CQUniversity: Management & Business Context Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography comprises five recent peer-reviewed journal articles covering key topics in management and business context. The articles delve into organizational governance in hybrid organizations, the impact of globalization on corporate risk-taking, the challenges of communication disengagement in emerging markets, the role of government support in foreign direct investment decisions of Chinese firms, and the application of multi-criteria decision analysis for sustainable manufacturing in the automotive industry. Each annotation summarizes the article's main points, research findings, and implications for managers. The bibliography concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating sustainability into organizational practices, particularly within educational institutions like CQUniversity.

Running head: Management and Business Context 1
Management and Business Context
Institution
Student

Management and Business Context 2
Management and Business Context
Introduction
Generally speaking, contextual factors refer to the organizational characteristics that are
considered as unique to it. They are dynamic forces encompassed in a firm’s cultural, social,
technological, economic, political, and institutional environment or setting. These contextual
factors normally affect the decision making practices of a given firm (Brinckmann, Grichnik, &
Kapsa, 2010). In a school community, for instance CQUniversity, contextual factors affect the
way the institution is run, how learning and teaching processes take place. Decision making
procedures are often linked with a particular degree of uncertainty and thus decision-makers
identify these factors which ultimately contribute to successful decision making. When taken
into consideration, contextual factors normally help clarify technical or complex issues. Besides,
as decision principle tool, these factors also provide a more practical framework for an
organization’s decision making. Decisions based on contextual factors work as useful functions
in the growth and progress of a firm’s technology adoption (Bayo-Moriones, Bello-Pintado, &
Merino-Díaz de Cerio, 2010).
Mair, J., Mayer, J., & Lutz, E. (2015). Navigating institutional plurality: Organizational
governance in hybrid organizations. Organization Studies, 36(6), 713-739. DOI:
10.1177/0170840615580007
In simple terms, organizational governance as a contextual factor refers to a system through
which a firm makes and executes decisions in pursuit of its goals. In this article the authors
examine how these systems are step in hybrid organizations; those which mixes values systems,
elements, and action logics of various societal sectors. Hybrid organizational structures normally

Management and Business Context 3
have more than one design thus allowing the firm to be flexible in assigning job roles and
distributing work. They are particularly beneficial in small entities where the number of
employees to run daily operations is small. According to the authors of this journal, hybrid
corporations are more prevalent today than in the past and involve a variety of stakeholders,
engage in divergent or inconsistent activities and also pursue multiple and often conflicting
goals. They also assert that the implications for and role of organizational governance in hybrid
firms – the processes and systems through which they are controlled, held accountable, and
directed, controlled have for a long time escaped scholarly attention. Thus, in their work address
this deprivation of knowledge and ask whether and how hybrid organizations merge manifold
institutional logics, concentrating predominantly on organizational governance. In their study,
they show that governance can provide a vital organizational mechanism for feasibly and
incessantly combining and balancing multiple logics. Managers should comprehend the results
found by the researchers and acknowledge that social enterprises do not show a uniform manner
of organizing neither do they encompass a homogenous population. The type of governance
chosen is critical to the way the business runs and even how external public view the entire
organization.
Bruno, V., & Shin, H. S. (2014). Globalization of corporate risk taking. Journal of International
Business Studies, 45(7), 800-820.DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2014.12
Bruno and Shin in this article explain how globalization as an environmental force impacts on
business specifically in the financial system. In this work they try to point out that this factor
helps in reducing risks and optimizing the tradeoff between risk and return in a business entity.
Globalization has brought about a change in the business world and has enabled a global shift

Management and Business Context 4
towards trade, economic, communications, and financial integration. Bruno and Shin state that
firms that are more opened to global influences have increased variability of returns since every
economic activity of theirs is diversified. Organizations which are going global and have had
greater international footprint take on greater risks and they are able to diversify not only their
geographical coverage but also every aspect of their business. Financial institutions doing global
banking, for example, have adequately accommodative credit conditions which contribute to
lower risk-adjusted rates and ultimately relish splendid returns. This research reveals that
globalization as a contextual factor induces organizations to assume greater risks which result in
an increase in the variability of firm returns. The evidence validates the point that increase in
variability of earnings in a given firm is closely associated with the greater connectedness and
co-movements across borders. Therefore, it is prudent for mangers to consider intensifying the
footprints of their organizations in the international or global arena. By so doing the corporation
will be able to take on more risk and diversify various aspects of the business and consequently
upsurge the overall returns.
Kuznetsov, A., & Kuznetsova, O. (2014). Building professional discourse in emerging markets:
Language, context and the challenge of sensemaking. Journal of International Business
Studies, 45(5), 583-599.DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2013.69
Andrei and Olga emphasize that their concept of interest is among the most unobserved concepts
in international business literature. They are referring to a risk confronting modern firms called
communication disengagement which manifests itself in several developing markets. This is
among the commonest risks facing organizations in the contemporary business environment.
Other includes economic, cultural, liability of foreignness, and unfavorable business
environments. Hence, needless to say the authors of this article are discussing risk contextual

