Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T03:39:38.037Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Informal Social Networks as Intermediaries in Foreign Markets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2020

Marina Apaydin ,
Jon Thornberry  and
Yusuf M. Sidani
Marina Apaydin*
Affiliation:
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Jon Thornberry
Affiliation:
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Yusuf M. Sidani
Affiliation:
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
*
Corresponding author: Marina Apaydin (ma266@aub.edu.lb)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We investigate how informal social networks can assist multinational firms in their internationalization strategy. We propose a refinement of the Uppsala internalization model (Johanson & Vahne, 2009) grounded in network theory, by developing an intermediate position between an ‘insider’ and an ‘outsider’ for conditions when the transformation of an outsider into an insider is limited by institutional constraints. An intermediary position represents one of the sides of ‘patron-client’ informal networks (Denoeux, 1993) whereby the other side is represented by the ‘insider’. We argue that this setup would help mitigate the Liability of Outsidership (Johanson & Vahne, 2009), a replacement of the Liability of Foreignness (Hymer, 1976; Zaheer, 1995), in the modern networked business world. We contextualize our proposition for the case of Iran, a large rising West-Asian economy with known institutional limitations, and suggest that the informal network of local merchants (bazaaries) could play an important intermediary role in Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) internationalization process. We review the history of bazaaries and make a series of propositions exemplifying possible ways informal networks could influence the internationalization process. In addition to re-affirming the importance of the MNE country of origin (emerging markets, and low psychic distance with Iran), we propose that an intermediary of the Iranian bazaaries will have a positive impact on performance and survival of the MNE's subsidiary in Iran, especially in the case of incongruence of MNE's leadership with Shi'a Islam. Additionally, we suggest that employing the Iranian diaspora may also improve subsidiary performance and survival.

摘要

摘要

我们探究了非正式社会网络如何协助跨国公司实施国际化战略。我们提出改进基于网络理论的乌普萨拉内化模型(Johanson & Vahne, 2009)，在“局内人”和“局外人”间建立一个中间位置，以应对局外人转变为局内人所受的制度约束。中间位置代表了“附庸”的非正式网络的一方(Denoeux, 1993)，而“局内人”则代表另一方。我们认为，在现代网络化的商业世界中，这一设置有助于减轻局外人劣势(Johanson & Vahne, 2009)，是外来者劣势(Hymer, 1976)的一种替代。我们将这一观点置于伊朗情境下，因为伊朗作为一个正在崛起的亚洲经济体有着众所周知的制度限制。同时，我们提出本地商人的非正式网络在跨国企业国际化进程中可以发挥重要的中介作用。我们回顾了伊朗本地商人的历史，并举例说明非正式网络可能影响国际化进程的方式。除了重申跨国企业起源国的重要性(新兴市场，以及与伊朗的低心理距离)之外，我们还提出，伊朗本地商人的中介作用对跨国企业子公司的绩效与生存有积极的影响，尤其在跨国公司的领导者与伊斯兰什叶教派不一致的情况下。此外，我们认为雇佣海外伊朗移民也有利于子公司的绩效和生存。

Аннотация

АННОТАЦИЯ

Мы исследуем, каким образом неформальные социальные связи могут помочь многонациональным компаниям в стратегии интернационализации. Мы предлагаем усовершенствовать Уппсальскую модель интернационализации (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009), основанной на теории социальных связей, и вводим промежуточное положение между «инсайдером» и «аутсайдером» в том случае, когда преобразование из аутсайдера в инсайдера невозможно по институциональным причинам. Промежуточная позиция предполагает такую ситуацию, в которой одна из сторон неформальных отношений строится по модели «патрон-клиент» (Denoeux, 1993), тогда как другая сторона представлена «инсайдером». Мы утверждаем, что такая конфигурация сможет уменьшить «бремя постороннего» (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009), которое сменило «бремя иностранца» (Hymer, 1976; Zaheer, 1995) в современном взаимосвязанном деловом мире. Мы помещаем наше предположение в контекст Ирана, большой растущей азиатской экономики с известными институциональными ограничениями, и предполагаем, что неформальные отношения местных торговцев (bazaaries) могли бы играть важную посредническую роль в процессе интернационализации многонациональных предприятий (МНП). Мы рассматриваем историю местных торговцев (bazaaries) и делаем ряд предположений, которые иллюстрируют возможные способы влияния неформальных связей на процесс интернационализации. Подтверждая важность страны происхождения МНП (развивающиеся рынки и небольшое «психологическое расстояние» с Ираном), мы также предполагаем, что посредническая роль иранских торговцев (bazaaries) оказывает положительное влияние на производительность и выживаемость филиалов МНП в Иране, особенно в том случае, когда позиция руководства МНП не совпадает с шиитским исламом. Более того, мы полагаем, что использование иранской диаспоры также может увеличить производительность и выживаемость дочерних компаний.

