Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets

Special Issue Editors

David Ahlstrom, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (ahlstrom@baf.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk)
Garry D. Bruton , Texas Christian University, USA (g.bruton@tcu.edu)
Krzysztof Oblój, Warsaw University &Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management,Poland (kobloj@wspiz.edu.pl)

Emerging markets encompass a wide range of countries including but not limited to those that are in transition from communism such as China and Russia, as well as countries that have had some democratic institutions historically but which have had strong governmental control of the economy and are now liberalizing such as India & Turkey, and those countries whose economic development is only recently beginning to develop substantial critical mass such as nations in Africa. The common factor in each of these settings is that market forces are increasingly allowed to direct what occurs in these economies. As a result each of these countries to varying degrees is experiencing significant economic growth and institutional change.

Historically the field of entrepreneurship has been dominated by research on mature economies, particularly those of the United States and Europe. However, the institutional environment of emergent markets has been shown to be significantly different than that in the mature economies. Fundamental issues like the rule of law, the availability of capital, and accepted legitimacy of entrepreneurship to exist is fundamentally different in emergent economies than in mature economies.

This special issue will present high quality research that explores the unique differences that exist in entrepreneurship in emergent markets. We encourage far ranging explorations of these differences that will extend our understanding of how entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship is able to prosper in diverse, frequently challenging emergent markets.

Particularly, those research efforts that contrast different emergent markets are encouraged since such examinations allow greater insight on the domain of emergent markets rather than single nation studies. We also strongly encourage authors from emergent markets to prepare submissions. ETP is one the top 50 journals from all business disciplines that is used by the Financial Times to rank business programs worldwide.

Relevant topics include but are not limited to:

• Development of key resources including the financing of new ventures in resource constrained emergent markets.
• Building legitimacy for entrepreneurial firms in environments that are turbulent and some times hostile. Institutional environment and how it impacts entrepreneurial efforts.
• How entrepreneurs align with or seek to shape complex and dynamic environments.
• The impact of governments and legal systems on the development of entrepreneurial ventures.
• How entrepreneurs in emerging economies use relationships and networks as strategic resources.
• Going international - entrepreneurial ventures that attempt to compete globally or regionally
• The development and maintenance of defendable competitive advantage in rapidly changing emergent markets.
• Role of human resources in entrepreneurial ventures in emergent markets.
• High technology ventures and their role in the development of emergent markets.
• Entrepreneurial supports such as incubators and their impact
• Leadership in the entrepreneurial venture in emergent market – differences in roles and impact
• Decision making in emergent markets, what is the impact of rapidly changing and resource constrained environments

Submission Information:

Submissions are to be prepared in a form consistent with ET&P’s style guide.
Submissions are to be submitted to Garry D. Bruton at g.bruton@tcu.edu by September 1, 2006.

Publication date: January 2008.

If you have any questions on the special issue please feel free to contact any of the editors of the special issue.

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy:
An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

By Pietra Rivoli
Associate Professor
McDonough School of Business
Georgetown University

International Investment Agreements: Key Issues (Volumes I, II and III), Unctad, New York and Geneva (2004 and 2005)

Philippe Gugler
Department of Economics University of Fribourg. Designated dean of the faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

With the ascendancy of FDI as one of the main factors driving international economic relations in the era of globalization, international investment rulemaking has become to the forefront of public and private concerns facing a patchwork of bilateral agreements (more than 2’300 BITs), regional agreements as well as plurilateral agreements. In this context, the UNCTAD has published 3 volumes dedicated to the key issues regarding the international legal framework on FDI. Whereas the business community as well as the governments are suffering from a fragmented international legal framework on FDI, the UNCTAD publications are of tremendous importance to help the private sector as well as the public sector to understand the current framework and to contemplate a more coherent international framework on FDI. Indeed, the international legal framework for FDI has undergone significant changes in the past two decades. UNCTAD describes the series of national and international developments which radically reversed the attitude of host States concerning FDI. The policy prevailing is now to actively attract FDI by liberalising its entry, by offering strict guarantees for investor protection in order to promote economic development, and by offering incentives for foreign investors. The methods and instruments currently in use are described and the reader will find an accurate picture of the complexity of the present legal situation. Key scholars have contributed to these three publications.