Management and Business Context 5
factor. Risk can be described as a probability that a hazard or a something will cause injury or
harm, combined with the prospective severity of that detriment. This research paper reveals that
the main causes of communication disengagement are deficiency of the local discursive and
language limitation. It further shows that this inadequacy can lead to the occurrence of other
risks such as injuring the development of business as well as managerial competence. This
implies that managers should initiate professional discourses and competence-building initiatives
to reduce uncertainty. Communication is very imperative in any business, but sometimes
emerges a victim of corporate culture and loses the humanoid touch over time. Executives are
supposed to know both what to communicate as well as how to do it in every different condition.
This will help in reducing other aforementioned concomitant hazards.
Lu, J., Liu, X., Wright, M., & Filatotchev, I. (2014). International experience and FDI location
choices of Chinese firms: The moderating effects of home country government support
and host country institutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(4), 428-449.
DOI: 10.10.I057/jibs.2013.68
In this article, the authors focus on the contingency factors of both host country environment and
home country government FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) support policies. They use China as
a point of reference to shade light on the knowledge and capabilities a business person requires
to enter into foreign markets. Thus, the main contextual factor in this journal article is
governmental support. In business practices either within the country or in a foreign country
government support plays a key role in the success or failure of that business. Government does
a lot to promote a business entity though sometimes it can constrain its feasibility. In some
circumstances, the home or foreign government might aid build an entity from the ground

Management and Business Context 6
upwards and nurture it along the way with financial assistance and advice. The writers of this
article for instance argue that Chinese organizations unlike other Western nations are deprived of
intangible resources like technologies and established brands and thus they have small
knowledge about potential host nations. However, these firms always take steps in
internationalization calling for adequate home country government support. In this case,
government support is critical since it can act as a bridge of success of these Chinese
organizations in foreign countries. The researchers find out that well-tailored government
support enhances the overall experience of firms in oversea markets. However, the interrelation
between the home country and foreign country support often affects this experience in FDI.
More often than not managers will notice that foreign government support may be curtailed to a
certain degree thus necessitating the home country support to be intensified. This should be the
case since unlike the host nations the motherland government is of course aware of the inferiority
complex of their firms going abroad and also the special support they require.
Stoycheva, S., Marchese, D., Paul, C., Padoan, S., Juhmani, A. S., & Linkov, I. (2018). Multi-
criteria decision analysis framework for sustainable manufacturing in automotive
industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, 257-272.DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.133
Diverse firms refer to conglomerates or multi-industry with more than one corporation operating
in totally different industries under a single parent company. Diversified firms normally require
unique management skills, different product, and different customer. A good example of diverse
industry is the one discussed by Stoycheva et. al. (2018): the automotive industry. In this article,
the authors focus on the sustainability contextual factor. Decision makers in diverse-firms

Management and Business Context 7
sometimes face a complex situation when making decisions especially when they underestimate
the transdisciplinary nature of sustainability. They fail to recognize the amalgamation and
interaction of social, environmental, and economic concerns affecting their decision-making.
Managers in charge of multi-industries should acknowledge that they are making decisions for
dissimilar stakeholder groups and thus take in consideration of their differences. Unfortunately,
they seldom understand the inherent differences of the aforementioned concerns making their
trade-offs hard to assess. This leads to contradictory attention to stakeholder values, which might
result in turbulence when paired with hard-to-defend decisions. Moreover, the authors point out
that it is prudent whenever making decisions in diverse firms to avoid bias or prejudice. Every
stakeholder should be adequately favored and satisfied by every policy brought about in the
industry. This implies that before making any decision adequate information should be elicited
from all stakeholders to ensure their views are incorporated in the final decisions. Diversity of
viewpoints should be taken into consideration every time decisions are being made.
Conclusion
CQUniversity should weave the factor of sustainability into their curriculum and get all scholars
involved. Through engaging students and staff members will result in various long term
improvements. Scholars as the main stakeholders shall be paying more and thus demand for
more in their college experience. They shall for instance want to know that the quality of
education they are receiving from CQUniversity is relevant to the broader world. The institution
management should engage students in problems facing the wider world and the university. This
can only be achieved by use of robust student associations, a system with sustainability woven
all through and crafting a sense of enthusiasm about sustainability’s position in the broader
world.

Management and Business Context 8
References
Bayo-Moriones, A., Bello-Pintado, A., & Merino-Díaz de Cerio, J. (2010). 5S use in
manufacturing plants: contextual factors and impact on operating performance.
International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 27(2), 217-230.
Brinckmann, J., Grichnik, D., & Kapsa, D. (2010). Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the
castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning–
performance relationship in small firms. Journal of business Venturing, 25(1), 24-40.
Bruno, V., & Shin, H. S. (2014). Globalization of corporate risk taking. Journal of International
Business Studies, 45(7), 800-820.DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2014.12
Stoycheva, S., Marchese, D., Paul, C., Padoan, S., Juhmani, A. S., & Linkov, I. (2018). Multi-
criteria decision analysis framework for sustainable manufacturing in automotive
industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, 257-272.DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.133
Kuznetsov, A., & Kuznetsova, O. (2014). Building professional discourse in emerging markets:
Language, context and the challenge of sensemaking. Journal of International Business
Studies, 45(5), 583-599.DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2013.69
Lu, J., Liu, X., Wright, M., & Filatotchev, I. (2014). International experience and FDI location
choices of Chinese firms: The moderating effects of home country government support
and host country institutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(4), 428-449.
DOI: 10.10.I057/jibs.2013.68

Management and Business Context 9
Mair, J., Mayer, J., & Lutz, E. (2015). Navigating institutional plurality: Organizational
governance in hybrid organizations. Organization Studies, 36(6), 713-739. DOI:
10.1177/0170840615580007