Resumen

RESUMEN

Investigamos cómo las redes sociales informales pueden contribuir a las empresas multinacionales en su internacionalización. Proponemos una refinación del modelo de Uppsala (Johanson & Vahne, 2009) cimentado en la teoría de redes, al desarrollar una posición intermedia entre un “alguien de adentro” y “alguien de afuera” para condiciones cuando la transformación de alguien de afuera en alguien de adentro está limitada por restricciones. Una posición intermediaria representa uno de los lados de las redes informales de “patrón-cliente” (Denoeux, 1993) según el cual el otro lado es representado por “alguien de adentro”. Discutimos que esta organización pudiera ayudar a mitigar la desventaja de estar afuera (Johanson & Vahne, 2009), como un reemplazo a la desventaja de extranjería (Hymer, 1976; Zaheer, 1995), en un moderno mundo empresarial interconectado. Contextualizamos nuestra proposición para el caso de Irán, una gran economía asiática en crecimiento con conocidas limitaciones institucionales, y sugerimos que la rede informal de los comerciantes locales (bazares puede jugar un papel intermediario importante en el proceso de internacionalización de las empresas multinacionales (EMN). Revisamos la historia de los bazares e hicimos una serie de proposiciones ejemplificando las maneras posibles en que las redes informales pueden influenciar el proceso de internacionalización. Además, para reafirmar la importancia del país origen de la empresa multinacional (mercados emergentes, y baja distancia psíquica con Irán), proponemos que un intermediario de los bazares iranís tendrá un impacto positivo en el desempeño y supervivencia de las filiales de la empresa multinacional en Irán, especialmente en el caso de incongruencia del liderazgo de la empresa multinacional con el islam chiita. Adicionalmente, sugerimos que empleando la diáspora iraní puede también mejorar el desempeño y la supervivencia de la filial.

Keywords

informal social networksinternationalizationIranliability of foreignnessliability of outsidershipMNEs非正式社会网络国际化伊朗外来者劣势局外人劣势跨国企业неформальные социальные связиинтернационализацияИран«бремя иностранца»«бремя постороннего»МНПredes sociales informalesinternacionalizaciónIrándesventaja de extranjeríaEMN
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 16 , Special Issue 3: Informal Networks: Dark Sides, Bright Sides, and Unexplored Dimensions , July 2020 , pp. 629 - 656
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 The International Association for Chinese Management Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

accepted by Senior Editor Maral Muratbekova-Touron, Guest Editors Fida Afiouni, Sven Horak, Alena Ledeneva, Senior Editor Yanjie Bian, and Deputy Editor Carl F. Fey

