Between ballots and bullets: Political competition, uncertainty, and MNE strategies in politically challenging environments

DeBerge, Thomas M

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121311 Copy

Description

Title

Between ballots and bullets: Political competition, uncertainty, and MNE strategies in politically challenging environments

Author(s)

DeBerge, Thomas M

Issue Date

2023-06-22

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Bucheli, Marcelo

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Bucheli, Marcelo

Committee Member(s)

• Clougherty, Joseph
• Mahoney, Joseph
• Shah, Sonali

Department of Study

Business Administration

Discipline

Business Administration

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Multinational enterprises
• political strategies
• uncertainty

Abstract

This dissertation explores the central question of how multinational enterprises (MNEs) develop strategies specifically accounting for political competition between opposing political groups or entities. Each of the three substantive chapters focuses on a unique context to encompass the multiple geographic levels of political competition and its different manifestations, which can range from electoral contests across political parties to armed conflict across military groups. After an introductory chapter articulating the central question, the second chapter examines the entry of MNEs into conflict zones, specifically through a case study of multinational mining companies and their political engagement with warring factions while entering the Democratic Republic of Congo during and after the Congo Wars. The third chapter investigates the market and nonmarket strategies foreign subsidiaries implement to address location-specific uncertainty arising from political competition, analyzing a large dataset of foreign firms investing in different US states, which vary by their level of political competition. The fourth chapter explores the manner and timing of foreign divestment from a hostile host country in the context of a global geopolitical conflict, using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to examine the patterns of MNE divestment from Russia in response to that country’s invasion of Ukraine. Overall, each chapter makes contributions to specific streams of research while combining to form empirical building blocks towards constructing a more unified theory of MNE strategies and political competition.

Graduation Semester

2023-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121311

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Thomas DeBerge

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