In volume I, UNCTAD stresses the importance of flexibility for development in international investment agreements (IIAs). Developing countries must be able to strike a balance between promoting FDI and pursuing their development objectives. The important issue of scope and definition of IIAs - in particular the definition of “investor” and “investment” - is ably outlined. Following, the different approaches concerning admission and establishment are discussed. UNCTAD then depicts the treatment standards known from the WTO context in their application to FDI. National treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment, as well as fair and equitable treatment are each explained and analyzed in a chapter. Subsequently the issue of investor protection is explained. The different categories of takings of properties, the requirements for the legality of takings, and the subject of compensation are subject to important controversies. Another important aspect of investor protection, the transfer of funds, is also examined. Investor protection must guarantee that the foreign investor will be able to enjoy the financial benefits of a successful investment and reference is made to the OECD Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movements. However, the “balance-of-payments derogation” included in IIAs reflect the recognition that transfer of capital might, under certain circumstances, lead to a financial crisis. The issue of transparency - often overlooked but of vast significance - is treated in detail. First, the potential addressees of a transparency obligation are identified, secondly the content of the transparency obligation is delimited and finally, the implementation of transparency policies is reviewed. Finally, provisions concerning dispute settlement are considered. State-State disputes can arise out of either the exercise of diplomatic protection or as a result of a dispute over the interpretation of the IIA. The procedures governing the dispute settlement mechanisms and the applicable standards for the settlement of disputes are crucial elements of an IIA. The second category is Investor-State disputes. It is discussed in detail why this issue is of significance for the foreign investor and why treatment standards and guarantees are of limited importance unless they are enforced by an efficient dispute settlement system.

In volume II, the possibility and the limitation of extending IIA protection to cover State contracts is explained. Subsequently, UNCTAD discusses host country operational measures, i. e. measures implemented by host countries concerning foreign affiliates in their jurisdiction, such as performance requirements. Although it is rarely considered a separate issue in IIAs, the implications of the agreement on host country operational measures are discussed at length due to their great practical importance. UNCTAD also further develops the topic of the increased use of incentives as a policy instrument to attract foreign direct investment, introduced in volume one. The possible content of incentives and the key policy issues at stake are explained. The volume also offers a remarkable overview of the topics environment, social responsibility and illicit payments which have been the focus of public attention on the activities of MNEs. Finally, the issues of transfer pricing and taxation are addressed.

In volume III, UNCTAD highlights the fact that home countries also influence FDI flows, e. g. by imposing restrictions on capital outflows. The following chapter discusses the issue of technology transfer in the context of IIAs and how developing countries can use IIAs to ensure maximum benefits from the generation, transfer, and diffusion of the best available technology. Competition is a central element of liberalisation. UNCTAD examines what issues related to competition arise in the context of FDI and how competition issues have been addressed in IIAs. Finally, UNCTAD provides a final overview in respect of the role of FDI in development.

UNCTAD offers a general overview of the topic of investment agreements, including peripheral but nevertheless essential aspects of FDI such as investment-related trade measures and the lessons from the failure of the MAI negotiations. Thereby, UNCTAD provides not only an insight into the technical legal aspects of IIAs but it also provides the broader economic underpinnings for further international discussions and negotiations, the particular focus always being on the role of FDI in development.

Call for Papers
Special Issue of Journal of International Business Studies
Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work:
Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs

Due Date: August 1, 2006

Co-Editors:
Thomas P. Murtha, University of Minnesota and
University of Illinois at Chicago
Martin Kenney, University of California, Davis
Silvia Massini, University of Manchester

Introduction

The idea of a JIBS Special Issue on Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work originated from discussions and explorations at the 3rd Annual JIBS Conference on Emerging Research Frontiers in International Business at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, on September 28-30, 2005.

