International Business Research, Issue: Vol.19, No.6

An Organizational Socialization Support System for Newly Hired Research and Development Employees in High-Tech Enterprises: A Case Study of Mentorship at G Automobile Group

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:05:37 +0000

In high-tech research and development (R&D) contexts, where artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools and digital collaboration platforms are becoming increasingly prevalent, the learning and integration pathways of newly hired R&D employees are undergoing structural changes. Mentorship has emerged as a key mechanism supporting organizational socialization and innovation. This study examines the role of mentorship as a core mechanism in integrating internal digital platforms and cross-departmental resources to construct a systematic organizational socialization support network. Adopting a qualitative, cross-sectional single-case study strategy, this study collected data through semi-structured interviews and internal archival documents and analyzed the data using directed content analysis. This study finds that G Automobile Group embeds mentorship into its “180-Day Transformation Program,” thereby forming a closed-loop development system through growth planning, dynamic feedback, and regular reviews. By combining contextualized on-the-job mentoring with resource-based self-directed learning, mentorship facilitates the transformation of tacit knowledge into job competence. A hierarchical mentoring system, knowledge accumulation through digital platforms, and cross-departmental resource integration further enhance the effectiveness of newcomer socialization. The study also finds that mentors serve dual roles as supporters and evaluators. Transparent standards and clear communication processes are required to reduce the risk of negative mentoring experiences. The novelty of this study lies in conceptualizing mentorship not merely as a dyadic support relationship but as a digitally embedded organizational socialization support system that integrates formal mentoring, informal resource flows, AI-enabled tools, and cross-departmental collaboration.

Reorganization, Not Reversal: Economic and Geopolitical Insights from the 2025 U.S. Tariff Regime

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:10:43 +0000

This paper examines the 2025 U.S. tariff regime, highlighting the shift in U.S. commercial policy toward its most protectionist stance in decades. The aim of the study is to evaluate the economic and strategic implications of the 2025 tariff regime, with particular attention to its effects on trade flows, sourcing patterns, supply-chain organization, trade balances, and the governance of the international trading system. Given the brief timeframe analyzed, the paper provides initial insights and emerging trends regarding long-term responses to the new tariff regime. Using an analytical-descriptive approach grounded in recent empirical and theoretical literature, the paper explores whether the regime primarily reduced international trade or prompted a reorganization of trade and production networks. The analysis shows that the 2025 tariff regime did not cause an immediate collapse of global trade. Rather, firms and trading partners responded through various adjustment mechanisms, including front-loading, inventory accumulation, supplier substitution, trade diversion, and global value chain restructuring. While tariffs generated substantial fiscal revenue and reduced U.S. imports from China, their broader economic effects were mixed. Tariff costs were largely passed on to U.S. importers and consumers, while trade diversion and supply-chain restructuring generated additional adjustment and efficiency costs. The study further suggests that the principal significance of the 2025 tariff regime lies not in a simple contraction of global trade, but in the reorganization of trade flows and the rising weight of geopolitical considerations in international economic relations. Consequently, this tariff experience marks a reconfiguration of international trade — one characterized by a heightened emphasis on resilience, strategic autonomy, geopolitical alignment, and bargaining power, with lasting implications for the governance and structure of the international trading system. Finally, the paper contributes to the broader literature on modern protectionism and international trade governance.

Government Audit and Public Sector Accountability: A Systematic Review of Oversight Mechanisms

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:16:01 +0000

This study systematically reviews public sector auditing to examine how oversight mechanisms function and how accountability can be improved. Based on 39 peer-reviewed studies, the review synthesizes evidence on internal audits, external/public audits, forensic auditing, performance auditing, technology-driven oversight, and governance systems. Results show that internal audits strengthen governance but are limited by weak independence and resource constraints, while external audits support transparency yet face political and structural challenges. Emerging technologies enhance audit accuracy but introduce new governance issues. The review highlights the need for interdisciplinary frameworks to strengthen oversight and promote public sector accountability.

Understanding Financial Well-Being in Germany: Evidence from a Nationwide Online Survey

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:21:06 +0000

This study uses exploratory data analysis to investigate the determinants of financial well-being in Germany. Based on quota-sampled online survey data from n = 2,000 respondents (aged 16–65), descriptive analyses, bivariate correlations, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression analyses are conducted to examine which sociodemographic characteristics and context factors predict financial well-being. The results show that context factors are the strongest predictors of financial well-being, substantially exceeding the predictive power of sociodemographic characteristics. Notably, all sociodemographic variables (except for income) lose their independent predictive power when context factors are controlled for. Dimension-specific analyses reveal that economic concerns primarily impair subjective well-being, whereas low financial self-efficacy has a stronger impact on objective well-being. Furthermore, suppressor effects are identified for the variables age and financial role models, highlighting the complexity of the underlying determinant structure. The findings suggest that psychological and contextual factors outperform sociodemographic characteristics in predicting financial well-being. Moreover, interventions aimed at strengthening financial self-efficacy and reducing economic concerns may represent effective approaches to improving financial well-being.

