Maria L. Aldred, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, UK Matthew M.C. Allen, Manchester Business School, UK Björn Ambos, University of St Gallen, Switzerland Ulf Andersson, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Martin T. Bohl, University of Muenster, Germany Peter J. Buckley, University of Leeds, UK Chris Carr, University of Edinburgh Business School, UK Pi-Chi Chen, University of London, UK Mike Crone, Sheffield Hallam University, UK Peter Enderwick, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Nicolas Forsans, University of Leeds, UK Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho, King's College London, UK Odile E.M. Janne, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Caleb CY Kwong, University of Essex, UK Frank McDonald, Bradford University School of Management, UK Ram Mudambi, Temple University, USA Surender Munjal, University of Leeds, UK Phillip C. Nell, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Ellis Osabutey, Middlesex University, UK Naresh R. Pandit, University of East Anglia, UK Paz Estrella Tolentino, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Heinz-Josef Tüselmann, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, UK Svitlana Voronkova, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Sigrun M. Wagner, University of London, UK Paul Windrum, Nottingham University Business School, UK Alessa Witt, University of Edinburgh Business School, UK Yong Yang, University of Surrey, UK.

• Introduction; Gary Cook and Jennifer Johns Keynote address: Flatness; Ram Mudambi PART I: INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS 1. Outward Foreign Direct Investment and the Adaptive Efficiency of the German Institutional System; Heinz-Josef Tüselmann, Frank McDonald, Martin T. Bohl, Svitlana Voronkova and Paul Windrum 2. The Impact of Institutions on Economic Growth in Central and Eastern Europe; Matthew M.C. Allen and Maria L. Aldred 3. Why do MNEs Engage in MNE-Government Relations? Empirical Evidence from the European Union and the Automotive Industry; Sigrun M. Wagner PART II: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ACTIVITIES ACROSS DIFFERENT SPATIAL SCALES 4. Country Linkages and Firm Internationalisation: Indian MNEs within Economic-Political Alliances of Nations; Peter J. Buckley, Peter Enderwick, Nicolas Forsans and Surender Munjal 5. A Critical Review of Hidden Champions and Emerging Research Findings on Their International Strategies and Orientations; Alessa Witt and Chris Carr 6. The Role of Language on Affiliates' Competence-Creation: Evidence from the MNE Linkage across 45 Countries; Yong Yang and Caleb CY Kwong 7. Reconceptualising Cross-border Knowledge Acquisition: An Empirical Investigation into Antecedents; Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho PART III: PLACING MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE ACTIVITIES 8. Service Sector Clustering and Multinational Enterprise: Evidence from UK Film and Television; Gary Cook and Naresh R. Pandit 9. Redundancies in External Relationships of Multinational Corporations – A Firm-Level Conceptual Model: Phillip C. Nell, Ulf Andersson and Bjorn Ambos 10. Examining Strategy Diversity and Interdependence in The MNC's Subsidiaries and Their Functional Activities; Paz Estrella Tolentino, Odile E.M. Janne and Pi-Chi Chen 11. Exploring Foreign Direct Investment and Technology and Knowledge Transfer Issues in Africa; Ellis Osabutey 12. New Venture Internationalisation and the Cluster Life Cycle: Insights from Ireland's Indigenous Software Industry; Mike Crone