Dear friends and colleagues,
We are delighted to share the fourth and final issue of Global Strategy Journal for 2023. It is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/20425805/2023/13/4. This issue contains papers accepted through the regular process and grouped around two topics: global digital strategy, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
On global digital strategy, Esther Tippmann, Sinéad Monaghan, and Rebecca A. Reuber introduce a framework to explain globally scaling digital firms. Tamara Galkina, Irina Atkova, and Francesca Ciulli study how digital platforms internationalize through platforms. Maximilian Stallkamp, Liang Chen, and Sali Li on their part, explain how born digital firms become multinationals and invest abroad. Georgios Batsakis, Palitha Konara, and Vasilis Theoharakis discuss how digital retail firm internationalize and diversify simultaneously. Finally, Arto Ojala, Sara Fraccastoro, and Mika Gabrielsson analzye how digitalization influences internationalization in innovate new ventures.
On the topic of cross-border M&As, Samuele Murtinu, Vittoria G. Scalera, and Roger Strange explain the cross-border acquisitions by sovereign wealth funds, while Mohammad Fuad, Ajai S. Gaur, and Chinmay Pattnaik discuss the waves of cross-border M&As.
The papers are open access, and you can get them by clickling on their titles.
If you are interested in reading forthcoming papers accepted but not yet published in an issue, you can find them at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/20425805/0/0.
As always, we look forward to receiving your best work for consideration for publication.
Best wishes,
Gabriel R. G. Benito, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, and Grazia Santangelo
Co-editors of Global Strategy Journal
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="5" rel="noopener">
Esther Tippmann, Sinéad Monaghan, Rebecca A. Reuber
Much global strategy research explores the management of competing strategic demands. Although these demands vary by a firm's context, the focus has been largely on established long-lived multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are not based on digital technologies. There is thus a need to extend theory to take into account the co-existence of rapid growth and digitization, a condition which is increasingly prominent. This study of globally scaling digital firms shows that they navigate the paradoxical demands of replication, to achieve frictionless rapid growth, and entrepreneurship, to innovate and remain competitive. We provide a theoretical model, which shows how MNEs navigate this global scaling paradox through a virtuous cycle of identifying innovations that can be replicated. Surprisingly, given the ease of modifying digital products and services, navigating the global scaling paradox involves minimizing local responsiveness, which is regarded as antithetical to replication. This research also builds insights on the global strategies of digital firms.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="6" rel="noopener">
Tamara Galkina, Irina Atkova, Francesca Ciulli
The existing literature provides contradictory evidence on how digital platform firms establish network relations for internationalization. Some studies argue that they all but obviate the need for traditional relations in physical places. Others argue that these firms can suffer from overreliance on online interactions in digital space. We examine the coexistence of the network relations of international digital platform firms in physical place and digital space. Our multiple-case study identifies three coexistence mechanisms: reinforcement, separation, and simulation. These mechanisms are conditioned by three respective modes of bordering between physical place and digital space: soldering, interosculation, and division. We contribute to the network approach to internationalization and formulate implications for the concepts of location and borders in international business.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="7" rel="noopener">
Maximilian Stallkamp, Liang Chen, Sali Li
Recent global strategy research on born digital firms (i.e., firms with digital products distributed through digital channels) has paid only limited attention to the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the internationalization of such firms. We argue that exploiting digital technologies requires a range of complementary, non-digital resources. Born digitals typically deploy FDI when large cultural and geographic distances limit the fungibility and scalability of such complementary resources, leading to a positive relationship between distance (cultural and geographic) and FDI. The positive distance effect is moderated by business model type. Using a sample of US-based born digital firms with over 800 FDIs, we find support for our hypotheses and contribute an important empirical baseline to recent discussions of digitalization in global strategy.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="8" rel="noopener">
Georgios Batsakis, Palitha Konara, Vasilis Theoharakis
We argue that in the era of e-commerce, retail firms can simultaneously grow their product and international portfolio by adopting a multichannel strategy, that is, using digital and physical channels. Drawing on the resource bundling perspective, we argue that the previously advocated negative relationship between product and international diversification is mitigated by the retail firm's digital sales intensity. By separately examining product and international diversification across digital and physical channels, we find that while increased product diversification in physical channels relates negatively with international diversification in both physical and digital channels, increased product diversification in digital channels relates positively with international diversification in both channels. Our hypotheses are tested against a sample of 122 born physical - going digital retail MNEs over the period 2006–2016.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="9" rel="noopener">
Arto Ojala, Sara Fraccastoro, Mika Gabrielsson
Current research on digital artifacts and international business reveals that digitalization is changing how firms enter international markets and operate within them. The unbounded nature of digital artifacts provides opportunities for entrepreneur-driven firms to rapidly launch and develop digital platforms for international markets. However, extant literature provides little guidance on leveraging the specific characteristics of digital artifacts and what entrepreneurs should do to facilitate internationalization. We conducted an extensive longitudinal case study spanning more than 10 years to garner data on digital-based INV pursuing internationalization. We aimed to conceptualize a theoretical model explaining the role of entrepreneurs in integrating, building, and reconfiguring their capabilities to leverage the characteristics of digital artifacts for platform development.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="10" rel="noopener">
Samuele Murtinu, Vittoria G. Scalera, Roger Strange
Drawing on institutional economics and the legitimacy-based view of political risk, we investigate the factors determining the realization of cross-border investments by sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), whose investments often suffer from a lack of legitimacy in host countries. Using matching models on all the realized and potential investments, we find that investments are more likely to materialize when the SWF home country and the host country enjoy cordial political relations or are involved in a trade agreement. Contrary to the theoretical predictions, SWF politicization does not per se represent an impediment to the realization of investments. Rather, it has a negative effect on the likelihood of an investment's realization only in the presence of trade agreements.
Open Accesshttp://el.wiley.com/ls/click?upn=3P-2FFNDAGSso-2BACQqCJSxZQYXuyDFuSyQWVXTOVuATZfE2ZYhBvN14MKB0KVXOLGO8obGng7vSyli3t-2BN6pmypskCWgQ52rcdJnuliAYpC-2B54tnCMZUFFnEk1geWyLuxCNHNRvWsoWAZU6-2BZ4D3XWE6VO-2BdVqdvKmIP0VNrQ6MRr4NAAKZGzakbdJb83QAwnXRzmu" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="11" rel="noopener">
Mohammad Fuad, Ajai S. Gaur, Chinmay Pattnaik
Cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) exhibit a wave-like pattern, clustering temporally, industry-wise, and at the country level. We draw upon the bargaining power perspective and argue that CBA wave context alters the relative bargaining position between acquirer and target firms, which affects deal completion. Our findings suggest that acquisition wave deals have a lower likelihood of completion compared to non-wave deals. However, within a CBA wave, we find that acquirers that move early and with a high acquisition pace have a higher likelihood of deal completion. We test our arguments on a simulation-based dataset comprising 17,815 wave and non-wave deals identified between 1990 and 2012 across 13 acquirer and 21 target countries. We contribute to the CBA literature by differentiating between wave and non-wave environments and their impact on deal completion.
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Alvaro CUERVO-CAZURRA
Professor, International Business and Strategy, Northeastern University
Co-editor, Global Strategy Journal
a.cuervocazurra@neu.edu.
www.cuervo-cazurra.com.------------------------------