IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/manint/v52y2012i4d10.1007_s11575-011-0113-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rethinking the Institutional Contexts of Emerging Markets Through Metaphor Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Farzad H. Alvi

    (Tecnológico de Monterrey)

Abstract

Recent literature recommends greater analysis of institutional contexts in order to better adapt strategies in emerging market economies. This paper explores cognitive challenges in understanding institutional contexts, and reveals an outdated vernacular around emerging markets. Unwittingly, we may be crafting strategies based on how we would like emerging markets to be, rather than on how emerging markets actually are. Institutional context is investigated through metaphor analysis. As conceptual constructions that link the abstract to the concrete, metaphors can yield rich insights when analyzed. The metaphor analysis performed finds powerful cognitive simplifications and preconceptions of emerging markets. Eliciting novel metaphors around the labels ‘emerging markets’, ‘developing countries’, and ‘third world’ uncovers a fragmented rather than holistic view of institutional context. Strategies unresponsive to emerging markets may flow from a fragmented view of institutional context. In terms of theory, the use of metaphor analysis highlights the importance of considering subjective and even messy elements of institutional context. Prevailing discussions in the international business literature often focus on streamlined, objective measures of institutional context. This paper emphasizes that a complex process of institutionalization is being observed rather than a steady state of objective outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Farzad H. Alvi, 2012. "Rethinking the Institutional Contexts of Emerging Markets Through Metaphor Analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 519-539, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:52:y:2012:i:4:d:10.1007_s11575-011-0113-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11575-011-0113-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11575-011-0113-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11575-011-0113-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alvarez, José Luis & Mazza, Carmelo & Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper, 2005. "The role of mass media in the consumption of management knowledge," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 127-132, June.
    2. Blake E. Ashforth & Ronald H. Humphrey, 1997. "The Ubiquity and Potency of Labeling in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(1), pages 43-58, February.
    3. Rajneesh Narula & John Dunning, 2000. "Industrial Development, Globalization and Multinational Enterprises: New Realities for Developing Countries," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 141-167.
    4. Lorraine Eden, 2010. "Letter from the Editor-in-Chief: Lifting the veil on how institutions matter in IB research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(2), pages 175-177, February.
    5. Klaus E. Meyer & Saul Estrin & Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Mike W. Peng, 2009. "Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 61-80, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. König, Andreas & Fehn, Angela & Puck, Jonas & Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz, 2017. "Primary or complex? Towards a theory of metaphorical strategy communication in MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 270-285.
    2. Flladina Zilja & Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah & Christopher Albert Sabel, 2022. "Do Environmental Policies Affect MNEs’ Foreign Subsidiary Investments? An Empirical Investigation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 53-102, February.
    3. Khalid Hafeez & Pantea Foroudi & Keith Dinnie & Bang Nguyen & Sanjai K Parahoo, 2016. "The role of place branding and image in the development of sectoral clusters: The case of Dubai," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(4), pages 383-402, July.
    4. Farzad Haider Alvi & Peter J. Williamson, 2023. "Responses to global financial standards in emerging markets: Regulatory neoliberalism and the Basel II Capital Accord," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 2635-2650, July.
    5. Fang-Yi Lo & Yu-Ching Chiao & Chwo-Ming Joseph Yu, 2016. "Network and Institutional Effects on SMEs’ Entry Strategies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 531-563, August.
    6. Farzad H. Alvi & Alan L. Carsrud, 2017. "Strategic Entrepreneurial Agency in Emerging Markets," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 26(1), pages 77-101, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luis Alfonso Dau & Aya S. Chacar & Marjorie A. Lyles & Jiatao Li, 2022. "Informal institutions and international business: Toward an integrative research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 985-1010, August.
    2. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2022. "Capitalizing on the uniqueness of international business: Towards a theory of place, space, and organization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2050-2067, December.
    3. Jisun Yu & Seung-Hyun Lee & Kunsoo Han, 2015. "FDI motives, market governance, and ownership choice of MNEs: A study of Malaysia and Thailand from an incomplete contracting perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 335-362, June.
    4. Yang, Deli & Sonmez, Mahmut (Maho), 2018. "Global norm of national treatment for patent uncertainties: A longitudinal comparison between the US and China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 164-176.
    5. Saul Estrin & Delia Baghdasaryan & Klaus E. Meyer, 2009. "The Impact of Institutional and Human Resource Distance on International Entry Strategies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(7), pages 1171-1196, November.
    6. Reddy, Rama Krishna & Park, Sung- Jin & Mooty, Scott, 2022. "Emerging market firm investments in advanced markets: A country of origin perspective," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Anthony Black, 2009. "Location, Automotive Policy, and Multinational Strategy: The Position of South Africa in the Global Industry since 1995," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 483-512, September.
    8. Ilhan-Nas, Tulay & Okan, Tarhan & Tatoglu, Ekrem & Demirbag, Mehmet & Wood, Geoffrey & Glaister, Keith W., 2018. "Board composition, family ownership, institutional distance and the foreign equity ownership strategies of Turkish MNEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 862-879.
    9. Hunya, Gabor, 2004. "FDI in small accession countries: the Baltic states," EIB Papers 9/2004, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    10. Buckley, Peter J. & Cross, Adam & De Mattos, Claudio, 2015. "The principle of congruity in the analysis of international business cooperation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 1048-1060.
    11. Yadong Luo & Huan Zhang & Juan Bu, 2019. "Developed country MNEs investing in developing economies: Progress and prospect," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(4), pages 633-667, June.
    12. Zhang, Hongjuan & Young, Michael N. & Tan, Justin & Sun, Weizheng, 2018. "How Chinese companies deal with a legitimacy imbalance when acquiring firms from developed economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 752-767.
    13. Hu, Helen Wei & Cui, Lin, 2014. "Outward foreign direct investment of publicly listed firms from China: A corporate governance perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 750-760.
    14. Chenxi Zhou & Jinhong Xie & Qi Wang, 2016. "Failure to Complete Cross-Border M&As: “To” vs. “From” Emerging Markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1077-1105, December.
    15. SAIBU, Olufemi Muibi, 2012. "An analysis of causal nexus between foreign direct investment, exchange rate and financial market development in Nigeria (1970 to 2009)," MPRA Paper 42429, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Jayanti, Rama K. & Raghunath, S., 2018. "Institutional entrepreneur strategies in emerging economies: Creating market exclusivity for the rising affluent," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 87-98.
    17. Chen, Jian-xun & Zhang, Bo & Zhan, Wu & Sharma, Piyush & Budhwar, Pawan & Tan, Hui, 2022. "Demystifying the non-linear effect of high commitment work systems (HCWS) on firms’ strategic intention of exploratory innovation: An extended resource-based view," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    18. Li Xian Liu & Fuming Jiang & Milind Sathye & Hongbo Liu, 2021. "Are Foreign Banks Disadvantaged Vis-À-Vis Domestic Banks in China?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-36, August.
    19. Nicodemus M. Mutinda & James M. Kilika, 2019. "TMT Cognitive Capability and Organizational Outcomes: A Theoretical Review," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(8), pages 31-52, August.
    20. Jianghua Zhou & Rui Wu & Jizhen Li, 2019. "More ties the merrier? Different social ties and firm innovation performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 445-471, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:52:y:2012:i:4:d:10.1007_s11575-011-0113-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.