Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Managing political and economic risks in emerging markets: The role of field position in MNE institutional agency’ on 11 July
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Harsh Kumar Jha, IIM Udaipur
3 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Managing political and economic risks in emerging markets: The role of field position in MNE institutional agency’, to be led by Prof. Harsh Kumar Jha, IIM Udaipur (Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area), at 4 pm on 11th July 2025, at Q001.
Abstract: The study shows the extent to which MNEs holding distinct field positions differ in how they manage political and economic risks in Emerging Markets. Based on a comparative case analysis of nine subsidiaries of foreign pharmaceutical MNEs operating in Russia in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the researchers identify a typology of strategies through which local subsidiaries counter effects of Western sanctions imposed on the Russian market and the rising economic nationalism in Russia: demonstrating corporate loyalty, multinationality straddling, politicking and leveraging expert status. They further find that MNE subsidiaries holding central, intermediate and peripheral field positions deploy such strategies correspondingly as part of unique, yet overlapping, combinations: the Dominant expert, the Machiavellian expert, and the Loyalist. The findings of the study contribute to existing literature by illuminating field positions as a largely overlooked yet critical factor in understanding MNE agency in relation to the institutional environment.
Speaker Profile: Dr. Harsh Kumar Jha is an Associate Professor in the OBHRM group at IIM Udaipur. He has previously held academic positions at Cardiff University and Newcastle University, UK. His research interests predominantly lie in the areas of organizational theory, organizational cognition, and interface of business and society. His research predominantly explores how actors respond to environmental pressure and engage in legitimacy construction. He also has a set of developing interests in social inclusion, sustainability and entrepreneurship. Empirically, his research has examined a variety of settings, such as professional occupations (law, health care and education), media scandals and extreme contexts (human-animal conflict and subsistence entrepreneurship). Methodologically, he has expertise in both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and is particularly interested in mixed methods research, especially integrating inductive qualitative analysis with machine learning tools (e.g. topic modeling), network analysis tools (e.g. correspondence analysis) and QCA. Prof Jha’s research has been published in leading international journals, such as, Academy of Management Journal and Human Relations.
Webpage Link: https://www.iimu.ac.in/faculty-aamp-research/faculty/full-time-faculty/harsh-kumar-jha
Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Managing political and economic risks in emerging markets: The role of field position in MNE institutional agency’ on 11 July
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Harsh Kumar Jha, IIM Udaipur
3 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Managing political and economic risks in emerging markets: The role of field position in MNE institutional agency’, to be led by Prof. Harsh Kumar Jha, IIM Udaipur (Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area), at 4 pm on 11th July 2025, at Q001.
Abstract: The study shows the extent to which MNEs holding distinct field positions differ in how they manage political and economic risks in Emerging Markets. Based on a comparative case analysis of nine subsidiaries of foreign pharmaceutical MNEs operating in Russia in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the researchers identify a typology of strategies through which local subsidiaries counter effects of Western sanctions imposed on the Russian market and the rising economic nationalism in Russia: demonstrating corporate loyalty, multinationality straddling, politicking and leveraging expert status. They further find that MNE subsidiaries holding central, intermediate and peripheral field positions deploy such strategies correspondingly as part of unique, yet overlapping, combinations: the Dominant expert, the Machiavellian expert, and the Loyalist. The findings of the study contribute to existing literature by illuminating field positions as a largely overlooked yet critical factor in understanding MNE agency in relation to the institutional environment.
Speaker Profile: Dr. Harsh Kumar Jha is an Associate Professor in the OBHRM group at IIM Udaipur. He has previously held academic positions at Cardiff University and Newcastle University, UK. His research interests predominantly lie in the areas of organizational theory, organizational cognition, and interface of business and society. His research predominantly explores how actors respond to environmental pressure and engage in legitimacy construction. He also has a set of developing interests in social inclusion, sustainability and entrepreneurship. Empirically, his research has examined a variety of settings, such as professional occupations (law, health care and education), media scandals and extreme contexts (human-animal conflict and subsistence entrepreneurship). Methodologically, he has expertise in both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and is particularly interested in mixed methods research, especially integrating inductive qualitative analysis with machine learning tools (e.g. topic modeling), network analysis tools (e.g. correspondence analysis) and QCA. Prof Jha’s research has been published in leading international journals, such as, Academy of Management Journal and Human Relations.
Webpage Link: https://www.iimu.ac.in/faculty-aamp-research/faculty/full-time-faculty/harsh-kumar-jha