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Impacting practice through IB scholarship: Toy recalls and the product safety crisis

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Abstract

IB research has made significant contributions in understanding MNEs, yet examples of scholarship that have had a demonstrable impact on practice and policy are rare. This article presents research we conducted in the wake of the 2007 global product safety crisis as one such example. We reflect on it to suggest that IB research can enhance its impact by focusing attention on issues that affect both MNEs and societies, and by using available data to arrive at even basic explanations and solutions to inform practice and prompt further academic research.

Résumé

La recherche en international business (IB) a contribué de manière significative à la compréhension des EMN, mais les exemples de travaux académiques ayant eu un impact démontrable sur la pratique et la politique stratégique sont rares. Cet article présente les recherches que nous avons menées à la suite de la crise mondiale concernant la sécurité des produits de 2007, crise prise comme un exemple. Nous y réfléchissons pour suggérer que la recherche en IB peut renforcer son impact en attirant l’attention sur des problèmes qui affectent à la fois les EMN et les sociétés, et en utilisant les données disponibles pour trouver des explications et des solutions même fondamentales afin d’éclairer la pratique et de stimuler la recherche académique future.

Resumen

La investigación en Negocios Internacionales ha hecho contribuciones significativas al entendimiento de las EMN, pero son escasos los ejemplos de trabajos académicos que hayan tenido un impacto demostrable en la práctica y la política. Este artículo presenta la investigación que llevamos a cabo a raíz de la crisis global de seguridad de productos del 2007 como un ejemplo de esto. Reflexionamos sobre esto y sugerimos que la investigación en Negocios Internacionales puede mejorar su impacto focalizando su atención en asuntos que afectan tanto las EMN como a las sociedades, y usando datos disponibles para llegar explicaciones básicas y soluciones para informar la práctica e impulsar la investigación.

Resumo

A pesquisa em IB fez contribuições significativas para a compreensão de MNEs, no entanto, exemplos de pesquisas que tiveram um impacto demonstrável na prática e política são raros. Este artigo apresenta a pesquisa que conduzimos após a crise global de segurança de produtos de 2007 como um exemplo. Refletimos sobre isso para sugerir que a pesquisa em IB pode aumentar o seu impacto focando sua atenção em questões que afetam tanto MNEs quanto sociedades, e usando dados disponíveis para chegar mesmo a explicações e soluções básicas para informar à prática e estimular pesquisas acadêmicas adicionais.

摘要

国际商务研究在了解跨国公司方面做出了重大贡献,但对实践和政策产生明显影响的研究的实例却很少见。本文介绍了我们在2007年全球产品安全危机之后进行的研究就是一个这样的例子。我们反思该例子以表明,国际商务研究可以通过关注影响跨国公司和社会的问题,并利用现有的数据得出甚至是基本的解释及解决方案以指导实践并促进更进一步的学术研究,来增强其影响力。

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for improving this paper with their insightful comments. Numerous others, particularly a number of managers, regulators, and academic colleagues, played an important role in this research by freely and generously offering their time and expertise. Our sincere thanks to them.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Hari Bapuji

  2. Ivey Business School, Western University, 1255 Western Road, London, ON, N6G 0N1, Canada

    Paul W Beamish

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  1. Hari Bapuji
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  2. Paul W Beamish
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Correspondence to Hari Bapuji.

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Supplementary information accompanies this article on the Journal of International Business Studies website (www.palgrave.com/journals).

Accepted by Ilan Vertinsky, Area Editor, 8 May 2019. This article has been with the authors for two revisions.

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Bapuji, H., Beamish, P.W. Impacting practice through IB scholarship: Toy recalls and the product safety crisis. J Int Bus Stud 50, 1636–1643 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-019-00247-3

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