Technological transition and technological dependency: Latin America–China relations in a changing international order

Purpose Many studies have analyzed how gender diversity and local culture condition the cognitive styles of managers and affect decision-making processes in organizations. Gender diversity has been defended from an equality perspective; it has been argued to improve decision-making processes and to have a positive impact on companies’ return on investment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences between the thinking styles of men and women, in Latin America and the USA that support decision-making processes. An argument is given in favor of gender diversity in management teams, because of its positive implications in decision making. Design/methodology/approach The measurement instrument used was the Neethling Brain Instrument, developed based on recent neuroscience discovery. The sample comprised 1,216 executives from the USA and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have participated in executive training programs. Findings The results show differences in thinking styles by gender, but no differences were found in thinking styles or decision making between men and women at the same managerial level in either of the two regions. Similarly, results suggest that executives in the USA tend to base their management models on strategic thinking styles that focus on interpersonal relations and involve risk taking, while executives in Latin American countries tend to prefer thinking and management styles focusing on data analysis, execution, planning, and process control. Originality/value The results of the present study show that, in all regions, men score higher in rational thinking styles associated with the cortical areas, while women gravitate toward thinking styles where emotional schemes prevail, related to subcortical areas. These results could be useful for organizational leaders in charge of allocating roles and tasks to people, based on their thinking style strengths. The results can also be very valuable for Latin American organizations to design specific training and development programs for men and women accordingly with their individual needs and their managerial roles. They can also support the argument that diverse gender teams will guarantee complete decision-making processes.

Purpose This study aims to enhance the knowledge that managers and scholars have on franchising expansion. In this sense, it is worth mentioning that although the body of literature on international management focusing on emerging markets is growing, the attention paid to the Latin American context continues to be limited. This is surprising given the substantive economic importance of the region with a population over 590 million, and a gross domestic product of approximately US$5 trillion. To cover this gap, the present study examines how a number of market conditions may drive diffusion of franchising into Latin America: geographical distance, cultural distance, political stability and economic development. The authors also controlled for the host country’s market potential, transparency, unemployment rate and efficiency of contract enforcement. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative approach applied to a sample of 77 Spanish franchisors operating through 4,064 franchisee outlets across 21 Latin American countries in late 2012. They are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Findings Results conclude that geographical distance between the host and home countries, as well as the level of host country’s political stability, economic development, market potential and transparency are able to drive the spread of international franchising across Latin American nations. Research limitations/implications This study provides readers with a general overview of the current state of global franchising diffusion overseas. Results obtained in this study are useful for understanding and predicting the demand for franchising in Latin American countries. Practical implications Economics reports argue that by 2050, the largest economies in the world will be China, the USA, India, Brazil and Mexico. This fact highlights the substantive importance of Latin America for foreign investors willing to expand their business abroad. In an attempt to give insights from the Latin American context, the present paper develops and tests a model that can be useful to franchisors willing to establish new outlets in the region. In addition, our findings offer guidance to firm managers seeking to target their franchises in Latin America. Franchisors may then use the results of this study as a starting point for identifying such regions whose characteristics best meet their needs of expansion. Originality/value This paper explores how market conditions may drive international diffusion of franchising into Latin American markets. The scant theoretical or empirical attention given to this topic has usually been examined from the USA and British base and focused on developed markets. To fill this gap, the present study analyzes the international spread of the Spanish franchise system into Latin America as a market for franchising expansion.

