Perspectives on International Business: Theories and Practice

Globalization has produced opportunities and challenges that countries and firms respond to with a variety of policies and strategies. Approaches that scholars may find intuitively appealing may be considered inappropriate in some contexts. This book highlights the diversity of challenges, opportunities as well as the policy and strategy options that governments and businesses have considered useful in different operational contexts. It brings together research done by scholars at the International Business Centre, Department of Business and Management at Aalborg University, Denmark, and seeks to provide inspiration for further research into some key international business issues.Issues discussed include the following: - The role of social capital in the internationalization process of firms.- Downstream and upstream aspects of internationalization.- Network organizational perspective on globalized innovation processes.- Performance assessment in cross-border mergers and acquisitions.- The human side of national and firm-level competitiveness.- Country-of-origin effect on brand perception.- Role of culture international joint venture management.- Multiculturalism and strategizing in international firms. ________________John Kuada is Professor of International Management at Aalborg University, Department of Business and Management, Denmark. He has extensive experience as a business consultant and training advisor in areas of management, marketing and cross-border inter-firm relations in Europe and Africa. He is author and/or editor of some 14 books on management and internationalization of firms and has written over 100 articles in refereed scholarly and professional journals on a wide range of international business issues including international marketing, intercultural management, leadership and strategy. He serves on the editorial review boards of a number of marketing/management journals focusing on business and management in Africa and Asia. He is the founder and editor of African Journal of Economic and Management Studies (published by Emerald).