Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Laura T. Madden Author-X-Name-First: Laura T. Author-X-Name-Last: Madden Author-Name: Timothy M. Madden Author-X-Name-First: Timothy M. Author-X-Name-Last: Madden Author-Name: Anne D. Smith Author-X-Name-First: Anne D. Author-X-Name-Last: Smith Title: Are we there yet?: A microfoundational examination of motivation during early international expansion Abstract: Although internationalisation offers organisation-level benefits, the activities that lead to them happen at the interactional level, which is itself influenced by individual-level factors. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to develop a process model of micro-level behaviours that influence macro-level organisational outcomes related to early internationalisation activities. To this end, the microfoundations perspective is a valuable tool to explore the crucial multilevel influences on value creation throughout the process. Goal framing theory further explains the importance of individual identification and joint production motivation that ultimately generate firm-level value. We find additional evidence of international attention as a conditional factor through a qualitative case study of three telecommunications firms engaged in early international expansion. Our resulting process model of the initiating conditions, implementation, and outcomes of early international expansion has implications for strategy researchers and practicing managers alike. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 1-26 Issue: 1 Volume: 4 Year: 2025 Keywords: microfoundations; leadership cues; joint production; internationalisation; goal framing; qualitative; case study; process. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=146191 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:1-26 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Han-Ling Jiang Author-X-Name-First: Han-Ling Author-X-Name-Last: Jiang Title: The 'failure' reasons of Clinton Cards PLC: a brokers' notes analysis approach Abstract: Awareness of corporate failure has recently increased, as many have realised that understanding the reasons for the failure of a company can, ultimately, have positive effects due to companies can learn from these negative experiences and turn them into future success. By integrating the classic consequence framework and the five stages of company decline model, this study considers both organisation internal factors and external environment factors, and addresses such issues using a UK greeting cards retailer company Clinton Cards PLC as a case study and explores its significant failure between 2003 (prosperous time) to 2012 (failed). Through an in-depth analysis of the brokers' notes, it is concluded in four reasons that resulted in failure of Clinton Cards PLC, which are management denial, aggressive expansion, management tenure and homogeneity and ignorant of customer's needs. The study seeks to disclose the dark side of this once prosperous retailer and identify how it became a failure, and it makes further operational suggestions to retailers. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 27-48 Issue: 1 Volume: 4 Year: 2025 Keywords: Clinton Cards PLC; brokers' notes analysis; failure; decline; greeting cards industry. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=146192 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:27-48 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yeu-Yuh Chu Author-X-Name-First: Yeu-Yuh Author-X-Name-Last: Chu Author-Name: Yu-Lun Liu Author-X-Name-First: Yu-Lun Author-X-Name-Last: Liu Author-Name: Chui-Yu Chiu Author-X-Name-First: Chui-Yu Author-X-Name-Last: Chiu Title: Assessment mechanism for the autonomous maintenance and outsourcing maintenance of equipment: a case study of HannStar Board Corporation Taiwan Abstract: HannStar Board Corporation is a listed and over-the-counter printed circuit boards (PCB) production company. Its main production unit is the Jiangyin Manufacturing Plant located in China. PCB manufacturing is a complicated process that involves numerous production equipments. Throughout the depletion of equipment service life, considerable repair expenses may incur, thus making maintenance necessary. For optimising the maintenance option decision, HannStar Board Corporation assigned the newly established maintenance assessment committee to perform a systematic assessment of the equipment. Outsourcing maintenance and autonomous maintenance are key strategies to reducing costs and increasing profits. This case study introduces the assessment process of the maintenance strategies for three equipment, namely the exposure glass of the exposure systems for the 2B inner layer exposure machine upper curved mirror, and the HDI laser drilling machine to provide an in-depth understanding of the maintenance strategies for PCB manufacturing equipment and the incurred expenses and costs. On the basis of the transaction cost theory, this study incorporated factors for consideration for various value chain strategies to provide a comprehensive assessment and determine the optimal equipment maintenance strategy. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 49-76 Issue: 1 Volume: 4 Year: 2025 Keywords: HannStar Board Corporation; printed circuit board; autonomous maintenance; outsourcing maintenance; transaction cost theory. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=146204 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:49-76 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Junggeun Kim Author-X-Name-First: Junggeun Author-X-Name-Last: Kim Author-Name: Donghyun Ken Kim Author-X-Name-First: Donghyun Ken Author-X-Name-Last: Kim Author-Name: Sohyeon Kim Author-X-Name-First: Sohyeon Author-X-Name-Last: Kim Author-Name: Taewoo Roh Author-X-Name-First: Taewoo Author-X-Name-Last: Roh Title: Entrepreneurial orientation and international performance of South Korean SMEs: the sequential mediating role of absorptive capacity and strategic adaptation Abstract: Given that international SMEs face liability of foreignness and smallness in foreign markets, this study examines the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on international performance. Based on the organisational learning theory, this study proposes absorptive capacity and strategic adaptation as mediators of this mechanism. The empirical analysis of 144 Korean SMEs through a PLS-SEM analysis shows that absorptive capacity and strategic adaptation successfully mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and international performance. From the perspective of the entrepreneurship theory and organisational learning theory, these empirical findings explain how entrepreneurial SMEs achieve higher performance in foreign markets through learning and adaptation. For practitioners looking to enter foreign markets or improve their international performance, these findings confirm the importance of entrepreneurship and adapting through learning to enhance performance in foreign markets. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 77-99 Issue: 1 Volume: 4 Year: 2025 Keywords: international SMEs; entrepreneurial orientation; absorptive capacity; strategic adaptation; international performance. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=146210 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:77-99 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Leif W. Lundmark Author-X-Name-First: Leif W. Author-X-Name-Last: Lundmark Author-Name: Brent B. Clark Author-X-Name-First: Brent B. Author-X-Name-Last: Clark Title: Alliance management capability: overcoming asset specificity, measurement difficulty, and the dark side of long-standing ties Abstract: The relational view asserts that relational rents are achieved when assets are specific, difficult to measure, exchanged frequently over long periods of time, and safeguarded through informal means. Research within transaction cost economics, however, indicates that the effectiveness of relational governance may deteriorate under these same conditions. How then, do organisations leverage relational governance to mitigate exchange hazards and secure relational rents? We develop a conceptual model of alliance exchange performance and posit that alliance management capability enhances the effectiveness of relational governance. Our model contributes to the alliance literature by clarifying construct ambiguities surrounding alliance management capability and elucidates the beneficial countervailing effects of an organisation's alliance management capability with asset specificity, measurement difficulty, and long-standing ties. Importantly, we extend previous research that describes how resource endowments and contracting capabilities influence the effectiveness of formal governance and explore how resources and capabilities might interact with relational governance. Journal: Int. J. of Multinational Corporation Strategy Pages: 100-118 Issue: 1 Volume: 4 Year: 2025 Keywords: strategic alliances; relational governance; transaction cost economics; TCE; shift parameters; alliance management capability; relational view; resource orchestration theory; ROT. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=146212 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijmcst:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:100-118