“What’s the difference between Brexit and a Dyson? Nothing, they both suck!” Introducing the home country liability
In this session of the International Business Seminar Series, Iiris Saittakari presented and discussed the innovative concept of the “Liability of Localness.”
International business research has been founded on the idea that multinational enterprises (MNEs) face liabilities when operating abroad and being outsiders in host countries. However, in her IBSS talk, Iiris Saittakari from Aalto University School of Business argues that high-profile MNEs may face liabilities in their home country due to their role as national symbols. She introduces the concept of liability of ‘localness’ and argues that it may have implications for MNE strategy.
Saittakari examines such MNE home country liability through the case of Dyson, a British technology company, that received fierce resistance after relocating their corporate headquarters from the UK to Singapore amid Brexit negotiations in 2019. Through socio-linguistic informed discourse analysis of the home country press articles and associated public comments, she uncovers how the MNE is portrayed as a national symbol, and how it creates a liability for the MNE in its home country.
Saittakari's findings suggest that a mismatch between the MNE identity and the public perception of the MNE may result in a backlash in the home country if not properly addressed.
Iiris Saittakari is an Assistant Professor of International Business at the Aalto University School of Business. Her research focuses on international business strategy, global value chains, multinational location decisions, sustainability, and geopolitics in global business. She holds a DSc from Aalto University and completed international studies within the CEMS network and at the University of Toledo. She has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard University. She is Principal Investigator of a research project funded by the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation on sustainable foreign direct investment and plays an active role in doctoral education and research supervision. Her work has received multiple international awards and has been published in leading academic journals.