Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Min Jae Lee Author-X-Name-First: Min Jae Author-X-Name-Last: Lee Author-Name: Seo Yun Paik Author-X-Name-First: Seo Yun Author-X-Name-Last: Paik Author-Name: Adam H. Cave Author-X-Name-First: Adam H. Author-X-Name-Last: Cave Author-Name: Jin Sup Jung Author-X-Name-First: Jin Sup Author-X-Name-Last: Jung Title: Comprehensive competitiveness for auto companies from the USA, Germany, Japan, and Korea: empirical analysis through a diamond model perspective Abstract: This study analysed the comprehensive competitiveness for multinational automobile companies (GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Hyundai). Based on Porter's (1990) diamond model, we selected the leading papers in the field of management and strategy, then extracted the key factors of comprehensive competitiveness for the automobile companies. According to the results, among factor conditions - the CEO characteristics, human resource management (HRM) system, and technological innovation capability - technological innovation capability positively influenced the comprehensive competitiveness for all four companies. Hyundai (Korea) showed that CEO characteristics also positively affected comprehensive competitiveness. With a moderating effect of government support, HRM system had a significant interaction for both GM (USA) and Toyota (Japan). Technological innovation capability also significantly interacted with government support for Toyota (Japan). In the case of open innovation, technological innovation capability significantly interacted with it for GM (USA), Volkswagen (Germany) and Toyota (Japan). Finally, the CEO characteristics and HRM system significantly interacted with open innovation for GM (USA). Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 95-132 Issue: 2 Volume: 2 Year: 2018 Keywords: multinational automobile companies; comparative research; comprehensive competitiveness; diamond model; USA; Germany; Japan; Korea. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89641 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:95-132 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Kwang-Ho Kim Author-X-Name-First: Kwang-Ho Author-X-Name-Last: Kim Title: Examination of cognitive and relational factors in the benchmark selection of MNCs Abstract: MNCs acquire information and knowledge through benchmarking; thus, determining whom to benchmark is a critical concern. Although members in the same strategic group commonly serve as benchmarks, MNCs occasionally select their benchmark outside of their strategic group. Since benchmark selection is a cognitive and relational phenomenon, we explored when MNCs select their benchmark outside of their strategic group by focusing on cognitive and relational factors. Results confirm that a focal firm identifies a firm outside of its strategic group as its benchmark when the performance of the focal firm is better than that of the strategic group members and when the partnership density of the strategic group is high. The results further verify that structural equivalence between a focal firm and a target firm also influences benchmark selection. This study contributes to the literature on benchmarking and strategic groups by showing situations where strategic group members cannot serve as benchmarks. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 133-152 Issue: 2 Volume: 2 Year: 2018 Keywords: benchmark; organisational learning; strategic group; aspiration; social network. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89653 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:133-152 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Chul Chung Author-X-Name-First: Chul Author-X-Name-Last: Chung Title: Making sense of global integration and local responsiveness in international HRM research Abstract: While the notions of global integration (GI) and local responsiveness (LR) have been widely used to analyse an MNE's international human resource management (IHRM) strategy, the specific ways of conceptualising these constructs in the literature remain unquestioned. This paper reviews how the two important constructs have been conceptualised in the international HRM research and evaluates whether such conceptualisations are adequate to examine MNEs' IHRM strategies to address the fundamental strategic problem - managing the duality of GI and LR in HRM of MNEs. An extensive review of the literature reveals that the widely used constructs have been narrowly conceptualised on a single dimension - HRM practice orientation - in the international HRM literature based on the dualistic assumption of the relationship between the two constructs, which prevents the exploration of emerging broader IHRM strategies. Based on the insights from the emerging literature, it is argued that GI and LR should be conceptualised as meta-level constructs that encompass multiple dimensions such that IHRM strategies could be considered various configurations of the ways of pursuing GI and LR across the dimensions to address the duality problem in MNEs. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 153-175 Issue: 2 Volume: 2 Year: 2018 Keywords: global integration; local responsiveness; international HRM; multinational enterprise; MNE. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89656 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:153-175 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Han-Mo Oh Author-X-Name-First: Han-Mo Author-X-Name-Last: Oh Author-Name: Young-Woong Hwang Author-X-Name-First: Young-Woong Author-X-Name-Last: Hwang Title: Internationalisation knowledge and market expansion: how Korean firms grow in foreign markets Abstract: It is widely accepted that a key driver of a firm's international growth is its knowledge about how to compete in foreign markets. Such knowledge is often accumulated through direct experience. Many firms, however, have attained substantial growth in foreign markets although they have had little prior direct experience there. Depending on the knowledge-based view and the organisational learning theory, we developed a model explaining and predicting the effects of indirect learning from the experience of other firms as well as the effects of direct learning of culture and economy in other countries on firms' success in foreign markets. Using a uniquely complied archival dataset regarding Korean firm's foreign direct investments, we empirically tested the model. We indicated that experiential knowledge of culture and economy positively moderates the effects of those drivers on the success. In addition, the importance of indirect learning is highlighted in explaining firms' international growth. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 176-191 Issue: 2 Volume: 2 Year: 2018 Keywords: experiential knowledge; indirect learning; internationalisation; growth; market expansion. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89671 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:176-191