PurposeDue to their multifarious backgrounds, multinational enterprises from emerging economies offer unique research opportunities to push the boundaries of our understanding knowledge of diversity management in transitional contexts. In that regard, Central and Eastern European multinationals present a blind spot in diversity management research.Design/methodology/approachThis article examines the extent to which context shapes the discourse on diversity management in the Oil and Gas industry across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) through a qualitative approach based on content analyses of corporate communication data matched with data on national institutional contexts.FindingsThe data suggests a lack of effective pro-diversity pressures across CEE except for cultural pressure in European Union member countries. However, CEE Oil and Gas companies report a broader scope of diversity management than studies of Western counterparts suggest. Companies with subsidiaries in Western countries show convergence towards etic diversity approaches, while local and regional companies are more divergent.Originality/valueThis article defines the boundary conditions of diversity management in the Oil and Gas industry across nine CEE countries and how they impact the diversity discourse in the industry. This article also showcases the impact of foreign market presence in the West as a driver for diversity management reporting.

PurposeLong regarded as a far-fetched notion, companies from post-socialist economies (PSEs) increasingly compete with companies from advanced economies in their domestic markets and abroad. This study identifies PSE companies' motives and determinants of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in advanced economies.Design/methodology/approach This study analyses Slovenian business activities in Germany by juxtaposing eight Slovenian investors and three exporters using a multiple case study approach. The authors use content analysis to examine rich data from semi-structured interviews, databases and internal and external documents to provide comprehensive and in-depth insights into PSE investments in advanced economies.FindingsThe authors identify market-seeking motives and competitive advantages which differ from those of other emerging economy companies and offer theoretical suggestions. In contrast to findings from other emerging economies, the authors identify firm- and country-specific advantages, such as high technology, high service quality, a highly educated labour force, and European Union membership, which Slovene companies have employed to enter the advanced German market.Originality/valueThis study represents the first application of springboard theory to explain PSE company investment in advanced economies. The authors offer contextualised explanations of PSE investments in advanced host economies, which have been lacking thus far. The authors also contribute to the scarcity of studies on the effects of supranational institutions on OFDI from emerging economies.

Our article examines control perceptions among Central and Eastern European (CEE) parent companies and their subsidiaries in developed markets based on human resource management and corporate social responsibility practices. Through a multiple case study approach, we identify the usage of impersonal and personal control mechanisms across three parent companies from the Czech Republic and their subsidiaries in Germany. We also identify perception gaps regarding the intensity of the asserted parental control of subsidiary practices. Due to isomorphic pressures, parental interference in practices with a high contextuality in the developed host market result in the perception of being tightly controlled in the subsidiary, which is in contrast to the parent’s perception. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that close personal ties between parent and subsidiary managers alleviate the control perception on the subsidiary side and consequently the overall control perception gap.

To get an insight into internalization processes of Slovenian MNEs and particularly to their activities in Germany, we adopted a distinctively qualitative approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with key actors of five major Slovene companies we used as case studies. Our study shows that several major assumptions regarding frontier and emerging market MNE international activities do not fit to Slovene companies. They were found to act as innovation leaders with high quality products and services, as well as with competitive pricing, as long as their technological capabilities are competitive. The liability of foreignness as well as the liability of country of origin are steeply declining with increasing technological capabilities in Slovene EMNEs. They also showed high institutional familiarity and suffered little from uncertainty. Our study also shows that Slovene companies partially show competitive advantages compared to their German counterparts. Moreover, our findings confirm that economic liberalization, in this case Slovenia’s entry into the European common market, is a significant force driving company growth and internationalization. Thereby, this study presents generalizable insights into the internationalization process from Central and Eastern Europe and anywhere where large multinationals are scarce yet.