| 1. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Political knowledge, political turbulence and uncertainty in the internationalization process of SMEs.
- 2015
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Ingår i: European Business Review. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0955-534X .- 1758-7107. ; 27:3, s. 234-252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose– The purpose of the study is to examine the political sources of uncertainty in the internationalization process of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach– The authors theoretically derived a research model embracing three hypotheses. These hypotheses are tested on a sample of 203 on-site interviewed SMEs. Regression analysis is used to test two individual hypotheses and one interaction effect.Findings– The regression analysis reveals that political knowledge possessed by the firm reduces uncertainty in the internationalization process. Political turbulence is shown to increase uncertainty in the internationalization. The interaction shows that political turbulence obliterates the uncertainty reducing effect by political knowledge.Research limitations/implications– The authors identifies two main political sources of uncertainty in the internationalization process of SMEs. For managers and business researchers, it is shown that experiential knowledge is useful under stable conditions. When turbulence increases, however, firms need to develop alternative strategies for uncertainty management.Originality/value– This study is the first to test the uncertainty reducing effects of experiential knowledge in turbulent environments. Thus, by running the interaction between political knowledge and political turbulence, the authors shed new light on the usefulness of previous experiences in the internationalization process.
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| 2. |
- Alimadadi, Siyavash, et al.
(författare)
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Business and political interactions in emerging markets : experiences from China, South Africa and Turkey
- 2012
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Ingår i: Business, society and politics. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 9781780529905 ; , s. 209-230
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter deals with firms’ relationships in particular with political actors when expanding in emerging markets. Our main purpose is to illustrate the importance of including such relationships when describing how firms develop insidership in networks in these markets. Emerging markets are often described as if they pose similar challenges but we will focus on the heterogeneity and how firms handle the diversity of the non-business foreign environment. Based on experiences from three Western multinationals — Sandvik, Ericsson and ABB — the main challenges in China, South Africa and Turkey are described. In addition to relationships with political actors, the discussion indicates the importance of also including other non-business actors, such as NGOs. The cases also illustrate that knowledge acquired in one cultural setting may not easily be transferred to another since the contexts are so different.
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| 3. |
- Bengtson, Anna, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Small firms' interaction with political organizations in the European Union
- 2009
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - : Elsevier. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 38:6, s. 687-697
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- About 99% of all firms in the European Union are small, and politicians are increaslingly emphasizing their importance for job creation, technological development and prosperity. Consequently, the political focus is on these firms and a large number of decisions influencing their business activities are constantly taken by political actors at various levels. The aim of this article is to investigate small firms´interaction with political organizations in the EU. Previous studies have shown that these firms have been obliged to follow the coercive political decisions of the EU´s political units. In this paper, however, we identify some changes which demonstrate political support and influence by small firms. Based on case study approach as well as data from a Swedish survey, four propositions concerning small firms´interaction patterns within the political context of the EU will be highlighted and further discussed.
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| 4. |
- Hadjikhani, Amjad, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
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Direct and indirect impact of political activities on business performance : the case of the European Union and Swedish small firms
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Business Environment. - : InderScience Publishers. - 1740-0589 .- 1740-0597. ; 8:1, s. 1-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, the consequences of decisions by the EU on SMEs' business performance are analysed. The business network approach is employed to study how the coercive or supportive behaviour of political organisations directly and indirectly affect SMEs' business performance. The result highlights that the direct effect refers to the immediate interaction between the political and business units, whereas the indirect concerns the outcome of political units on other business firms that SMEs have relationships with. To test the assumed direct and indirect effect on business performance, four hypotheses are formulated and tested with PLS using data from a quantitative survey involving 134 SMEs in Sweden and the EU. The paper emphasises the importance of a firm's business relationships as being affected by coercive actions of political organisations, as well as receiving the full benefit from those actions of a supportive nature.
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| 5. |
- Hadjikhani, Amjad, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of international political units on small business firms’ relationships – the case of EU and Swedish small firms
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Business Environment. - 1740-0589 .- 1740-0597. ; 2:4, s. 435-452
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the field of globalisation, there have emerged political organisations with international missions, affecting business firms. The focus of this study is on how international organisations such as the European Union (EU) influence small firms conducting business in Sweden. The study employs a business network approach and aims to develop a theoretical view to study how the coercive and supportive behaviour of such a political organisation affects business relationships. The theoretical view is constructed in two analytical parts: the focal business relationship and the political connections. The business relationship is explored by means of seven dimensions and the political connection is investigated by coercive and supportive relationships. In the study, statistical information retrieved in a survey involving 134 Swedish SMEs is analysed using PLS techniques. The results of the analysis highlight the view of heterogeneity, not only for the types of connections, but also for the different types of relationship dimensions.
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| 6. |
- Hilmersson, Firouze Pourmand, et al.
(författare)
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Networking to accelerate the pace of SME innovations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Innovation and Knowledge. - : Elsevier BV. - 2530-7614 .- 2444-569X. ; 6:1, s. 43-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2020 Journal of Innovation & Knowledge This paper investigates how the time to a firm's first innovation affects the continued pace of innovation and how the networking behaviour of the firm moderates this relationship. In doing so, the paper develops a relationship among three constructs: time to innovation, pace of innovation, and networking. We draw on resource accumulation theory and network theories to develop our hypotheses, which are tested on a sample of 203 SMEs. The results indicate that the innovation pace of a firm depends on the capabilities developed. By developing innovation capabilities at an early age, firms are likely to drive market changes instead of being challenged by them. Firms that lag in the innovation process can compensate for this by actively networking for resources and capabilities.
