions to international business political behavior and nonmarket strategy, which were published in more than 40 articles and books. The authors structured our interpretation of his pioneering work in this area into three chapters: the ideation chapter, the integration chapter, and the broadening chapter. Findings We begin by providing a deep review of each of the three chapters of Boddewyn’s seminal contributions in international business political behavior and nonmarket strategy. Next, each of the authors of this article reflects on how they came to know Boddewyn’s work, and how subsequent research has been inspired by and extended his ideas. Finally, we delineate future research directions that build on and extend Boddewyn’s visionary insights to further advance our understanding of INMS. Originality/value This article reflects upon Boddewyn’s scholarly legacy in international business political behavior and nonmarket strategy and looks to the future by pointing out directions that stimulate research in this domain.

Purpose This study aims to examine how the parent firm’s foreign direct investment (FDI) motive influences the roles of corporate boards and CEO appointment of foreign subsidiaries in the context of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). Based on the agency and resource dependence theories, foreign subsidiary boards mainly serve two governance roles: an internal role focusing on monitoring subsidiary operations and resource flows with parent firms and an external role aimed at securing local operational effectiveness. This paper specifically examines the composition of foreign subsidiary boards in terms of board independence and expatriate director ratio, and whether the CEO is an expatriate, which reflects the emphasized role. Design/methodology/approach This paper collects data on listed foreign subsidiaries of Chinese MNEs between 2005 and 2021. The final sample includes 754 subsidiary-year observations across 20 host economies. The analysis is conducted using Hausman–Taylor estimation. Findings This paper finds that strategic asset-seeking FDI motive is associated with a lower expatriate director ratio, a higher independent director ratio and a higher likelihood of hiring nonexpatriate CEOs. In contrast, foreign subsidiaries established with the motive of institutional escape to tax havens result in a higher expatriate director ratio, lower independent director ratio and lower likelihood of hiring nonexpatriate CEOs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore how FDI motives influence board composition of foreign subsidiaries and appointment of subsidiary CEOs. Theoretically, this paper draws upon agency theory and resource dependence theory to extend their application to foreign subsidiaries of EMNEs. The findings enhance the understanding of international corporate governance.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of innovation effort on exports of resource constrained emerging market firms (EMFs) and boundary conditions imposed by complementary tangible and intangible resources on this relationship, using the lens of the knowledge-based view (KBV). Design/methodology/approach Analysis is based on annualized data from 19,057 Indian firms over the period of 2009–2017, controlling for endogeneity and selection bias (using Heckman correction), firm-level controls, year and sectoral fixed effects, within robust Tobit and ordinary least squares regressions. Export intensity and R&D intensity are the key dependent and independent variables, respectively. Findings The baseline impact of innovation effort on exports is found to be a concave inverted U-shape, exhibiting decreasing returns. Availability of complementary resources significantly impacts the nature of this relationship by weakening it for more resource-constrained firms. Faced with relatively greater scale-related constraints, the impact of innovation effort on exports disappears. Greater process-related constraints weaken the relationship as well. Originality/value Theoretically, these findings shed light on a nuanced relationship between a firm’s search for knowledge assets and access to foreign markets within resource constrained emerging market contexts. The limitations in the use and applicability of the KBV for EMFs’ internationalization success are highlighted, with suggested directions of future research.

PurposeThis study aims to explore the advantage of foreignness in a digital world.Design/methodology/approachUsage data for 251 days of 32 travel mobile applications installed on a major mobile phone brand in China are examined. Results support the author’s arguments.FindingsForeign mobile apps enjoy higher daily usage time than local apps. Next, the author consider how foreign apps can maximize their advantage, that is, increase daily usage time. The author argue that a multinational enterprise (MNE) can digitally enter a country that has numerous immigrants from its home country because of the high number of potential long tail users. A high level of diversity of international experience of MNEs increases the ability to understand and satisfy the specific needs of long tail users, thereby increasing daily usage time of foreign mobile apps. To maximize the advantage of foreignness in a digital world, MNEs can also carefully select business models that do not heavily rely on network effect, given the difficulty of generating network effect by long tail users.Originality/valuePrevious studies focus on the liability of foreignness or outsidership that MNEs encounter in the digital world, whereas this study argues that foreignness brings certain benefits, such as the capability to satisfy the specific needs of long tail users.

