Annotated Bibliography on Contextual Factors in Business Management

This annotated bibliography discusses the impact of contextual factors on business management, including corporate governance, environmental forces, risks, business practices, and diverse relationships. It analyzes five journal articles and provides new findings and relevance to managers. The report emphasizes the importance of analyzing external environmental forces before making decisions.

Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Journal articles.................................................................................................................................3
Organisational structures or governance.........................................................................................3
Main contextual factor being discussed.......................................................................................3
New findings assessed.................................................................................................................4
Relevance to managers................................................................................................................4
Environmental forces.......................................................................................................................4
Main contextual factor being discussed.......................................................................................4
New findings assessed.................................................................................................................5
Relevance to managers................................................................................................................5
Risks confronting the firm...............................................................................................................5
Main contextual factor being discussed.......................................................................................5
New findings assessed.................................................................................................................6
Relevance to managers................................................................................................................6
Business practices............................................................................................................................6
Main contextual factor being discussed.......................................................................................7
New findings assessed.................................................................................................................7
Relevance to managers................................................................................................................7
Functions of diverse firms...............................................................................................................8

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Main contextual factor being discussed.......................................................................................8
New findings assessed.................................................................................................................8
Relevance to managers................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The technology has advanced greatly and in this context, it can be stated that
International trade has increased considerably and for this reason, for any business manager it
becomes important that they are able to analyze the different contextual factors as present in the
business environment which shall go a long way in ensuring that the firm is successfully able to
take the right decision for the welfare of the firm (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). It is important
for the management to ensure that they are able to these factors integrate in order to consider
them. The contextual factors comprise of factors like the internal management style, workforce,
external environment factors and other related risk factors which are required to be considered by
the business (Robson, 2015). The report seeks to discuss the five different articles in relation to
the first five topics of these units. This will then be discussed in light to the relevance to the
organizational managers. The given report will be analyzing five journal articles from eminent
journals and describe their relevance and importance to the organizational manager.
Journal articles
Organisational structures or governance
Mutlu, C., Van Essen, M., Peng, M., Saleh, S., & Duran, P. (2018). Corporate Governance
in China: A Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 55(6), 943-979. DOI:
10.1111/joms.12331
Main contextual factor being discussed
The primary contextual factor which is being discussed in this article from the Harvard
Business Review is the Corporate Governance. The concept of corporate governance can be
stated to be the way in which the organization operates. The organization is run by a large

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number of factors and with respect to this, the corporate governance lays down a set of rules and
best practices which need to be followed by the organization in order to ensure successful
functioning.
New findings assessed
The paper analyzed the impact of a good corporate governance on the performance
management in various companies in China. The evidence suggests that the principles of good
corporate governance principles which have a strong impact on the firm are aspects like the
incentives provided and the board independence are greatly related to the better performance of
the firm. It was also observed that the quality of market institutions and other financial markets
can depend on the board and hence, the board strength ownership becomes stronger.
Relevance to managers
In this light, it becomes important for the managers to understand that the decision
making body should not be bureaucratic in nature and instead should ensure flexibility and gain
adequate support of the board. In addition to this, the managers can make use of incentives and
board independence to ensure successful outcomes for the organization.
Environmental forces
Galvin, P., & Arndt, F. (2014). Strategic management: Building depth as well as breadth.
Journal of Management and Organization, 20(2), 139-147. DOI:
10.1017/jmo.2014.35
Main contextual factor being discussed
This article has taken up the environmental forces as a part of the strategic management
as a contextual factor. This is taken to be very crucial because these factors need to be considered

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by the organization before making decisions. They possess the ability to have a considerable
impact on the organization and hence, there lies an existence of various tools like the Pestle
analysis, McKinsey 7s model and SWOT to undertake the same.
New findings assessed
The findings of the paper follow the trace of the different strategic management is
considered to be an essential part of the organization and with respect to this, the findings reflect
that the field of strategic management has developed considerably and various strategic tools
have since come into question which has assisted the firm to perform well. The strategic
management tools also assist the business in taking considerable measures before expanding
internationally.
Relevance to managers
This journal presents a considerable line of thought for the different managers as it helps
them in understanding that before they choose to expand their organizations they will be required
to undertake acute strategic analysis which would then assist them in making the right decisions
for the overall welfare of the firm. Hence, it is recommended that in order to attain overall
success, a shared value approach is crucial to be adopted. Moreover, the other tools which can be
used by the managers like the PESTLE, Porters and SWOT have also been highlighted.
Risks confronting the firm
Han, X., Liu, X., Gao, L., & Ghauri, P. (2018). Chinese Multinational Enterprises in
Europe and Africa: How do They Perceive Political Risk? Management
International Review, 58(1), 121-146. 10.1007/s11575-017-0331-1

