Rob Van Tulder | Rotterdam school of Management, Erasmus University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Rob Van Tulder

Governance literature identifies so-called 'leader firms' as the directors of global value chains... more Governance literature identifies so-called 'leader firms' as the directors of global value chains. But in what direction are they leading? Some leader firms actively try to make a transition towards sustainable supply chain practices, but how can this be assessed? Supply chain management literature provides fragmented insights into the antecedents of transition processes. They adopt a largely 'top-down' , 'insideout' perspective rather than (also) take a 'bottom-up' and 'outside-in' perspective in which the consequences for the business models of supplying firms at the bottom of the supply chain are rarely taken into account. This contribution develops a more integrated eclectic approach on sustainable supply business models. We conceptualise antecedents of change along consecutive stages of management that combines different supplier 'upgrading' approaches with different ways in which leader firms integrate suppliers in their purchasing strategies. We apply this model to the strategies of 10 leading Dutch companies active in Africa, but with different supply chain positions.

... European multinationals in core technologies. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Tulder, R... more ... European multinationals in core technologies. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Tulder, Rob van. Author: Junne, Gerd. PUBLISHER: Wiley (Chichester and New York). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1988. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0471918024 ). VOLUME/EDITION: ...

Critical perspectives on international business, 2015

21st Century Management: A Reference Handbook, 2008

In the policy discourse on sustainable development, the positive role of cross-sector partnership... more In the policy discourse on sustainable development, the positive role of cross-sector partnerships is increasingly stressed. Governments habitually frame their partnership approach in terms of 'PPPs' -Public-Private Partnerships. But it is not very clear whether these initiatives actually are a combination of 'public' and 'private', whether these initiatives actually represent a partnership and whether they provide solutions for what type of problems. The existing conceptual ambiguity which -combined with sometimes overly ideological expectations of partnershipsalso triggers considerable criticism on the actual role of partnerships in sustainable development. Part of the criticism originates in an understanding of the necessary conditions for sustainable developmentmore in specific the institutional embedding of partnerships in roles and power bases. Part of the problem originates in the circumstance that partnership research has focused primarily on the dynamics of bilateral relationships, whilst for sustainable development often trilateral relationships between firms, civil society and governments are required. This additional dimension is conceptually difficult to address. Unresolved fundamental questions thereby exist around the correct interpretation of role configurations that are created by cross sector partnerships, including the extent to which individual actors can be considered legitimate participants in a partnership and its impact on sustainable development. This paper argues that this discourse can be redressed to four questions: (1) what defines the 'space' in which partnerships develop to address sustainable development issues and what kind or relevant roles do parties bring into the partnership and what does this imply for the organizational fit of the parties in partnering space and (4) how does the various degrees of fit contribute to sustainable development. Is there an 'optimal fit'? This paper develops a taxonomy that should help in classifying roles, the resulting relationships and the degree of organizational fit needed to make the partnership meaningful for sustainable development. This exercise should also help to link the meso-level of partnerships to the macro-level (impact) of sustainable development.

Erim Report Series Research in Management Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Dec 21, 2005

AND KEYWORDS Abstract The debate on globalization has long been characterized by theses of instit... more AND KEYWORDS Abstract The debate on globalization has long been characterized by theses of institutional convergence and divergence. The emergence of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism as the dominant paradigm since the start of the 1990s is associated with the pursuit of global strategies by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and the consolidation of a multilateral trade regime. Yet the link between actual MNE strategies and developments in the institutional arena remains an understudied phenomenon. Tensions between multiple levels of institution buildingunilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism -create an environment of strategic uncertainty for MNEss. Consequently, MNEs' actual international strategies reveal much about perceptions of the institutional environment in which they operate and allows for the documentation of more subtle paradigm shifts. The internationalization strategies pursued by MNEs from the Triad over the 1990s reveal that a multilateral strategic reality was anticipated by only an elite few, while the vast majority of firms operated in a unilaterally-or at best regionally-determined institutional environment. This contribution suggests that institutional restructuring is multifaceted and sometimes contradictory, casting a new and more subtle light on the globalization debate. Free Abstract The debate on globalization has long been characterized by theses of institutional convergence and divergence. The emergence of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism as the dominant paradigm since the start of the 1990s is associated with the pursuit of global strategies by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and the consolidation of a multilateral trade regime. Yet the link between actual MNE strategies and developments in the institutional arena remains an understudied phenomenon. Tensions between multiple levels of institution buildingunilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism -create an environment of strategic uncertainty for MNEss. Consequently, MNEs' actual international strategies reveal much about perceptions