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a focused review of international business (IB) literature on research and development (R&D) internationalization, assessing the progress and proposing future research directions.Design/methodology/approachTotal 167 peer-reviewed articles from IB journals (following the ABS list 2021 from 4* to 2) published between 1996 and 2022 are critically reviewed using a science-mapping approach. This paper used Bibliometrix R-package to analyze the retrieved bibliometric data. Additionally, a strategic diagram was developed to comprehend the maturity stage of various R&D internationalization concepts.FindingsMost studies on R&D internationalization are influenced by perspectives from advanced-economy multinational enterprises (AMNEs), while perspectives from emerging-economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are underrepresented. Considering the characteristics of emerging economies, firms from these locations might embark on and develop their R&D internationalization strategies differently. Investigating the emerging economy perspectives will enrich the understanding of R&D internationalization strategies for both AMNEs and EMNEs. Additionally, bringing different underutilized theoretical perspectives will help to untangle the anomalies observed in extant literature.Originality/valueThis paper is among the few to scrutinize the IB literature on R&D internationalization by applying a unique combination of bibliometric techniques and a content analysis approach. By complementing existing reviews and providing fresh insights into the phenomenon, it offers a conceptual framework that can be used as a basis for further research on R&D internationalization.

PurposeThis study aims to explore how the absorptive capacity of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) facilitates increased acquirer performance in industry exploration and technology exploration cross-border acquisitions (CBAs).Design/methodology/approachThe research context for this study is Brazilian EMNEs and their CBAs. The final database contains 101 CBAs.FindingsThe authors find that industry exploration strategies negatively affect financial performance, but technology exploration strategies have a positive effect. The acquirer’s absorptive capacity can exacerbate the negative effects, except in instances of technology exploration strategies, where there is a demonstrable benefit from the acquirer’s absorptive capacity.Originality/valueThe study contributes first by providing a more nuanced understanding of the effects of absorptive capacity on postacquisition performance, depending on the type of knowledge explored. Second, by drawing on EMNE learning perspectives, the authors demonstrate the versatility of absorptive capacity in emerging markets.

PurposeWars, and violent conflicts generally, can generate significant institutional dynamics and new legitimacy pressures for multinational enterprises (MNEs). The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature or source of institutional pressures facing MNEs in war and to examine how MNEs respond and navigate these institutional pressures.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper.FindingsThrough the theoretical lens of institutional theory and drawing on insights from the devastating Russian–Ukrainian war in Europe, the study provides a framework that explains the nature of institutional pressures impacting MNEs in a major war conflict and how MNEs respond to these pressures. Central to the framework is the impact of formal and informal institutions on MNEs during war. As a result of regulatory and social pressures, MNEs have to make important strategic decisions either to protect their legitimacy or to defend their economic objectives against institutional demands.Originality/valueAs the paper situates the pressures of war for MNEs in a formal and informal institutional context, this offers a new approach to understanding the costs and pressures of war on MNEs.

PurposeThe authors’ contention in this paper is that the expression of subsidiary strategy in IB literature has become fragmented and incomplete. Therefore, this study aims to propose a rethink on how IB scholarship approaches the important issue of subsidiary strategy by holistically examining the discrete and integrated set of activities, choices and decisions that constitute the subsidiary strategy process for, in this context, assuming a competence-creating role within the multinational enterprise (MNE).Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model is designed to illustrate the holistic process of subsidiary strategy from assigned to assumed role and how a subsidiary can navigate a pathway to elevated performance and survival.FindingsThe paper identifies the key integrated elements that constitute a holistic strategic process that can enhance a subsidiary’s standing within the MNE and maximise its survival prospects.Research limitations/implicationsParticular focus is placed on subsidiaries that strategise to advance their internal corporate role to competence creator via upgraded knowledge capabilities.Originality/valueThis paper offers a roadmap for IB scholars to contribute to a future discourse around the subsidiary strategy process for assuming a competence-creating role.