This penultimate issue for 2012 includes six articles on a wide range of topics. All of them were accepted by Harukiyo Hasegawa, our founding General Editor, who has continued to handle articles submitted before 2012.

Leading off is an interesting inductive piece by Demir and Fjellström (2012) on the processes of knowledge translation in multinational enterprises (MNEs). In particular, the authors observe the translation of relational practices by local Chinese managers working in the subsidiary of a Swedish MNE. This type of article is of particular interest to ABM because it sheds light on the interaction of MNE practices with local contingencies and the resulting evolutionary dynamics (cf. Witt, 2012).

The second article, by Sarkar and Huang (2012), explores the linkage between cultural differences and variations in attitudes towards labour unions in India and Taiwan. This article is well aligned with the strengthened focus of ABM on comparative work (cf. Witt, 2012).

Aman and Nguyen (2012) examine corporate board structure in Japanese firms. They find that Japanese corporate boards do not appear to be in good positions to act as monitoring and advising bodies, in particular with respect to a relative absence of independent directors. This article links up well with the positioning of ABM (cf. Witt, 2012) in that it contributes to the ongoing debate about the characteristics of Japanese corporate governance, as compared with international norms, and institutional change in Japan.

The contribution by Ryoo (2012) explores how small high-tech firms in Korea make decisions about acquiring technology. In particular, it sheds light on the contingencies under which technology may be internally developed as opposed to externally sourced.

Teh et al (2012) study the impact of organizational culture and performance evaluation processes on organizational citizenship behaviour in Malaysian private higher-education organizations. Last but not least, Mao and Hsieh (2012) find that in the Taiwanese context, expectations of expressive friendship decline as the rank of employees increases. Instrumental friendship expectations remain constant across levels.