Purpose The intangible assets of a company have been presented by national and international surveys as a resource to influence the creation of value and the increase in organizational performance. In view of this, this study aims to analyze the relationship between intangibility and the performance of companies in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, multiple regression with panel data was used and three perspectives for measuring intangible resources were defined: representativeness of the intangible asset, accounting measure for measuring the intangible, degree of intangibility and Tobin’ Q, the latter two representing economic and financial measures to determine intangibility. The study covered the period from 2011 to 2017 with a sample of 1,236 publicly traded companies located in some Latin American countries, namely, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Findings The results demonstrated the existence of a significant and positive relationship between the variables of intangibility, degree of intangibility and Tobin’s Q, and the performance variables, return on assets, operating margin and asset turnover, reinforcing the study hypothesis that the greater the investment in intangible resource, the greater the company’s performance. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this study involve the lack of complete information about intangible resources in the financial statements of some companies and some countries, making it hard to analyze the proposed relationship more broadly and accurately. Another limitation involves the causal relationship that may have existed between the regressors of the models defined in the study and their error, thus generating an endogeneity problem in the proposed models. It is recommended for future research to use specific methods to mitigate possible problems of endogeneity in regressions. Practical implications Mainly the possibility of deepening the relationship between intangibility and business performance, thus obtaining new knowledge through the reflexes of this relationship on companies in Latin American countries, finding more consistent results. Social implications The study contributes to the decision-making process in the business world by informing the primary users of accounting information such as investors, administrators, accountants, regulators and creditors. Originality/value This research contributes by addressing a theme whose studies present many gaps, making it possible to deepen the relationship between intangibility and business performance and gain new knowledge through the reflexes of this relationship on companies in Latin American countries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF’s) recommendations in Latin America in the fight against Money Laundering (ML) through the Immediate Outcomes 4 (Preventive Measures) and 6 (Financial Intelligence) and the relationship between anti-money laundering (AML) effectiveness and anti-corruption measures. Design/methodology/approach Through quantitative and quality methods measure the performance of the Immediate Outcomes’ levels in compliance with the established FATF’ standards; The objective is to analyze progress in the prevention and identification of ML. Findings The authors discuss the relationship between AML effectiveness and anti-corruption measures starting with the analysis of the best-ranked country in these indicators (IO4 and IO6). Research limitations/implications Mutual evaluations require a long process, which is why the authors do not have all the updated data for all the Latin American countries; only the updated Immediate Outcomes data up to September 16, 2021, are taken. This paper is part of the Research Project “The impacts of corruption in the Western Hemisphere and regional responses.” Originality/value Through a multidisciplinary analysis, the Immediate Results evaluation model is prioritized to measure the effectiveness of the methods applied in Latin America through the IO4 and IO6. The model that presents the best effectiveness is selected and the successes that this country is applying over its peers are analyzed. From this analysis, a quantitative and qualitative analysis can be appreciated.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in inter‐organizational collaboration networks on international high‐quality scientific performance of the most reputed business management schools in Latin America according to AméricaEconomía ranking. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the debate between advantages and disadvantages of heterogeneity in scientific performance framed in the debate between organizational population ecology and organizational institutionalism theories, this research explores the relationship between heterogeneity, reputation and the most important features for doing research. Using a binomial negative regression, the paper evaluates the partial effect of those variables in the count of scientific production. Findings There is an isomorphical tendency from the most reputed schools to establish heterogeneous networks, showing empirical evidence to normative proposals from Latin America, specially formulated in the light of Sabato triangle. Also there are differentiations between schools in aspects like human capital, double‐degree agreements, and schools’ trajectories. Research limitations/implications It is necessary to choose a wider sample of schools and to include Latin American journals. The study of diversity (between researchers) and its relationship with heterogeneity (between organizations) is also needed. Practical implications The research shows that elite business management schools in Latin America that present better performance also present high levels of heterogeneity in their inter‐organizational collaboration. Therefore, the promotion of heterogeneity could enhance scientific performance and improve techno‐economical networks. Social implications This research hopes to aim the research policy design to be able to steer and promote heterogeneity that could improve the relationship between producers and users of knowledge. Originality/value The relationships between reputation, heterogeneity, and scientific performance in administration in Latin America had not been addressed empirically. The worth of this research is the empirical confirmation to the advantages of heterogeneity, rather than intellectual capital features of schools, in research collaboration that contribute to the debate about heterogeneity and performance.

Purpose The relationship between the role played by corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and shareholder wealth is an important and mature topic in some countries and regions. However, despite the considerable number of studies, the results are still inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate around the theme in Latin America through a meta-analysis. Design/methodology/approach The study used meta-analytic procedures to review 42 articles produced by researchers from Latin American countries, whose samples were composed of Latin American firms. Findings The results suggest that CG best practices are associated with better Latin American firm performance. The evidence also suggests that results are moderated by the characteristics of boards of directors, the ownership, and control structure and various simultaneous CG mechanisms, through broad indices and special CG trading segments. Originality/Value The relationship between GC and firm performance possesses certain peculiarities in the case of Latin American countries and the literature on the region is certainly not as abundant and mature. As most of the articles reviewed were written in Portuguese and Spanish and published in local journals, the consolidation produced should also be useful for researchers throughout the world by enabling them to access their ideas.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the capital structure determining factors of Latin American and US corporations after the crisis of 2008, as a means of comparing theoretical assumptions and empirical results in markets of different efficiency levels. Design/methodology/approach The study sample comprises 1,091 companies belonging to the six largest economies in Latin America plus the USA, in the years 2009 to 2013. The authors performed a regression with data from a balanced overview, which were obtained by using the criterion of minimum weighted square. Findings The results demonstrated differences in determining factors of capital structure between companies from Latin America and from the USA. The pecking order theory was mostly observed in Latin American companies and the trade-off theory greater was closely aligned with US firms. Originality/value This research brings new contributions to the issue, once the differences and determinative of the debt profile in companies from different economic contexts are compared.

