The document discusses what makes research ideas interesting. It provides several definitions of interesting, including ideas that are not routine, trivial, or obvious, and have utility by explaining phenomena and answering "so what" questions. Interesting research can involve characterizing single phenomena or relationships between multiple concepts. The document also discusses how moving ideas across disciplinary boundaries through the "Medici Effect" can spark innovation, and how the level of analysis and assumptions affect whether an idea is interesting to different audiences. It then provides examples of the author's own interesting research on multinational enterprise location choice and performance.

1. Where do Good Research
Ideas Come From?
PhD seminar, IIM-A, 2016
Lilac Nachum
Baruch College, City University New York

2. A Theory of the Interesting:
Interesting Defined
• In ‘wide circulation’

3. A Theory of the Interesting:
What is Interesting?
Theoretically?
• Not routine (not taken-for-
granted)
• Not trivial
• Not obvious.
Practically?
• Has utility
• Theory utility?
• Explains the world, has
practical consequences:
• Answers for the ‘so
what?’ ‘Why should we
care?’ ‘What is it good
for?’ questions.

4. What is Interesting?
Types of Interesting (index)
• Characterization of a single phenomenon
– Heterogeneity – elements comprising and
their interrelationships
– Generalization – across contexts and over
time (stability)
• Relationships among multiple phenomena
– Co-existence
– Co-variations.

5. So What is Interesting?
Some examples
• Negation of an accepted wisdom
• Areas in which there is no consensus
• Assumptions that are sensitive to context, to
time
– Negation/re-examination of the ‘traditional view’.

6. Crossing Boundaries:
The Medici Effect
• Moving (trivial) knowledge across
disciplinary boundaries
• The Intersection as a place of innovation,
creativity in the ideas space
• Connect separated worlds in a meaningful
way
• The challenge; the rewards.

7. The Theory of the Interesting
meets the Medici Effect?
• ‘Propositions are interesting or
uninteresting only in relation to the
assumption-ground of some audience.
…assumption about the topic is
conditioned by their [the audience]
intellectual specialty or discipline.’ Davis,
p. 328-9
• The Medici Effect – the same idea;
different audiences.

8. Hymer Theory of International
Business (1960/1976)
• International business theory before Hymer
• Hymer contribution:
• Search for higher return on intangible assets
whose return is higher via investment than
export  trade versus FDI
• Better utilization of intangible assets across
borders internally [within the firm] than via
the market  FDI versus licensing.

9. Hymer theory of International
Business to the Test
 The ‘test of the interesting’: ‘wide circulation’
• Theoretically:
• Assumptions challenged/negated?
• Cross-border activity as a financial transaction
• Homogenous firms
• Activities via the market or the firm
• Practically – what is it good for
• Theories combined?
• Industrial organization, Coase theory of the firm.

10. ILLUSTRATION:
MNE Location Choice

11. The Study of Strategic Choices
OutcomeChoice
Drivers of
Choice
Descriptive Normative
Single
choice
vs
overall
Level
of
choice
Level of Analyses

12. The Study of MNEs’ Location
Choices
Outcome
Choice
Drivers
of
Choice:
Exogenous
Endogenous
Descriptive
Normative
Level of Analyses
Single
choice
vs
overall
Level
of
choice

13. My Contributions
Outcome
Choice
Drivers
of
Choice:
Exogenous
Endogenous
Descriptive
Normative
Level of Analyses
Single
choice
vs
overall
Level
of
choice
Location as a
competitive
advantage;
Location
choice and
performance
[GSJ]
Location
choice as a
portfolio
[JIBS]

14. Unit of Analysis:
Location Choice within a Portfolio
• The MNE as a multi-unit organization (a
portfolio)
– Value creation by MNEs
• The state of theory and research
– The MNE as a whole
– Individual units
• Theoretical underpinning
– Finance theory
– Modular theory.

15. Location Choice and Performance
• Performance consequences of different
location choices (portfolios)
• Performance consequences:
– sum of individual choices + the interactions
– the whole not the sum of the part
• Theoretical foundations:
• Modularity and organization architecture
theories.

16. Location as a Competitive Advantage
• Creating Firm-specific value from location
resources
• Location resources – not exclusive to firms
– available on the market
•  Not possession but modification
– Not ownership but management
• C.K.Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan. 2008. The New Age of Innovation.
• Firms not identical in the ability to turn location
resources into competitive advantages
• Theoretical underpinning: RBV, Strategic
management (Porter).

17. Revised theory of MNE location
choice to the test: Your turn
Interesting?
• Statistically?
• Practically?
Theories combined?