References

REFERENCES

Abdel-Sabbour, S. 2014. Smart power in foreign policy: A study of Iranian foreign policy tools (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt: Bashir Publishing.Google Scholar
Aharoni, Y. 2015. The many faces of the ever-changing multinational enterprise. In Demirbag, M. & Yaprak, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of emerging market multinational corporations: 17–34. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
Amineh, M., & Eisenstadt, S. 2007. The Iranian revolution: The multiple contexts of the Iranian revolution. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 6(1/3): 129–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amuzegar, J. 2012. The Islamic Republic of Iran: Facts and fiction. Middle East Policy, 19(1): 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Apaydin, M. 2014. The development of Andalusian group identity. Journal of Andalusian Studies, 31: 85–97.Google Scholar
Apaydin, M. 2015. Reframing the Islamic city: From definition to deconstruction. The Maghreb Review, 40(4): 473–492.Google Scholar
Apaydin, M. 2016. Evolution of religion, ethnicity and community in the ancient Iran. Al-Machriq, 90(1): 195–217.Google Scholar
Ashraf, A. 1988. Bazaar-Mosque alliance: The social basis of revolts and revolutions. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, 1(4): 538–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayazi, S. 2003. Persian Iranians versus Islamic Iranians: 1978 social movements in Iran. The International Relations Journal : 27–54.Google Scholar
Banaji, J., 2007. Islam, the Mediterranean, and the rise of capitalism. Historical Materialism, 15(1): 47–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayat, A. 1998. Revolution without movement, movement without revolution: Comparing Islamic activism in Iran and Egypt. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 40(1): 136–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beckerman, W. 1956. Distance and the pattern of intra-European trade. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 38(1): 31–40.10.2307/1925556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bliler, C. 2015. China and Iran's new love affair? The national interest. [Cited 9 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/china-irans-new-love-affair-13434Google Scholar
Bonine, M. 1990. Bazaar. In Routeldge & P. Kegan (Eds.), Encylopedia Iranica. London, UK.Google Scholar
Carney, M. 2013. Growth and continuity at APJM. Asia Pacific Journal of Management; 30:1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, H., Griffith, D., & Hu, M. 2006. The influence of liability of foreignness on market entry strategies. International Marketing Review, 23(6): 636–649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cline, L. E. 2000. The prospects of the Shia insurgency movement in Iraq. Journal of Conflict Studies, 20(2). Available from URL: https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCS/article/view/4311Google Scholar
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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coviello, N. 2006. The network dynamics of international new ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(5): 713–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cyret, R., & March, J. 1963. A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Davis, P., Desai, A., & Francis, J. 2000. Mode of international entry: An isomorphism perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 31(2): 239–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deeb, M. 1978. The socioeconomic role of the local foreign minorities in Modern Egypt, 1805–1961. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 9(1): 11–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeGeorges, T. 2010. Review of Nelida Fuccaro. Histories of city and state in the Persian Gulf: Manama since 1800. H-Net Reviews. Available from URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=30120Google Scholar
Demirbag, M., & Yaprak, A. 2016. Conclusions and future research directions: Lessons learned from the rise of emerging market multinationals. In Demirbag, M. & Yaprak, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of emerging market multinational corporations: 260–269. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
Denoeux, G. 1993. Urban unrest in the Middle East: A comparative study of informal networks in Egypt, Iran and Lebanon. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. 1983. The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective action in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2): 147–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, J., 2000. The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity. International Business Review, 9(2): 163–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, J., & Lundan, S. 2008. Institutions and the OLI paradigm of the multinational enterprise. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 25: 573–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EIU Country Data. 2015. Economist intelligence unit. [Cited 10 May 2016]. Available from URL: https://country.eiu.com/iranGoogle Scholar
EIU Country Data. 2019. Economist intelligence unit. [Cited 1 July 2019]. Available from URL: https://country.eiu.com/iranGoogle Scholar
Esfahani, H. S., & Pesaran, M. H. 2009. The Iranian economy in the twentieth century: A global perspective. Iranian Studies, 42(2): 177–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, J. 2010. Marketing aspects of psychic distance. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, J., & Mavondo, F. 2002. Psychic distance and organizational performance: An empirical examination of international retailing operations. Journal of International Business Studies, 33: 515–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farashahi, M., & Hafsi, T. 2009. Strategy of firms in unstable institutional environments. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(4): 643–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farashahi, M., Hafsi, T., & Molz, R. 2005. Institutionalized norms of conducting research and social realities: A research synthesis of empirical works from 1983–2002. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7(1): 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finn, T., & Jewkes, S. 2016. Iranian expatriates back with new know-how. BusinessDay. [Cited 10 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://www.bdlive.co.za/companies/2016/01/26/iranian-expatriates-back-with-new-know-howGoogle Scholar
