Essays on Corporate Strategic Adaptation
| dc.contributor.advisor | Petricevic, Olga | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Verbeke, Alain | |
| dc.contributor.author | Simoes, Sean Cyril Neil | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Jones, Vernon | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Kano, Liena | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Moran, Pablo | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Bu, Maoliang | |
| dc.date | 2024-02 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-11-25T21:57:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-11-25T21:57:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-11-22 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The essays in this dissertation utilize transaction cost theory (TCT) and complementary frameworks, namely the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities to explore how firms adapt to their business environment. In Chapter 1, I challenge the prevailing notion that multinational enterprises (MNEs) must adapt to conditions in ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BOP) markets by creating informal institutions. Rather, using the case of India’s digital and financial initiatives, I argue that MNEs should work with governments to develop formal institutions, and leverage these institutions to accurately assess the reliability of BOP customers. In Chapter 2, I explore how MNEs have adapted their international strategies in response to vulnerability created by macro-level decoupling between the U.S. and China. Utilizing elements of the Profiting from Innovation (PFI) framework, I find that the framework helps explain the MNE’s position in the China market. This position along with elements of the PFI framework in turn helps explain firm responses. The remaining chapters explore cases of how firms have adapted in different ways. In Chapter 3, I discuss how Volkswagen failed to adapt its products to the U.S. market which put in place stringent emissions standards, with bounded reliability coupled with a disconnect between headquarters and U.S. personnel, and a lack of controls, contributing to a sustainability crisis. In Chapter 4, I explore how MNE Cummins adapted its global diversity and inclusion strategy and mandated the use of English as a common language in its Indian subsidiaries and joint ventures, including on the shop floor, with benefits for individuals as well as the Indian entities. And in Chapter 5, I explore how Corning, another large MNE, built and leveraged its resources and capabilities to adapt to changing markets, by launching and growing new product families. Using a sample of 23 product families, I find two combinations of causal conditions that help explain this capability to reconfigure Corning’s business. In summary, this dissertation utilizes TCT thinking and associated frameworks to contribute to an enhanced understanding of strategic adaptation by large firms. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Simoes, S. (2024). Essays on corporate strategic adaptation (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120095 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Haskayne School of Business | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | International Business | |
| dc.subject | Corporate Strategy | |
| dc.subject | Reconfiguration | |
| dc.subject | Sustainability | |
| dc.subject | BOP | |
| dc.subject | Language | |
| dc.subject | India | |
| dc.subject.classification | Business Administration--Management | |
| dc.title | Essays on Corporate Strategic Adaptation | |
| dc.type | doctoral thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Business, Haskayne School of Business | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | |
| ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent | I require a thesis withhold – I need to delay the release of my thesis due to a patent application, and other reasons outlined in the link above. I have/will need to submit a thesis withhold application. |