This study examines the role of international institutional complexity, which is defined as the scope and multiplicity of institutional dimensions across foreign markets, on emerging market multinational companies (EMMCs)' innovation performance. We propose that the international institutional complexity provides learning opportunities for EMMCs' innovation performance but also incurs higher management costs to handle information overload from overextended internationalization. We further propose that the host exposure and the heterogeneity of an EMMC's top management team (TMT) moderate the main effect of international institutional complexity on EMMC innovation. The empirical testing utilizes a longitudinal panel data of 7,072 foreign expansion steps by 767 Chinese firms between 2001 and 2010, offering strong support for the proposed hypotheses.
This case allows students to see typical thinking and behaviors that a student entrepreneur might have. The case briefly describes the product and team of the entrepreneurial company and invites students to look for the values of the company from a venture capitalist’s angle. The case is most suitable for MBAs as it enables a professor to introduce the “chemistry” between early-stage venture capital institutions and their portfolio companies in one case/class.
Case A in this two-part series introduces the history of Shui On Land (SOL, the famous real estate developer in Shanghai that developed and operated Xintiandi, or “The New World”), the development process of Shanghai Xintiandi, and the commercial mode of and external environmental changes facing SOL. On this basis, it puts forward the issue to be addressed in the case, which is the succession plan of SOL during an important transition period in 2010. Was it necessary for Lo to retire? Should Shui On become a family business or a non-family business? Should the successor be a professional manager or an internal manager? How could an internal manager be selected as the successor? Case discussions may help students gain a better understanding of leader handover of enterprises, particularly CEO succession in enterprises controlled by the founder. Focusing on Li Jingang, who was appointed as CEO of SOL in early 2011 but resigned in January 2014, Case B offers two explanations for Li’s resignation, and aims to guide students to further reflect on the problems with the process and method of SOL’s CEO selection in 2010.
Keyword
Real Estate Industry
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Business Model
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Top Management Team (TMT)
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Ceo Succession
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Talent Selection Process
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Family Business
Company F, founded in 2002, started off as a lift equipment trader and expanded to manufacturing in 2008. By 2010, it had become the third largest complete crane solutions provider in the Chinese market in terms of market share. The company’s staff also increased from 30 to over 150. In addition to its fast-growing crane business, Company F started project W01 in partnership with one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. Because the W01 project was of great strategic importance to Company F, Zhang Jianshe was brought in as F’s Assistant General Manager and placed in charge of the project. Zhang found out that Wang Xiaohu, a potential Quality Insurance Engineer critical for this project, might leave the company soon. In order to retain this person, Zhang requested that his boss, the General Manager of the company, offer Wang a big raise. The proposal unexpectedly resulted in a dispute among the senior managers, reflecting different perspectives on the following key issues: 1) the strategic alignment between business success and talent management; 2) coordination between business units and the HR department regarding how to prioritize personnel issues; and 3) how to improve individual managers’ management capability in a fast-developing company.
Keyword
Communication
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Project Management
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Manufacturing Industry
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Compensation Management
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Top Management Team (TMT)
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Talent Management
In July 2008, SAP China fired three vice presidents who had openly questioned proposed personnel appointments in their sales meeting, where the new general manager from IBM, Zhang Liesheng, announced a plan to reengineer the organizational structure and processes at SAP China. This reorganization involved appointing four new vice presidents and redefining the positions of two current vice presidents. Two of the positions of the three fired vice presidents were redefined; the third one who was fired was the first person who challenged the personnel changes. There were two different cultures at SAP: a product-oriented German culture and a market-oriented U.S. culture. Although SAP China had adhered to the German style for a long time, the German general manager left and the successor advocated the U.S. style. Consequently, SAP China proposed aggressive growth target, which was opposed by the German-style veterans including the three fired vice presidents. Trouble ensued. This case addresses organizational and cultural management, personnel management, and other issues.
Keyword
Cultural Conflict
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Human Resource
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Restructuring
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SAP China
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Software Industry
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Top Management Team (TMT)
