Corporate Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets

Guest Editors:

Crystal Jiang Ph.D., Bryant University, cjiang1@bryant.edu

Irem Demirkan Ph.D., Loyola University Maryland, idemirkan@loyola.edu

Qin Yang Ph.D., Robert Morris University, yang@rmu.edu

Submission deadline: September 15, 2017

Special Issue Theme Background

This New England Journal of Entrepreneurship (NEJE) special issue on ‘Corporate Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets’ aims to explore key features of the corporate entrepreneurship in emerging economies.

It is widely accepted in the literature that corporate entrepreneurship encompasses two main phenomena of innovation and venturing (Yiu & Lau, 2008). While innovation refers to introduction of new products and production processes for improved firm performance, the focus on venturing is the creation of new businesses.

Corporate entrepreneurship can be a necessary driver for economic growth, new sources of employment, and an important source for reducing economic disparity. Contextual factors and social mechanisms are very important for entrepreneurship (Antio, Kenney, Mustar, Siegel & Wright, 2014; van Burg & Romme, 2014). For instance, firms’ corporate entrepreneurship interplays with government institutions (Holmes, Zahra, Hoskisson, DeGhetto & Sutton, 2016). However, studies focusing on corporate entrepreneurship, specifically those look into the roles of innovation and new venture creation have been neglected in emerging economies nations. Although corporate entrepreneurship can make a big difference in the firm competitiveness of emerging markets (Bruton, Ahlstrom & Obloj, 2008; Guo, Jiang, & Yang, 2014), the literature is still lacking in exploring the dynamics of corporate entrepreneurship in these contexts (e.g., De Clercq, Danis & Dakhli, 2010; Kiss, Danis & Cavusgil, 2012).

Emerging markets are defined as low-income, rapid-growth countries where government policies encourage economic liberalization. Emerging markets includes 51 developing countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East and 13 transition economies (Hoskisson, Eden, Lau, & Wright, 2000). Emerging markets offer not only market potential but also a competitive advantage of their own as they become increasingly integrated into the global economy. Moreover during the last decade, emerging markets have assumed a prominent position in the global economy and they account for more than half of world GDP (IMF). Owning to their weak legal environment and resource deficiency, emerging market firms have been found to access to all possible sources of competitive strength (Contractor, 2013) and exploit unique firm-specific advantages for corporate entrepreneurship activities (Jiang, Yang, Song, & Annavarjula, 2016; Kotabe, Jiang, & Murray, 2016;  Luo & Rui, 2010). Therefore, the need to open up the issue of corporate entrepreneurship as a significant source of firm competitiveness in these economies will fill an important void not only in corporate entrepreneurship, but also in emerging market management literatures.

Overall, the guest editors hope that the NEJE special issue will contribute to establishing the groundwork for corporate entrepreneurship in emerging markets that potentially inform both management research and practice for the future.

Potential Research Questions

The following list of research questions is neither intended to be exhaustive nor complete.

• How does unique setting of emerging markets foster corporate entrepreneurship?
• What are the processes of corporate entrepreneurship of firms in emerging markets?
• How do technological forces drive the process of innovation in emerging markets?
• What are the implications of government involvement in emerging markets on corporate entrepreneurship? How can firms from emerging markets create and protect their propriety technologies while competing globally?
• How can firms from emerging markets benefit from the pursuit of corporate entrepreneurship?
• Do firm characteristics matter in the pursuit of its corporate entrepreneurship from emerging markets including but not limited to firm size, firm age, industry, geographical locations, and among others? Do differences in ownership (ex. State owned enterprises, family businesses, business groups) common to emerging markets matter in pursuit of corporate entrepreneurship?
• Does internationalization of firms from emerging markets stimulate corporate entrepreneurship? Why and how?
• Are multinational corporations operating in emerging markets in a more favorable position than local firms in the pursuit of corporate entrepreneurship?
• Compared with developed economies, does the nature of corporate entrepreneurship change in some way in emerging economies?

Questions about the special issue may be directed to any of the guest editors: Crystal Jiang (cjiang1@bryant.edu), Irem Demirkan (idemirkan@loyola.edu), and Qin Yang (yang@rmu.edu).

Notes for Prospective Authors:

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

All papers are refereed through a double-blind rigorous developmental peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. Submission guidelines are available at http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/neje/policies.html.

Important Dates:

Submission of manuscripts: September 15, 2017

Notification to authors: November 15, 2017

Final versions due: January 31, 2018

Publication date: Spring, 2018

References:

Autio, E., Kenney, M., Mustar, P., Siegel, D., & Wright, M. (2014). Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context, Research Policy, 43(7), 1097-1108.

Bruton, G., Ahlstrom, D., & Obloj, K. (2008). Entrepreneurship in emerging economics: where are we today and where should the research go in the future? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 32(1), 1-14.

Contractor, F.  (2013). “Punching above their weight”: The sources of competitive advantage for emerging market multinationals, International Journal of Emerging Markets, 8(4), 304-328.

De Clercq, D., Danis, W., & Dakhli, M. (2010). The moderating effect of institutional context on the relationship between associational activity and new business activity in emerging economies, International Business Review, 19(1), 85-101.

Guo, C., Jiang, C., Yang, Q. (2014). The development of organizational capabilities and corporate entrepreneurial processes: The case of Chinese automobile firms. Thunderbird International Business Review, 56(6): 483-500.

Holmes, R.M., Zahra, S.A., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2016). Two-way streets:Tthe role of institutions and technology policy in firms’ corporate entrepreneurship and political strategies, Academy of Management Perspectives, 30(3), 247-272.

Hoskisson, R.E., Eden, L., Lau, C.M., & Wright, M. (2000). Strategy in emerging economies. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 249-267.

Jiang,C., Yang, Q., Song, S., Annavarjula, M. (2016). Emerging market firms’ catch-up strategy in new product development: Cases from Chinese companies. International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 8(3): 324-339.

Kiss, A., Danis, W., & Cavusgil, S. (2012). International entrepreneurship research in emerging economies: A critical review and research agenda, Journal of Business Venturing, 27(2), 266-290.

Kotabe, M., Jiang, C., & Murray, J. (forthcoming). Examining the complementary effect of political networking capability with absorptive capacity on the innovative performance of emerging-market firms. Journal of Management (online available).

Luo, Y., & Rui, H. (2010). An ambidexterity perspective toward multinational enterprises from emerging economies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(4), 49-70.

Van Burg, E., & Romme, A. (2014). Creating the future together: Toward a framework for research synthesis in entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 38(2), 369-397.

Yiu, D., & Lau, C.M. (2008). Corporate entrepreneurship as resource capital configuration in emerging market firms. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 32, 37-58.