Alfredo Jimenez will be giving a research seminar this week in our department research seminar series. The seminar will be on 22 November at 13.00. You may attend via zoom by clicking here.

Dr. Jiménez holds a Master's degree in Business Economics Research and a PhD in Business Management. He is currently a Full Professor at Kedge Business School in Bordeaux and he teaches subjects related to International Business as an undergraduate, graduate, and PhD. His research interests are focused on the process and determinants of success in the internationalization strategy of firms. His current lines of research include the impact of institutional variables, political risk, cultural and psychic distance, and corruption on foreign direct investments and entrepreneurship. He is also working on a research line devoted to virtual and multi-cultural team management and dynamics. He has published several papers in international journals including the Journal of International Business Studies, Harvard Business Review, Journal of World Business, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Business and Society, International Business Review, Journal of Business Research, Technological Forecasting, and Social Change, Journal of International Management, Management International Review, and European Journal of International Management. He has also been a visiting scholar in different institutions in Australia, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Norway, and Singapore, as well as participating in the X-Culture Project as a member of its Advisory Board and instructor. He is a project reviewer for the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and for the Government of Ecuador, Poland, and Qatar. He was chosen for the 40 under 40 list of Poets and Quants (2021) that includes the best 40 MBA professors in the world under 40 years of age.

Paper title: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST GOVERNMENTS: BARGAINING POWER, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, AND THE ROLE OF LEGITIMACY

Abstract

Political risk can be defined as the probability of a government using its monopoly over legal coercion to refrain from fulfilling existing agreements with an MNE, in order to affect the redistribution of rents between the public and private sector (Holburn, 2001). Either through direct measures such as nationalizations or expropriations, or more indirect ones such as forced renegotiations of previously agreed conditions, political risk can have a tremendous impact on foreign direct investments. Yet, some recent literature suggests that political risk not only constitutes a threat for Multinational Enterprises but can also be a source of opportunities (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008; Jimenez et al. 2014). Over time, scholars have employed different frameworks to study this concept. In this presentation, we will review the three main perspectives, namely the bargaining power approach, the political institutions' approach, and the legitimacy approach. After reviewing their main postulates and criticisms, potential areas for complementarities and research opportunities will be discussed.