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Main contextual factor being discussed
A business is often faced by a large number of risks and with respect to this, it becomes
very crucial for any business to see to it that they look out for the risks in the right manner. The
primary contextual factors being discussed in the article is the management of the political risks.
Very often the firms have to be crushed under the risk as they are unforeseen and the firm fails to
prepare for them. In this aspect it can be mentioned that the managers must devise the ways in
which these risks can be mitigated easily. For this reason, the organization needs to engage in the
macro and micro environmental analysis to overcome the risks.
New findings assessed
The political risks are taken to be very risky for the Multinational organizations as they
face a large number of regulations when establishing in a host country. Hence, the analysis of the
external as well as the internal business environment is crucial which helps in understanding the
manner in which the Chinese MNEs operate at large. The findings have reflected that the
Chinese Multinational organizations tend to face major political risks in the European Union. In
fact, they have also considered the volatile political environment in the African countries to be
volatile and hence, thy need to make considerable analysis before its expansion.
Relevance to managers
This article presented a profound view for the managers whereby they were guided upon
the fact that the identification of the risks has a crucial role to play and that it helps in the
effective functioning of the firm. When the managers are able to successfully deal with various
domains of the business then they can achieve long term sustenance.

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Business practices
Ugwu, F., Onyishi, I., & Rodríguez-Sánchez, A. (2014). Linking organizational trust with
employee engagement: The role of psychological empowerment. Personnel Review,
43(3), 377-400. DOI: 10.1108/PR-11-2012-0198
Main contextual factor being discussed
The business practices have a crucial role to play in the success of the firm and very often
the myth that the earning of the profits is enough needs to be burst. It must be the priority of the
firm to ensure that the organization is able to attain long term effectiveness. This article discusses
the contextual factor of Employee engagement. The engagement of the different employees
ensures that the firm runs well and the needs of the customers as well as the employees are being
fulfilled.
New findings assessed
The findings assessed suggest that the factors of organizational trust and the
psychological empowerment are considered to be the relevant part of the behavior which an
employee portrays in the Western cultures and form a critical point of understanding in the
African countries as well because if the employees are shown positive work engagement then in
this case, they will contribute towards effective work engagement.
Relevance to managers
This viewpoint will assist the managers in deciding that it is good to invest in employee
engagement, and that they need to ensure that there exists a considerable balance between these
factors. The organizational trust needs to be built upon which is a primary focus of the work
engagement and empowerment programs at large. Hence, the managers will be required to build
an environment which is beneficial for the different members.

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Functions of diverse firms
Mital, A. (2018). Effect of firm’s diverse experiences on its alliance portfolio diversity:
Evidence from India. Journal of Management and Organization, 24(5), 748-772.
DOI: 10.1017/jmo.2016.26
Main contextual factor being discussed
A diverse business environment has become a critical aspect of any
business and in order to ensure success, a business may be required to bring
about a diverse model so that the needs of the external environment are
met with. The business model of a firm acts as a support which goes a long
way in ensuring the overall success of the workplace. Hence with respect to
this, the contextual factor which is the diverse relations of the firm.
New findings assessed
The findings of the paper represented that the different firms which engage in a diverse
relation with the different parties tend to largely benefit as compared to those who do not engage
in the diverse relationships at large. The diverse experiences of a firm help to mitigate the risks
and helps the firm to engage in a high alliance portfolio diversity. For this reason, 90 Indian
firms were analyzed for a period of 10 years and with their estimation methods, the diverse
experiences were built upon and the findings helped in understanding that a diverse alliance
portfolio must be formed in order to ensure long term success.
Relevance to managers
The managers through the article can ensure that they take strategic decisions and engage
in considerable innovation so as to ensure long term success. As the diverse relationships which
the different firms engage in help a business to earn higher earnings and a higher revenue base.

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Conclusion
Hence, from the given analysis on the different journals and articles it can be understood
that the contextual factors having an impact on the business should be given due importance and
they should be analyzed thoroughly before implementation so as to gain a good market
positioning. Planning has a key role to play in the tackling of these factors. After the analysis of
the different contextual factors it can be stated that the external environmental forces form the
most important one of them. The reason behind this conclusion is that they lie outside the realm
of the organization and although the firm has the ability to control the internal factors, it does not
have the capability to control the outer factors like political, social, economic and technological.
If these factors are not considered well it may lead to the downfall of the firm and hence,
analysis of this contextual factor is crucial.

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References
Galvin, P., & Arndt, F. (2014). Strategic management: Building depth as well as breadth. Journal
of Management and Organization, 20(2), 139-147. DOI: 10.1017/jmo.2014.35
Han, X., Liu, X., Gao, L., & Ghauri, P. (2018). Chinese Multinational Enterprises in Europe and
Africa: How do They Perceive Political Risk? Management International Review, 58(1),
121-146. 10.1007/s11575-017-0331-1
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Mital, A. (2018). Effect of firm’s diverse experiences on its alliance portfolio diversity: Evidence
from India. Journal of Management and Organization, 24(5), 748-772. DOI:
10.1017/jmo.2016.26
Mutlu, C., Van Essen, M., Peng, M., Saleh, S., & Duran, P. (2018). Corporate Governance in
China: A Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 55(6), 943-979. DOI:
10.1111/joms.12331
Robson, W. (2015). Strategic management and information systems. Pearson Higher Ed.
Ugwu, F., Onyishi, I., & Rodríguez-Sánchez, A. (2014). Linking organizational trust with
employee engagement: The role of psychological empowerment. Personnel Review,
43(3), 377-400. DOI: 10.1108/PR-11-2012-0198