Purpose This paper aims to use Latin America as a laboratory to better understand the relationship between inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) (both in total as well as in regional flows) and also examine the moderating effect of trade openness on that relationship. Latin America is an ideal study context for this purpose because of the relative homogeneity of its countries, which reduces confounding effects and increases comparability. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses longitudinal panel regression models with moderation effects. Secondary data were gathered on IFDI (per country and per country-sector), OFDI (total per country and region-targeted per country) and on trade openness from 11 Latin American countries. Findings IFDI in natural resources is positively associated with OFDI in both overall total flows and regional flows. The effect of IFDI in manufacturing has a consistent negative effect on total OFDI. IFDI in services has positive effects on total OFDI. Additionally, trade openness moderates positively the relationship between total IFDI and both total OFDI and regional OFDI. As a consequence, the authors found evidence suggesting that the relation between IFDI and OFDI in Latin America is positively moderated by trade openness. Originality/value The authors explored the nature of the impact of IFDI on the capacity of the recipient country to compete abroad as expressed by its OFDI flows. Specifically, they elucidated whether trade openness can be considered a suitable mechanism for home country firms to leverage potential spillovers provided by foreign entrants.

PurposeRisk management has been crucial to investors and regulators for pursuing market diversification opportunities and developing strategies to ensure market stability. This study examines the dependence structures of volatility, related to co-movements and macroeconomic effects, among Latin American stock markets and the risk–return spectrum benefits in the Latin American market using time-varying returns and volatility forecasts within a multivariate structure.Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprised the largest stock markets in Latin America during the period from January 2000 to December 2017 and copulas and multivariate models were applied.FindingsThe results indicated that the copula with the best fit for modeling the dependence structure of the markets was symmetric Joe-Clayton with time-varying parameters. The dependence volatility structure was higher in the positive (upper tail) than in the negative (lower tail) returns, which may indicate that the Latin American markets had diversification benefits during downturns. Evidence of market coupling was found during times of the global crisis (subprime crisis) in Latin America. The presence of monetary and temporal effects over the dependence structures suggests that investors may obtain gains in a multivariate structure with copula distributions.Originality/valueThe findings will be of interest to researchers and practitioners for several reasons. First, this study contributes to the growing literature on the relationship between market dependence and volatility. Second, it indicates that the Latin American markets may present diversification advantages during downturns. Third, it informs the influence of macroeconomic effects on Latin American markets. The models that included the nonnormal and asymmetric characteristics of the financial market yielded better results in terms of less information loss and data adherence.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between multinationality and firm performance (M-P) in Latin American companies, commonly referred to as multilatinas. The study conceptualizes the depth (intensity) and breadth (geographical scope) of internationalization and examines their effect on financial performance. Although scholars have studied how internationalization in various contexts and industries affects performance, little is known about firms in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an analysis of the effect of the depth and breadth of multilatina internationalization on financial performance by creating a database using information from America Economia, a specialized Chilean magazine that publishes an annual ranking of multilatinas. Additional data came from the Osiris database of Bureau Van Dijk and Compustat. The hypotheses were tested using an autoregressive heteroskedastic model. Findings The results show that the extent of the depth and breadth of internationalization affects financial performance. Multilatinas’ depth of internationalization has a curvilinear (U-shaped) impact on performance while breadth has an inverted curvilinear impact on performance. Research limitations/implications The theory portion and results expand the literature on firm internationalization and performance by distinguishing between two types of international firm expansion, depth and breadth, and discussing how each contributes to different stages of the three-stage theory of multinationality and performance. Originality/value The findings indicate that multilatinas benefit from their regional expansion, but outside Latin America, expansion has a negative effect on financial performance. They also show that firms can implement different types of internationalization strategies in terms of intensity and scope to achieve better performance.