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PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between strategic internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment for the internationally growing firm (IGF). Dynamic capabilities refer to a firm's ability to adapt proactively to a changing business environment, emphasizing the importance of "doing the right things" rather than just "doing things right. Design/methodology/approachLiterature-based, this paper proposes a model that links internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment, offering valuable insights for both research and practical application. FindingsThe study highlights that the IGF - focused on expansion and growth abroad - faces unique complexities that demand "doing the right things" in terms of strategic internationalization decisions. Three critical organizational capabilities - knowledge transfer, knowledge recombination and learning capabilities - are mechanisms linking strategic internationalization decisions to dynamic capability deployment in the IGF. These organizational capabilities enable the IGF to act entrepreneurially and deploy dynamic capabilities across borders. Research limitations/implicationsThe model provides a practical framework illustrating the interconnectedness of strategic internationalization decisions and their combined effects on the ability of IGF to deploy dynamic capabilities to adapt to a changing global environment. Originality/valueThis research addresses a gap in the literature, challenging the conventional assumption that dynamic capabilities precede firms' decisions to internationalize and that these dynamic capabilities can only be enhanced abroad.

The purpose of this editorial, and the special issue, is to initiate a dialogue about the role of time in international business (IB) scholarship. While time is inherent in IB phenomena, it has, to date, received limited attention in IB research and theorizing. When IB scholars do account for time, they generally adhere to assumptions representing time as linear and objective. We discuss the importance of time in the philosophical, conceptual, and methodological domains of IB, defining each of these three interconnected domains, problematizing their dominant assumptions about time, and suggesting potential avenues for rethinking time in IB.

Research Summary: We provide a more granular and comprehensive approach to subsidiary evolution and enhance the understanding of the complexity of the subsidiary's evolution in the era of value chain fine-slicing. We extend Birkinshaw and Hood's model of general processes of subsidiary evolution into a model of functional evolutionary paths that represents nine configurations of charter and capability changes. We examine initiative, autonomy, and track record as determinants of 1455 functional evolutionary paths identified in 266 subsidiaries operating in the Polish and Swiss manufacturing sectors. Through a two-level multinomial logistic regression model, we learn that subsidiary initiative and track record are positively related to an increase in subsidiaries' charter and capability enhancement, respectively. Subsidiary autonomy though, is negatively related to charter increase and capability enhancement. Managerial Summary: We consider subsidiaries' initiative, autonomy, and track record as factors shaping the changes in functional responsibilities and corresponding capabilities. Our results show that frequent and successful initiatives support a functional charter increase but do not necessarily enhance corresponding functional capabilities. Furthermore, a lower level of decision-making autonomy in efficiency-driven organizations does not translate into difficulties with a functional charter increase. A subsidiary can benefit from lower autonomy by focusing subsidiary-development efforts on areas aligned with the headquarters' interests. A proven track record does not translate into a functional charter increase; in some cases, it even increases the likelihood of charter depletion. Nonetheless, it increases the likelihood of enhancing functional capability. 

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the drivers of political embeddedness and the possible outcome in terms of autonomy and subsidiary unique competences.

Design/methodology/approach: This study draws on resource dependence theory and applies structural equation modeling on a sample of 193 subsidiaries.

Findings: Political embeddedness is confirmed as a source of potential autonomy and the development of competences and is usually boosted by previous existing networks at the internal and external levels.

Originality/value: The authors investigate and discuss how multinational corporations can leverage political resources in host-country political arenas, extending their understanding of the interplay between political activities and market strategies.

The authors' contention in this paper is that the expression of subsidiary strategy in IB literature has become fragmented and incomplete. Therefore, this study aims to propose a rethink on how IB scholarship approaches the important issue of subsidiary strategy by holistically examining the discrete and integrated set of activities, choices and decisions that constitute the subsidiary strategy process for, in this context, assuming a competence-creating role within the multinational enterprise (MNE).Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model is designed to illustrate the holistic process of subsidiary strategy from assigned to assumed role and how a subsidiary can navigate a pathway to elevated performance and survival.FindingsThe paper identifies the key integrated elements that constitute a holistic strategic process that can enhance a subsidiary's standing within the MNE and maximise its survival prospects.Research limitations/implicationsParticular focus is placed on subsidiaries that strategise to advance their internal corporate role to competence creator via upgraded knowledge capabilities.Originality/valueThis paper offers a roadmap for IB scholars to contribute to a future discourse around the subsidiary strategy process for assuming a competence-creating role.

This chapter examines the capacity of multinational subsidiaries to engage in innovation and to generate strategic initiatives. Research to date captures how explorative trajectories (and the subsidiary management championing them), are credited with pioneering new innovative ideas; yet less attention has been paid to complementarity in the simultaneous pursuit of more exploitative behaviour. Adopting an ambidexterity lens as our theoretical framing we examine how the interaction of exploitation and exploration strategies may explain why some subsidiaries are better at generating strategic initiatives than others. Findings, based on a sample of 258 subsidiary managers, reveal that high-performing subsidiaries in the sample (denoted as those that scored high on both exploitation and exploration/entrepreneurial orientation) were significantly more likely to generate strategic initiatives when compared with the average subsidiary within our model. Finally, our chapter provides new insights on nested innovation within MNEs, intra-organisational networks and on harnessing the potential for subsidiary-driven innovation.

The pandemic crisis caused a severe shock to global value chains and led to supply shortages for complex medical goods such as respiratory ventilators. What followed were calls to reshore production for security, and the loss of efficiencies from foreign global value chain (GVC) operations for the multinational enterprise. This article merges internalization and GVC theory to demonstrate a dynamic hierarchy managerial response to these crisis conditions. An optimally configured GVC under hierarchy governance can resiliently eliminate global supply line ruptures yet maintain the benefits of global efficiency.