Ghorashi, H., & Boersma, K. 2009. The ‘Iranian Diaspora’ and the new media: From political action to humanitarian help. Development and Change, 40(4): 667–69110.1111/j.1467-7660.2009.01567.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giddens, A. 1984. The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkley, CA: The University of California Press.Google Scholar
Gilbar, G. G. 2003. The Muslim big merchant-entrepreneurs of the Middle East, 1860–1914. Die Welt des Islams, New Series, 43(1): 1–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gold, T., Guthrie, D., & Wank, D. 2002. Social connections in China: Institutions, culture and the changing nature of guanxi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalez, N. 2013. The Sunni-Shia conflict: Understanding sectarian violence in the Middle East. Mission Viejo, CA: Nortia Press.Google Scholar
Haghighi, F. 2018. Is the Tehran bazaar dead? Foucault, politics, and architecture. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Hakimzadeh, S. 2006. Iran: A vast diaspora abroad and millions of refugees at home. Migration Policy Institute. [Cited 10 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/iran-vast-diaspora-abroad-and-millions-refugees-home/Google Scholar
Hall, E. T. 1976. Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor.Google Scholar
Harold, S., & Nader, A. 2012. China and Iran: Economic, political, and military relations. RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy. Available from URL: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2012/RAND_OP351.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hathaway, J. 1997. The grand vizier and the false messiah: The sabbatai sevi controversy and the Ottoman reform in Egypt. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 117(4): 665–671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heirati, N., & O'Cass, A. 2015. Supporting new product commercialization through managerial social ties and market knowledge development in an emerging economy. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33: 1–23.Google Scholar
Heritage. 2016. Index of Economic Freedom: Iran. [Cited 14 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/iranGoogle Scholar
Hillman, A. J., & Hitt, M. A. 1999. Corporate political strategy formulation: A model of approach, participation, and strategy decisions. Academy of Management Review, 24(4): 825–843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1980. Culture's consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2007. Asian management in the 21st century. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 24(4): 411–420.Google Scholar
Hohenthal, J. 2001. The creation of international business relationships: Experience and performance in the internationalization process. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University.Google Scholar
Hourani, A. 1991. History of the Arab peoples. New York, NY: Warner Books.Google Scholar
Hymer, S. 1976. The international operations of national firms: A study of direct investment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Johanson, J., & Vahne, J. E. 1977. The internationalization of the firm: A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johanson, J., & Vahne, J. E. 2009. The uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreigness to liability of outsidership. Journal of International Business Studies, 40: 1411–1431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keddie, N. 1983. Iranian revolutions in comparative perspective. The American Historical Review, 88(3): 579–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khanna, T., & Paleku, K. 1997. Why focused strategies may be wrong for emerging markets. Harvard Business Review, 75(4):41–51.Google Scholar
Kirkman, B., Lowe, K., & Gibson, C. A. 2006. A quarter century of culture's consequences: A review of empirical research incorporating Hofstede's cultural values framework. Journal of International Business Studies, 37: 285–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kostova, T., & Zaheer, S., 1999. Organizational legitimacy under the conditions of complexity: The case of multinational enterprise. Academy of Management Review, 24(1): 64–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lapidus, I. 1984. Muslim cities in the later Middle Ages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, P. P., Zhou, S. S., Zhou, A. J., & Yang, Z. 2019. Reconceptualizing and redirecting research on guanxi: ‘guan-xi’ interaction to form a multicolored Chinese knot. Management and Organization Review, 15(3): 643–677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, J., & Si, S. X. 2010. Can guanxi be a problem? Contexts, ties, and some unfavorable consequences of social capital in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 27(3): 561–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, J. 2003. The evolving contributions in international strategic management research. Journal of International Management, 9(2): 193–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansourian, H. 2007. Iran: Religious leaders and opposition movements. Journal of International Affairs, 61(1): 219–231.Google Scholar
Mathews, J. A. 2006. Dragon multinationals: New players in 21st-century globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23(1): 5–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazaheri, N. 2006. State repression in the Iranian Bazaar, 1975–1977: The anti-profiteering campaign and an impending revolution. Iranian Studies, 39(3): 401–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, S., & Richards, M. 2002. Liability of foreignness and membership in a regional economic group: Analysis of the European Union. Journal of International Management, 8(3): 323–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moaddel, M. 1986. The Shi'i Ulama and the state in Iran. Theory and Society, 15(4): 519–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moustafa, T. 2000. Conflict and cooperation between the state and religious institutions in contemporary Egypt. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 32(1): 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mozaffari, M. 1991. Why the bazar rebels. Journal of Peace Research, 28(4): 377–391:379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nashat, G. 1981. From bazaar to market: Foreign trade and economic development in nineteenth-century Iran. Iranian Studies, 14(1/2): 53–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasr, S. H. 2004. The heart of Islam: Enduring values for humanity. New York, NY: Harper One.Google Scholar
