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Organizational slack as an enabler of internationalization: The case of large Brazilian firms

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  • Carneiro, Jorge
  • Bamiatzi, Vassiliki
  • Cavusgil, S. Tamer

Abstract

In this paper, we address an empirical puzzle. We note that a deliberate and serious drive to internationalize has occurred rather late in the evolution of large Brazilian firms. Meanwhile, and despite their late internationalization, these Brazilian firms expanded rapidly and intently. Despite the rich literature on Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs), there is still much contention on what drives rapid EMNE internationalization, particularly for the less explored firms from Latin America. Using an inductive case study of five leading Brazilian MNEs, we bring new insights on this neglected question. We unveil that the existence of organizational slack (of operational, managerial, and financial nature) can indeed facilitate rapid internationalization, particularly when triggered by unique home country conditions (e.g., regulation; rising cost of doing business at home; exhaustion of profitable growth opportunities in the domestic market).

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  • Carneiro, Jorge & Bamiatzi, Vassiliki & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2018. "Organizational slack as an enabler of internationalization: The case of large Brazilian firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1057-1064.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:27:y:2018:i:5:p:1057-1064
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2018.03.006
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    7. Sung, Bongsuk & Soh, Jin Young & Park, Chun Gun, 2022. "Comparing government support, firm heterogeneity, and inter-firm spillovers for productivity enhancement: Evidence from the Korean solar energy technology industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    8. Gozal Ahmadova & Blanca L. Delgado-Márquez & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2023. "Reporting of environmental policies and internationalization of Asia–Pacific firms: the moderating role of innovation as a source of legitimacy," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(4), pages 1243-1273, September.
    9. Kafouros, Mario & Cavusgil, S. Tamer & Devinney, Timothy M. & Ganotakis, Panagiotis & Fainshmidt, Stav, 2022. "Cycles of de-internationalization and re-internationalization: Towards an integrative framework," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    10. Sengupta, Aditi Sarkar & Kleindienst, Ingo & Hutzschenreuter, Thomas, 2023. "Heterogenous internationalization processes of emerging economy MNEs: A review and research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
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    12. González, Carlos & González-Galindo, Ana, 2022. "The institutional context as a source of heterogeneity in family firm internationalization strategies: A comparison between U.S. and emerging market family firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).

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