The Impact of Sustainability Rating Scores, Greenhouse Gas Intensity, and Financial Performance on Firm Value of Listed Companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand Sustainability Index

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 05:13:40 +0000

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts sustainability rating scores (ESG) Rating), greenhouse gas intensity (Carbon Intensity) and financial performance (ROA and ROE) have on the firm value of listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand's Sustainability Index (SET ESG Index). This quantitative study gathered secondary data from the Stock Exchange of Thailand database from 2018-2024 and annual reports. To test the research hypotheses, multiple regression analysis was employed, determining the relationships between sustainability, financial indicators, and firm value. The results revealed that sustainability components such as ESG Rating and Carbon Intensity yielded no significant impacts on firm value. Contrastingly, financial performance variables demonstrated a compelling relationship: Return on Equity (ROE) had a positive effect on firm value, while Return on Assets (ROA) displayed a negative correlation. These findings suggest that, in the short term, Thailand's capital market places more focus on financial results than on sustainability elements when valuing companies.

Beyond Apology: Corporate Moral Repair and the Limits of Organisational Entitlement

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 02:11:10 +0000

An organisation can remedy wrongdoing without acquiring a right to demand forgiveness, renewed loyalty, or public endorsement from those harmed. This conceptual article asks which corporate claims remain justified after remedy and develops a non-conversion principle: fulfilment of an antecedent remedial duty does not, by itself, create an entitlement to the response an organisation prefers. Using theory adaptation, the analysis compares stakeholder, moral-repair, restorative, and dialogical scholarship with accounts of institutional repentance and African relational ethics. Explicit normative premises and five hypothetical claim episodes distinguish discharged duties, reasons for favourable reassessment, and independently justified reciprocal claims. Four propositions identify limits on conditional redress, requirements for maintaining outstanding commitments when endorsement is withheld, and the scope of legitimate completion claims. Repaired separation, qualified return, and voluntary reconciliation emerge as nonhierarchical possibilities. The contribution is a test of the source and scope of corporate demands and representations, extending existing protections of stakeholder agency. Boards should assess remedial provision, procedural authority, and authorised relational responses separately. For international business, this distinction constrains how local settlements and representative mandates support corporate-group reporting. A proposed coding protocol supports future empirical examination; the article does not establish prevalence or causal effectiveness.

Constraint-Native Globalization: Extending the Value-Yield Optimization (VYO) Framework to the Internationalization of Resource-Constrained SMEs

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 02:14:22 +0000

International business scholarship has long documented that the benefits of globalization accrue unevenly: large multinational enterprises (MNEs) capture most cross-border value, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the overwhelming majority of firms worldwide, remain largely excluded from global value chains. This exclusion is primarily a matter of constraint rather than ambition or product quality. The prevailing internationalization models-stage theories, the Uppsala model, and born-global paradigms-assume access to market intelligence, foreign-market capital, multilingual talent, and regulatory-compliance capacity that resource-constrained SMEs often cannot supply. The Value-Yield Optimization (VYO) Framework (Yevsiukova, 2026) addressed this problem domestically by ranking AI-driven optimization opportunities according to the return achievable within a firm's real capital, labor, and technical limits. This paper introduces the Global Value-Yield Optimization (G-VYO) Framework, which extends VYO to the cross-border domain. G-VYO differs from VYO in three respects: it adds three cross-border factors (market distance, currency and macroeconomic volatility, and regulatory friction) to the constraint-weighting function; it adds a sixth stage, a systemic resilience audit of the international portfolio; and it introduces a three-axis readiness-headroom-distance decision cube for entry-market planning. The framework specifies five foundational principles, a six-stage operating sequence, and a Global Constraint-Weighted Return on Investment (GCW-ROI) function with explicit measurement rules and a worked numerical example. Four country-entry archetypes are illustrated with five published empirical studies of SME internationalization from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper contributes a practitioner-oriented, platform-agnostic methodology for more inclusive participation of resource-constrained SMEs in the global economy and identifies four directions for empirical calibration and longitudinal validation.

The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence to the Functions of the Project Portfolio Manager

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 02:37:29 +0000

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) occupies a strategic position in organizations, which must select, prioritize, and manage initiatives aligned with their objectives. However, increasing business complexity, uncertainty, resource pressure, and project proliferation make the portfolio manager’s role particularly demanding. Portfolio managers must analyze large volumes of data, anticipate risks, optimize resource allocation, and support strategic decision-making. Faced with these growing responsibilities and information volumes, organizations are increasingly turning to technological solutions capable of supporting, automating, or improving some of these functions, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). The integration of AI into PPM, however, raises challenges that extend beyond technology and may influence its ability to reduce managerial workload. This study explores the contribution of AI to decision-making in project portfolio management and examines how it can support portfolio managers. Following a PRISMA selection process, fifteen publications were retained for a critical literature review examining contributions, limitations, and conditions for successful AI integration into PPM. The analysis examines recurring themes, methodological approaches, proposed solutions, developed tools, points of convergence and divergence, and common limitations. Based on this synthesis, the study proposes an integrated conceptual model linking organizational preconditions, AI capabilities, PPM functions, managerial effects, and human oversight and governance. Practical recommendations are also formulated to help organizations strengthen decision-making capabilities, improve portfolio management processes, and responsibly use AI to support portfolio managers.