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| 7. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Pace of innovation and speed of small and medium-sized enterprise international expansion
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship. - : SAGE Open. - 1741-2870 .- 0266-2426. ; 41:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The literature emphasises that technological advances have enabled firms to expand internationally at accelerated speed. Yet, technological advances are treated as a contextual variable and little is known about how firm-level technological innovations influence the internationalisation speed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address this shortcoming, we draw on insights based on capability development theory to establish the effects of innovation timing and pace on SME international expansion speed. We test our conceptual model using a sample of 180 Swedish SMEs and show that the faster the innovation pace, the faster the internationalisation. We then address the boundary conditions of this relationship to show that the elapsed time between a firm's founding and first innovation negatively moderates the positive effects of its innovation pace. Our findings have theoretical, managerial and policy implications.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Pourmand, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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How do Small Firms Manage their Political Environment? : - A Network Perspective
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To this point research on firms’ political behavior has contributed knowledge concerning large firms’ relationships and strategies with political actors and their surrounding environment. Less is known about small firms’ behavior towards political organizations. As a matter of fact, the fields of international marketing, international business and corporate political science have left the political behavior of small firms almost untouched. Therefore, extant literature assumes that small firms due to their resource constraints are passive receivers of political initiatives. About 99 percent of all firms within the European Union are small firms, and it is therefore questioned whether all these firms are passive receivers of political initiatives. The intention with this thesis is to challenge some assumptions regarding how small firms manage their relationships with political actors concerning EU related rules and regulations. Consequently, the study raises the overarching research question; how do small firms manage their political environment? Theoretically, the study takes a network perspective on business political interaction to examine both individual and/or collective political behavior of small firms. It develops a theoretical view constituted of knowledge, commitment and legitimacy. Methodologically, two sequential stages are followed: first an in-depth qualitative case study of three successful cases is presented and second, the in-depth understanding is broadened to a wider population of firms based on a quantitative survey. A central contribution of this thesis is to aid research on the political behavior of small firms. It is found that small firms, in contrast to prevailing assumptions, do possess political resources. They are not passive receivers of political initiatives. Instead, the findings show that small firms are active and can exercise influence. This, however, is shown to be dependent on the firm’s political commitment, political knowledge and competency and business-political legitimacy. It is also shown that small firms mobilize these critical resources not only directly, but also indirectly through various intermediating actors. Besides the theoretical contributions, these conclusions are important not just because of the managerial implications but also, and perhaps more importantly, for the policy implications that can be drawn from the study. Being exploratory and opening up the black box of small firm’s political behavior, the thesis ends with a number of future research directions.
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| 10. |
- Pourmand, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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Political Strategies of Small Firms
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper investigates how small firms develop political strategies in response to coercive political initiatives emanating from political organizations. Extant literature has mainly focused on large firms and has assumed that small firms are passive adopters of coercive political initiatives. This paper is based on business network theory, where business-government relationships have been studied in relation to small firms and influenced by corporate political strategy. A framework of firm’s prerequisites built around three concepts: political commitments, political knowledge, and business-political legitimacy have been developed. This analytical framework is used to explain how small firms take strategic political actions to change coercive initiatives into support for their businesses, which is illustrated empirically with a case study. Instead of passive adaptive behavior, the paper shows how small firms can influence coercive political initiatives and what kinds of decisions are made to actualize the proposed political strategy.
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| 11. |
- Pourmand, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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The Political Commitments of Small Firms in response to Supportive and Coercive initiatives
- 2010
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- By challenging the view that small firms due to their resource scarcity, have a rather passive and adaptive behavior towards political initiatives, this paper studies how small firms respond to such initiatives to manage their political environment. The purpose of this paper is to study how small firms can avoid or reduce coercive political initiatives and gain support for their businesses. The theoretical foundation is based on a business network view consisting of business and non-business actors. The view developed emphasizes the direct and indirect political commitment of business firms to manage political relationships. While direct commitment connotes to business-political relationships, the indirect enlightens firms collective political behavior through intermediaries conceptualized as triadic relationships. Using survey data from 134 small firms, the findings show that contrary to previous research, small firms do make direct political commitments. More specifically it is revealed that small firms combine different types of political commitments depending on the political issue.
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| 12. |
- Pourmand Hilmersson, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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Managing political pressure - small firms strategies for resource allocation in networks
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Business Environment. - : InderScience Publishers. - 1740-0589 .- 1740-0597. ; 7:2, s. 151-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates how small firms develop political strategies in response to coercive political initiatives. Extant literature has mainly focused on large firms and assumed that small firms are passive adopters of coercive political initiatives. The paper is based on business network theory which is integrated with theory on corporate political strategy. The analytical framework is built around three concepts: political commitments, political knowledge and legitimacy. This framework is used to understand how small firms take strategic political action to change coercive initiatives into support for their businesses. A case from the European agricultural sector shows that instead of passive adaptive behaviour, small firms can influence coercive political initiatives. These findings come with implications for further research and for managers of small firms.
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| 13. |
- Pourmand Hilmersson, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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Relationer, mer än bara affärsrelationer
- 2013. - 1
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Ingår i: Marknadsföring. - Lund : Studentlitteratur AB. - 9789144074184 ; , s. 131-142
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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