Newman, K. L. 2000. Organizational transformation during institutional upheaval. Academy of Management Review, 25(3): 602–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nfa, F. H. 2014. Azeri women in transition: Women in Soviet and post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, P. 2016. With sanctions gone, is Iran a hot investment destination? [Cited 9 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/nichols-isfahani-iranGoogle Scholar
North, D. 1990. Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, M. W. 2003. Institutional transitions and strategic choices. Academy of Management Review, 28(2): 275–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, M. W., & Heath, P. S. 1996. The growth of the firm in planned economies in transition: Institutions, organizations, and strategic choice. Academy of Management Review, 21(2): 492–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, M. W., & Luo, Y. 2000. Managerial ties and firm performance in a transition economy: The nature of a micro–macro link. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3): 486–501.Google Scholar
Peng, M. W. & Zhou, J. Q. 2005. How network strategies and institutional transitions evolve in Asia. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 22(4): 321–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penrose, E. 1966. The theory of the growth of the firm. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Prashantham, S., Zhou, A. J., & Dhanaraj, C. 2020. Depth vs. breadth: Network strategy in emerging markets. Management and Organization Review, 16(2): 229–260. 1–32. DOI: 10.1017/mor.2019.54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radio Farda. 2019. Iran-China trade drops 35 percent in 2019. Available from URL: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-china-trade-drops-35-percent-in-2019/30015364.htmlGoogle Scholar
Reimer, M. J. 1988. Colonial bridgehead: Social and spatial change in Alexandria, 1850–1882. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 20(4): 531–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimer, M. J. 1994. Ottoman Alexandria: The paradox of decline and the reconfiguration of power in eighteenth-century Arab provinces. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 37(2): 107–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ricks, D. 1991. A letter from the editor-in-chief. Journal of International Business, 22(1).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ringrose, D. R. 2002. Beyond the Mediterranean: Europe connects with the world, 1400–1700. Conference on Fernand Braudel, UCLA.Google Scholar
Ringrose, D. R. 2006. Expansion and Global Interaction, 1200–1700. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing.Google Scholar
Scott, W. 2001. Institutions and organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Sewell, W. J. 1992. A theory of structure: duality, agency, and transformation. The American Journal of Sociology, 98(1): 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, S., Zhou, N., & Li, J. J. 2011. The effects of business and political ties on firm performance: Evidence from China. Journal of Marketing, 75(1): 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sivakumar, K., & Nakata, C. 2001. The stampede toward Hofstede's framework: Avoiding the sample design pit in cross-cultural research. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(3): 555–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skocpol, T. 1982. Rentier state and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian Revolution. Theory and Society, 11(3): 265–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spivak, M. 2016. What to know about doing business in Iran. Harvard Business Review. [Cited 5 May 2016]. Available from URL: https://hbr.org/2016/05/what-to-know-about-doing-business-in-iranGoogle Scholar
Sundria, S., & Murtaugh, D. 2019. China is buying Iranian LPG despite sanctions, ship-tracking shows. Bloomberg. [Cited 18 June 2019]. Available from URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18/china-buying-iranian-lpg-despite-sanctions-ship-tracking-showsGoogle Scholar
Thomson Reuters. 2016. Asia's Iranian crude oil imports. [Cited 9 May 2016]. Available from URL: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/iran-oil/index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Tian, Z., Hafsi, T., & Wei, W. 2009. Institutional determinism and political strategies: An empirical investigation. Business and Society, 48(3): 284–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNCTAD. 2013. World investment report 2013: Global value chains: investment and trade for development. [Cited 19 October 2014]. Available from URL: www.unctad.org/en/publicationslibrary/wir2013_en.pdfGoogle Scholar
UNCTAD. 2017. General profile: Iran (Islamic Republic Of). [Cited 9 May 2019]. Available from URL: http://unctadstat.unctad.org/CountryProfile/GeneralProfile/en-GB/364/GeneralProfile364.pdfGoogle Scholar
Van Gelderen, M., Shirokova, G., Shchegolev, V., & Beliaeva, T. 2020. Striving for entrepreneurial autonomy: A comparison of Russia and the Netherlands. Management and Organization Review, 16(1), 107–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. 1994. Social network analysis in the social and behavioral sciences. Social network analysis: Methods and applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Winand, P., Vicziany, M., & Datar, P. 2015. The European Union and India: Rhetoric or meaningful partnership? Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winter, M. 2003. Egyptian society under Ottoman rule, 1517–1798. London, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Workman, D. 2019. Top 15 crude oil suppliers to China. World's Top Exports. Available from URL: http://www.worldstopexports.com/top-15-crude-oil-suppliers-to-china/Google Scholar
Yildiz, H., & Fey, C. 2012. The liabilities of foreignness reconsidered: New insights from the alternative research context of transforming economies. International Business Review, 21(2): 269–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yin, R. 1994. Case study research: Design and methods. London, UK: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Zaheer, S. 1995. Overcoming the liability of foreignness. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2): 341–363.Google Scholar