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The results of a content analysis of 1141 articles published in the Journal of International Business Studies over a 24-year time period (1989-2012) reveal that a pervasive tendency exists in the international business (IB) literature towards emphasizing the adverse outcomes associated with cultural differences more than the positive effects. We argue that this imbalance is not an accurate reflection of the reality of cross-cultural contact in IB and that it has hindered our understanding of the processes and conditions that help organizations leverage the benefits of cultural differences in a wide range of contexts. We offer several explanations for the predominance of the negative over the positive in theory and research on culture in IB; and, using a Positive Organizational Scholarship lens couched in the context of March's (1991) exploration vs exploitation organizational learning framework, highlight a complementary perspective, namely the idea that cultural differences can be an asset, not just a liability in a range of IB contexts. We conclude by offering an integrative framework within which both positive and negative effects of cultural differences can be understood and provide a road map for future research on culture in IB.

In this article, we present a springboard perspective to describe the internationalization of emerging market multinational corporations (EM MNEs). EM MNEs use international expansion as a springboard to acquire strategic resources and reduce their institutional and market constraints at home. In so doing, they overcome their latecomer disadvantage in the global stage via a series of aggressive, risk-taking measures by aggressively acquiring or buying critical assets from mature MNEs to compensate for their competitive weaknesses. We discuss unique traits that characterize the international expansion of EM MNEs, and the unique motivations that steer them toward internationalization. We further delineate peculiar strategies and activities undertaken by these firms in pursuit of international expansion, as well as internal and external forces that might compel or facilitate their propulsion into the global scene. We finally explain the risks and remedies associated with this international 'springboarding' strategy and highlight major issues meriting further investigation.

This paper provides a brief overview of the evolution of comparative management theories/paradigms, and highlights the contribution of the 'cross-vergence' construct. Despite progress, most studies of work values across countries continue to suffer from two primary limitations. The first is the fallacious assumption of cultural homogeneity with nations. Given the growing diversity of the workforce within country, intra-national variations can often be as significant as cross-national differences. The second is the fallacious assumption of cultural stability over time. Since cultures evolve, albeit slowly, it is important to take these changes over time into consideration, and be aware of the paradoxes inherent within any given society. Hence the paper calls for the need to balance cross-national and intra-national diversity in order to truly understand cross-cultural phenomena, and thus further improve the quality of cross-cultural research.

This paper takes stock of the literature on culture in International Business by looking back in terms of evaluating what we know and what we do not know; and looking forward by identifying emerging trends and outlining avenues for future research. Unresolved issues, gaps and limitations include: (1) narrow conceptualization of culture and fragmented approach to the study of culture; (2) failure to adopt a multilevel approach and insufficient attention to level of analysis; (3) insufficient attention to context and process; (4) failure to adopt a more dynamic view of culture; (5) tendency to equate country with culture and failure to explore other national differentiators; and (6) Western-centric approach to the study of culture. Suggestions on redressing the unresolved issues include: (1) broadening the definition of culture and transcending the values-based approach to include schemas, norms, and “memes”; (2) paying more attention to process/context by exploring the situation-dependent and dynamic nature of culture; and (3) entertaining alternative research designs/methods, such as emic approaches, qualitative methods, experimental designs, neuroscience-based methods, and replication studies. While these may represent a major departure from methodologies popular in our field, their use can hopefully help us overcome the fragmented, discipline-based approach which has contributed to the persistent problems that have plagued the study of culture in IB in the past.

The field of international business (IB) was founded on a rich qualitative research legacyQualitative research methods are particularly well suited to rigorous theory development, which means both framing the study in terms of existing debates in the literature, as well as being explicit about what body of theory(ies) it is building upon, and why.

The springboard view has become one theoretic lens to analyze emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) in the past decade. A decade after its first introduction in 2007, new developments offer keen insights on these firms and MNEs in general that aggressively engage in critical asset-seeking. We compare this view with other IB theories, highlighting their differences as well as complementarity. We articulate unique strengths and weaknesses of EMNEs, including their vulnerability and complexity caused in part by home country institutions. We discuss amalgamation, ambidexterity, and adaptation advantages that differentiate springboard MNEs from more established advanced country MNEs, and explain why and how springboard acts should be analyzed along with global competitiveness augmentation. We introduce an upward spiral concept to advance our understanding of linkages between springboard and post-springboard activities, and explain some critical crosscultural and human resource management issues in the process. To help continued research on springboard MNEs, we highlight macro-and micromanagement issues that are particularly worth exploring.

Using a sample of 135 Australian firms with operations in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), this paper seeks to examine whether members of an ethnic diaspora can facilitate trade between Australia and their countries of origin. Specifically, it found that companies that are owned by immigrants and/or hired immigrants in key decision making positions (immigrant effect or IE, in short) were (a) more likely to resort to a higher resource commitment when entering into the target market; and (b) used more extensively in target markets where there are greater variations in customer behavior. There was no significant difference (a) in the deployment of immigrants between Australian firms operating in Mainland China vis-à-vis those in Hong Kong/Taiwan; (b) where there were variations in product life cycle stages between the home and target markets; (c) based on the length of operations in the target market; and (d) in performance between firms with IE and those without in the target markets. The influence of firm size, overall international business experience, variations in political-legal, economic, and competitive environments between the home and target markets, and industry type were also examined. The findings of the study with implications for theory and practice are discussed.