1. While the two extreme characterizations of the MNE-stakeholder relationship (exploitive and transformative) tend to garner the most media attention, it is the more moderate perspectives of the MNE-stakeholder relationship (transactional and responsive) that tend to predominate in the context of FDI in emerging markets. However, given that these two perspectives represent the middle ground along the spectrum between exploitive and transformative, the distinctions between transactional and responsive characterizations of the MNE-stakeholder relationship in emerging markets are occasionally blurred. Clarify the differences between the transactional and responsive perspectives by comparing and contrasting the two characterizations, using examples that will help you illustrate your position.
2. Managing knowledge flow is important for a firm that wants to get the most from its partnership with another company. What can a firm do to ensure it gets the most from its collaboration while preventing the outflow of information they do not wish to share with their alliance partner?
3. While the role of the geographic (country) subsidiary manager has traditionally concentrated on responsibilities such as identifying sales and profit opportunities, accessing local factors of production and leveraging parent company assets and resources, the modern geographic subsidiary manager’s role has evolved to include an expanded set of responsibilities. Discuss the tasks executed by the country manager and propose an associated set of skills that you think would be required by a country manager. Be sure to link these skills to the list of tasks.
4. Traditionally, MNEs developed innovation processes that were either very decentralized (resulting in center for global innovation), or very decentralized (resulting in local to localinnovation.) More recently, companies have developed two transnational innovation models. Describe the new models and the advantages they have over the older approaches to innovation.
5. You are employed by a large national chemical manufacturing firm that is considering its first investment in an emerging market. Your boss is concerned – while she senses an unprecedented opportunity to grow the firm, she is also mindful of the demonstrations surrounding a recent gathering of world leaders in which activists voiced a wide range of concerns over the perils of globalization. She appreciates the need to position the chemical manufacturing firm in the eyes of prospective stakeholders, but is unsure where to target. In the hopes of establishing a position that is neither overly exploitive, nor overly transformative, your boss has asked you for a report detailing the two most extreme positions that the chemical manufacturing firm could occupy. Compare and contrast these two characterizations of the MNE-stakeholder relationship in emerging markets, providing examples that will help illustrate your position.
