Alexander Mohr

Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien | WU · Department of Global Business and Trade

Previous research has stressed the importance of the relationship between foreign divestment and subsequent firm performance. Yet, controversy remains, as some authors suggest that foreign divestment has a positive effect on firm performance, and others propose that foreign divestment has negative performance effects. To help reconcile this controv...

We examine the effect of female representation in multinationals’ top management teams (TMTs) on firms’ support of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the central importance of multinationals in achieving the SDGs, there has been little research on what drives their adoption by multinationals. We draw on social role theory and th...

Question/issue This is a study of the relationship between nonexecutive director personal ownership and firm's bid ask spreads in listed firms from across the Caribbean offshore securities exchanges. Research findings/insights We report that bid ask spreads increase with nonexecutive ownership. However, this result is reduced (negatively moderated...

Scholars are increasingly investigating the implications of firms’ domestic corporate political activity (CPA) and political connections on their internationalisation prospects. In this paper, using insights from the resource dependence theory, we argue that domestic CPA and political connections developed within the home country have contrasting e...

Purpose The authors combine options logic with transaction cost economics to explain why firms maintain, divest or buy out their international joint ventures (IJVs). It is suggested that a decline in environmental risk and higher partner-related risk makes a firm more likely to acquire an IJV but less likely to divest an IJV. The study also investi...

We examine the post-divestment performance of subsidiaries that have been divested by their foreign owners and have subsequently been acquired by domestic owners. Drawing on Hymer’s classic explanation of firm internationalization and on the resource-based view dimension of internalization theory, we suggest that the differences in terms of the deg...

The Kogut and Singh (1988) index is the most widely used construct to measure cultural distance in international business and management research. We show that this index is incorrectly specified and captures the squared cultural distance. This inaccuracy is problematic because it means that the empirical findings on the effects of cultural distanc...

Drawing on resource dependence logic, we frame a firm’s use of patriotic rhetoric as a strategy for absorbing external resource constraints. We argue that strong nationalist sentiment positively influences the performance effect of using patriotic rhetoric, while a firm’s involvement in overseas markets negatively influences this effect. To test ou...

We explore the effects of subsidiary interdependence on global product launch performance using a case-study design combining quantitative and qualitative data collected from subsidiaries participating in the global launch of a new drug by a major pharmaceutical multinational enterprise. The study combines pre-launch survey data on subsidiary inter...

Drawing on upper echelons theory, we argue that there will be an inverted U-curve-shaped relationship between top management teams’ (TMTs’) level of international experience and a firm’s internationalization speed. Accounting for the role of executive job demands highlighted in upper echelons theory, we further suggest that competitive pressure, pr...

We adopt a Penrosean perspective to study the effect of rapid international expansion on the subsequent divestment of international operations. We draw on regional strategy theory and differentiate Penrosean managerial resources by their geographical fungibility to argue that the effect of rapid international expansion on the divestment of internat...

Despite the fact that many firms simultaneously expand into multiple new markets, we know very little about why firms choose this type of international expansion instead of sequentially entering new markets. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) we argue that in order to engage in simultaneous international expansion firms have to be able to dra...

Although research has investigated the consequences of underemployment in domestic settings, research on the effects of underemployment among expatriates remains limited and has yielded inconsistent results. From a theoretical perspective, there is a need for a better understanding of the mechanisms through which underemployment affects various wor...

We examine the contingent effect of existing product diversification on the scope and speed of firms’ subsequent internationalization. Understanding these effects is important because prior research on the product - geographic diversification relationship assumes that the relevant decisions are taken simultaneously. This assumption does not apply t...

Existing research is divided on whether firms that rapidly expand their overseas operations perform better than firms that internationalize slowly. Drawing on Penrose’s theory of the growth of the firm, we argue that the positive effects of rapid internationalization give way to negative effects with increasing internationalization speed, leading t...

We adopt a resource dependence approach to explain the effect of state participation on the dissolution of international joint ventures (IJVs). While resource dependence theory has been used to explain the formation of IJVs, we propose an extension of the theory to explain their dissolution. We do so by highlighting the match between foreign firms’...

Foreign firms operating in emerging economies are increasingly exploiting and becoming dependent on locally existing intangible resources such as intellectual skills, technological know-how and reputation. Political strategies are used to absorb the external constraints associated with this external dependence. Little is known about the different t...

Foreign investors in developing countries are exposed to comparatively high levels of environmental uncertainty and often use political activities to manage this uncertainty. At the same time, international entrepreneurs seek out uncertain environments, because of the potential opportunities and upside potential associated with uncertain situations...

Research on work stress has highlighted its negative outcomes for both individuals and their employers. Overseas assignments are more stressful than domestic assignments, and their relatively high failure rates are well documented. We suggest, however, that certain types of stress can positively affect expatriate performance. Based on role theory a...

Purpose – The study draws on the Resource- and Knowledge Based Views of the firm to explain the internationalization speed of retail firms. Design/methodology/approach – We use a panel data set of 144 international retailers over a 10-year period and employ Feasible Generalised Least Squares analysis in order to assess the effect of intangible asse...

Drawing on regional strategy theory we complement the core effect of firm-specific advantages on the performance of multinational enterprises with an analysis of the performance consequences of home region concentration on firm performance. We also develop hypotheses regarding the effect of foreign entry timing, internationalization speed and inter...

We extend research on the trust-performance link in strategic alliances (SAs) by arguing that the traditional focus of research on the influence of trust on performance of SAs needs to be complemented with a more explicit acknowledgment and analysis of the role that SA performance plays in the development of trust. Drawing on existing theoretical...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of ethnic workforce diversity for the internationalisation of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Using the resource‐based view, it is argued that an ethnically diverse workforce can help SMEs in overcoming barriers to internationalisation and increase the degree to which they...