Research in Global Strategic Management, 2007

ABSTRACT Recent research on the internationalization–performance (IP) relationship has suggested ... more ABSTRACT Recent research on the internationalization–performance (IP) relationship has suggested that many of the different results can be explained by the role of moderating factors. This paper explores the hitherto underemphasized role of strategic fit between organizational structure on the one hand and industry pressures towards integration and responsiveness on the other hand. We suggest a new way of measuring organizational structure (and consequently strategic fit), based on archival data rather than questionnaires, and include these measures in our regression analysis on a sample of 332 Fortune companies.We find that strategic fit positively affects performance and moderates the shape, size and direction of the internationalization–performance relationship.

Critical perspectives on international business, 2015

21st Century Management: A Reference Handbook, 2008

Erim Report Series Research in Management Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Dec 21, 2005

Research in Global Strategic Management, 2007

Avril, 1999

Transnational Corporations, vol. 8, no. 1 (April 1999) 143 International codes of conduct and cor... more Transnational Corporations, vol. 8, no. 1 (April 1999) 143 International codes of conduct and corporate social responsibility: can transnational corporations regulate themselves? Ans Kolk, Rob van Tulder and Carlijn Welters* Following an unsuccessful attempt in the ...

Journal of Business Ethics, 2009

This article examines whether the involvement of stakeholders in the design of corporate codes of... more This article examines whether the involvement of stakeholders in the design of corporate codes of conduct leads to a higher implementation likelihood of the code. The empirical focus is on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). The paper compares the inclusion of OSH issues in the codes of conduct of 30 companies involved in International Framework Agreements (IFAs), agreed upon by trade unions and multinational enterprises, with those of a benchmark sample of 38 leading Multinational Enterprises in comparable industries. It is found that codes of IFA group have a higher implementation likelihood in OSH than the codes of the benchmark group. Further, European firms, culturally more used to stakeholder involvement, score higher than their US and Japanese competitors, and hence are more capable of addressing the safety and health issues in international supply chains. The implementation likelihood of codes seems closely related to the type of corporate CSR approach.

Journal of International Business Studies, 2001

European Management Journal, 2008

The potential contribution of companies as partners in furthering development objectives is frequ... more The potential contribution of companies as partners in furthering development objectives is frequently mentioned, but has received limited research attention. What has also remained unclear is to what extent companies can play such a role via the various individual and collaborative means available to them. Collaborative efforts include not only the more well-known partnerships with nonprofit (non-goernmental) organisations (NGOs), but also with governments, and even with both parties. This paper analyses the characteristics of development activities undertaken by companies individually and jointly via public-private, private-nonprofit and tripartite partnerships. Using multinationals originating from the Netherlands as empirical setting, we find that private-nonprofit partnerships are most common, with tripartite and public-private partnerships only emerging, also due to divergent views between business and government. Most partnerships are directly linked to companies' core activities or focus on the sector or supply chain. A broad, macro development orientation mostly occurs in (tripartite/bilateral) partnerships involving nonprofit organisations. The paper also discusses the implications of the study for partner roles and effectiveness of partnerships, as well as for research and practice.

International Business Review, 2010

While attention to the social and environmental impacts of international business (IB) is not new... more While attention to the social and environmental impacts of international business (IB) is not new, the past years have seen renewed interest due to pressing global problems such as climate change and poverty. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are regarded as playing a specific role given their global influence and activities in which they are confronted with a range of issues, stakeholders and institutional contexts, in both home and host countries. Their potential in being not only part of the problem, but also perhaps part of the solution, is increasingly recognised and has come to the fore in research interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and sustainable development implications of IB. Systematic study and inclusion in the literature has been lacking, however. This article examines the extent to which both concepts have been addressed in IB research, and identifies some gaps in the body of knowledge and approaches so far. It also introduces recent studies that yield interesting findings, pointing at promising areas for further research.

This PIBR volume examines a number of idiosyncratic elements in the internationalization strategi... more This PIBR volume examines a number of idiosyncratic elements in the internationalization strategies of BRIC MNEs and, in particular, in their relationship with home country policies:
1. The theoretical challenge: do we need different or more specific theories of EMNEs to assess the phenomenon of BRIC multinational?
2. The empirical challenge: what marks the changing position of BRIC countries in the world economy?
3. The managerial challenge: with the coming of age of a new breed of multinationals, what distinguishes BRIC multinationals from other (emerging market) multinationals?
4. The policy making challenge: what impact have MNEs from BRIC countries had on their domestic economy