Offshoring refers to the process by which companies undertake some activities at offshore locations instead of in their countries of origin. Western economies have practiced offshoring for at least 50 years. Until relatively recently, however, offshoring has affected mainly manufacturing work and blue-collar jobs. Since the late 90s, a new type of offshoring has emerged. The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has created the potential to locate digitized business processes almost anywhere in the world. Existing data appear to depict a modest, but fast-growing trend that can fundamentally change the ways companies in high-cost economies organize to compete globally. Clearly, efficiency-seeking represents an important initial motivation for many firms to search for new locations in which to conduct relatively low-value-added activities. But the quality of work and the level of services that they discover abroad has lead many firms to realize that offshoring offers many new opportunities to source new organizational capabilities, rethink business models, and leverage innovation processes. The emergence of disintermediated global value chains for service delivery poses critical issues for international business regarding the spatial and organizational configurations of professional and administrative operations which must take into account not only cost savings, but also risk management, and managerial competence.

Research Questions

The following statements and questions encompass, but do not exhaust the many issues regarding offshoring that IB scholars may find of interest:

• Offshoring of administrative and technical work is a relatively new business practice, but growing rapidly. What are the implications for global competitiveness?
• How can offshoring of administrative and technical work, and, indeed, knowledge work in general, be understood in the context of FDI theory, and theories of international management? What new developments are needed in our theories to take account of these phenomena?
• How does offshoring affect the various actors in domestic and global economies (offshoring companies, service providers, employees, governments, institutions, high cost and low cost countries, etc.)?
• Offshoring often involves highly complex processes and is not trivial to plan and execute. How do companies learn how to manage cultural, technical and operational challenges associated with delegating business processes to entities on the other side of the world?
• What potentials exist for globalization of human capital to change firms’ organizational capabilities to source, locate and manage people anywhere in the world and how can these capabilities lead to new sources of competitive advantage?
• Do non-English-speaking companies and countries suffer a competitive disadvantage compared with English-speaking counterparts?
• How do offshoring and third party service providers affect the capabilities of small and medium-sized enteprises to enter and compete in global markets?
• How does offshoring affect the capabilities and opportunities for state-owned enterprises and centrally planned economies to span organizational boundaries and country borders with private firms and traditional capitalist economies?
• Do offshoring and third party service providers create opportunities for firms to globalize without owning operations outside of their home countries?
• Under what conditions does prosumption (joint design of product and service specifications by cutomers and providers) emerge in offshoring contexts? How and when does offshoring enable learning by doing, knowledge creation, and new product development? Does offshoring increase opportunities and requirements for MNCs to provide individualized customer specifications and services?
• How does the evolution of global markets for offshored organizational processes challenge firms to develop capabilities to select third party providers for business or IT processes anywhere in the world as well as to manage diverse networks of providers and captive units?
• What governance issues and new organizational models pertain to decisions to outsource or provide services internally, and simultaneously, whether to do so onshore or offshore?
• How do firms evaluate the importance of criteria such as language, culture, politics, IP protection, data safeguards, and local business practices for activities being relocated offshore?
• How does offshoring create new local and global entrepreneurial opportunities?

In order to advance the state of research on these topics, and more generally on the IB- related strategic and organizational implications of offshoring administrative and technical work, we invite both theoretical and empirical papers as well as theory-guided case studies for a Special Issue of JIBS.

JIBS Conference and Review Process

Papers must be submitted by August 1, 2006 through the JIBS electronic submission process at http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/guidelines.php. Please clearly identify your submission to go to ‘Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work: Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs’ Special Issue. All papers will be reviewed according to the JIBS double-blind process and must follow the JIBS Guidelines for Contributors, Style Guide, and Manuscript Format, viewable at:
• http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/guidelines.php
• http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/style.php
• http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/format.php

Time Line

August 1, 2006 Paper submitted over the JIBS electronic submission process.
December 1, 2006 Authors notified of outcomes of first review process (reject or revise and resubmit)
February, 2007 Revised and Resubmitted papers invited to a paper development workshop at Duke University – The Fuqua School of Business

Editors will select papers from among those presented at the workshop for final revisions to appear in the JIBS Special Issue. Remaining papers will be either rejected, invited for publication in a regular issue of JIBS, or invited for publication in an edited volume, which will also reprint the special issue.

More Information

For additional information on the ‘Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work: Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs’ Special Issue of JIBS, please contact:

Tom Murtha, tmurtha@uic.edu
Martin Kenney, mfkenney@ucdavis.edu
Silvia Massini, Silvia.Massini@mbs.ac.uk
Arie Y. Lewin, AYL3@duke.edu
Danielle Trojan, dtrojan@mail.duke.edu