Using the resource-based view, this paper links the degree of interdependence that exists between subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs) to the use of various International Human Resource Management (IHRM) practices. We assume that in many MNCs this interdependence has increased the need for cross-border coordination. We analyze to what...

This paper uses data gathered from 953 students to investigate in how far individuals’ preferences for a particular learning style are associated with the perceived usefulness of e-learning. Our findings reveal the effect of individuals’ learning styles as well as their gender and professional experience on the perceived usefulness of different for...

We investigate the relationship between cultural values and the learning style preferences of students of business administration. By linking Kolb's (1984) model of learning style preferences to the cultural values of learners we develop hypotheses that are tested against data collected from 939 individuals studying at universities in Germany, the...

This paper discusses how different forms of cross-border employee mobility all contribute to establishing social ties across different units of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Despite the growing recognition of the significance of employees' cross-unit social ties in MNEs for both individuals and the organisation, the mechanisms for creating such...

Executives managing an international joint venture (IJV) make (explicit or implicit) assumptions about the level of their respective partner firm's tendency to act opportunistically. Based on this assumption a tendency towards either control or trust characterises executives' approach towards managing the IJV. Trust and control are seen as distinct...

While there is a vast amount of research on firms’ choice of ownership form when entering a foreign market, little attention has been paid to changes in ownership forms of operation abroad after initial entry. Using transaction cost economics and institutional theory we identify a number of factors that may help to explain the likelihood of foreign...

This chapter empirically analyses the influence of the cultural context on the comprehensiveness to which companies in different countries make use of applicant information and selection strategies in corporate web site recruiting. The elements of informing and selection are discussed as critical elements of corporate Web site recruiting in the lit...

This article empirically investigates the adjustment of managers to working in multi-national project teams in the pipeline and plant construction industry. The members of such teams come from diverse national backgrounds and there is no single culture dominating the team. While there has been a lot of research on multi-cultural teams, organization...

Trust and control are recurring themes in the research on international joint ventures (IJVs). So far, however, researchers have mainly focused on analysing either trust or control and its association with IJV performance. Whereas one group of authors views trust as crucial for performance, a different group suggests that, in order to be successful...

This paper analyses the effects of inter-sender role conflicts experienced by managers of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) on their individual job satisfaction and job stress. It then relates the level of IJV managers' job satisfaction and job stress to the performance of the IJV. We empirically test these relationships using data gathered throu...

We develop and empirically test a model of expatriate managers' work adjustment. In this model we relate the fit between work-related abilities and needs of expatriate managers as well as the fit between the job requirements of, and incentives associated with, an international assignment to the level of expatriate managers' work adjustment. We test...

This paper analyses the differences in the way partner firms assess the performance of international joint ventures (IJV). It is argued that an understanding of these differences is important for the practice of, and for research into IJV management. From a managerial point of view, firms, as well as IJV management, need to know how the partners ev...

This paper empirically analyzes the influence of national culture on the comprehensiveness to which companies in different countries make use of corporate web site recruiting. Based on Hofstede's 4-Dimensions model of culture, four hypotheses are developed and tested against data from 420 companies in 14 countries. The results indicate that cultura...

Whereas research has been carried out on multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) attempts to balance global integration and local responsiveness, there has been hardly any research into the degree to which foreign firms respond to differences that exist between themselves and their local joint venture (JV) partners in host countries. This chapter discuss...

International Joint Ventures (IJVs) have become one of the most important ways for companies to expand their activities and exploit business opportunities abroad. In China, for example, which has become the world's largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment, IJVs with local companies are the most important way of doing business. However, many c...

This paper re-conceptualizes the adjustment of expatriate spouses during overseas assignments and explores various factors influencing the level of spousal adjustment. It does so by using a combination of qualitative data, collected through interviews and group discussions with expatriate spouses, and quantitative data, gathered by means of a quest...

No This article presents a model of expatriate work adjustment in which the results obtained in previous investigations on expatriate adjustment are consolidated with the concepts and mechanisms introduced in the general Theory of Work Adjustment (Dawis and Lofquist 1984). It is held that correspondence has to be achieved between the abilities and...

Control and trust are recurring themes in the analysis of the management of International Joint Ventures (IJVs). Both issues (and their antecedents) have been analysed in isolation and in their relation with performance, though hardly any study exists which analyses them simultaneously in their interdependence. More importantly however, there are f...

In a recent contribution, Inkpen (2001) discussed trust and control as important determinants of the performance of joint ventures (JVs). Interestingly, however, few studies exist that attempt an integrative investigation of both variables in the context of (international) JVs: Mohr (2002b), for instance, carried out a basic analysis of the relatio...

Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser? Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht diese beiden zentralen Aspekte des Managements internationaler Kooperationen in ihrer Bedeutung für den Erfolg deutsch-chinesischer Joint Ventures. Hierzu wurden Gespräche mit zahlreichen deutschen und chinesischen Managern von Joint Ventures in China, Managern in deutschen...

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Der folgende Beitrag befasst sich mit der Praxis der Rekrutierung von Führungskräftenachwuchs via Internet. Es handelt sich um eine explorative Untersuchung mit dem Ziel, einige Einsatz- und Erfolgsbedingungen für die Verwendung des Internet in der Perso-nalrekrutierung zu identifizieren. Dies erfolgt sowohl aus der Perspektive der rekrutierenden U...

Trust and control are recurring themes in the analysis of International Joint Ventures (IJVs). So far, however, researchers have mainly focused on analysing either trust or control as a prerequisite for the success of IJVs. Whereas one group of authors views a trustful relationship between the partners as crucial for the success of an IJV (Chen, Ch...