Twice as Smart? The Importance of Managers’ Formative‐Years’ International Experience for their International Orientation and Foreign Acquisition Decisions

This study examined how top management team's (TMT) international orientation influences perceptions of environmental uncertainty and how these perceptions impact international strategic decisions, in particular regarding ownership stakes taken in foreign acquisitions. We highlighted the need for the concept of TMT international orientation to encompass executives’ formative‐years’ international experiences along with their international career experiences and nationalities. Empirical tests based on a sample of 2122 international acquisitions completed by 561 UK firms over the period 1999–2008 showed that TMT international orientation positively moderated the negative impact of cultural differences and host country risk on acquisition ownership stakes. The results underscored the importance of considering decision‐makers’ attributes due to their experiences at a young age, beyond their demographic characteristics or professional experience, in the context of international strategic choices. We also discussed some implications of one of the possible consequences of executives’ formative international experience, namely biculturalism, for international business.     

Impacts of institutional pressures and the strength of market supporting institutions in the host country on the ownership strategy of multinational enterprises: theoretical discussion and propositions

The ownership strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) i.e. the choice between wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) or international joint venture (IJV) is an extensively studied topic in international business studies. Many past studies concentrated on transactional, economic, location attraction, resource seeking and learning rationales for the ownership strategy of MNEs. However, it is important to note that MNEs enter a new institutional environment also when they enter new international markets. Therefore, the ownership strategy of MNEs is also influenced by the external as well as internal institutions. This paper attempts to address the impacts of different institutional pressures on ownership strategy of MNEs using the arguments from institutional theory. The paper also includes discussion about the strength of market supporting institutions in the host country and its impacts on the ownership strategy of MNEs. On the basis of the theoretical discussion, several propositions are developed in this paper. These propositions relate the ownership strategy of MNEs with the impacts of internal and external institutional pressures on it. It is also proposed to consider the impact of strength of market supporting institutions in the host country on the ownership strategy specifically. When the host country has well developed institutions supporting market conforming values, they can moderate the impacts of coercive and normative pressures from external institutions on the MNEs.     

Untangling the commonalities and differences between domestic cross-regional experience and international experience in shaping speed of internationalization

Prior studies have paid attention to the influence of domestic experience on internationalization, for which domestic experience primarily refers to the accumulation of internationalization knowledge from industrial peers or partners at home. We argue that the commonalities and differences between international experience and domestic cross-regional experience have not been fully incorporated in previous frameworks in the literature. Thus, in untangling the commonalities, we purposively differentiate domestic experience into two dimensions, i.e., repetition-based experience and diversity-based experience, to investigate the contingent role of making domestic cross-regional investments in shaping the relationship between international experience and the speed of internationalization. We expect that these two dimensions of domestic experience will moderate the relationship between international experience and the speed of internationalization in a different way. More specifically, repetition-based experience has a negative moderating effect while diversity-based experience has a positive moderating effect. Further, considering the differences between international investments and domestic investments, we expect that the joint impacts of international experience and domestic cross-regional experience on internationalization speed are contingent on whether firms have sufficient resources to support multiple learning or whether institutions between the home country and foreign country is similar enough for cross-context application. We expect that financial slack and institutional distance between prior foreign entries' country and the home country play significant three-way moderating roles in setting boundaries for the relationship between domestic experience and international experience. Based on the analysis of 302 Chinese publicly listed firms from 2001 to 2014, the dynamic panel data regression results support our hypotheses. Overall, our simultaneous consideration of commonalities and differences between domestic investments and international investments sheds light on how MNCs learn from both international and domestic investments to speed up their foreign expansions.     

Host country corruption and MNE location choice: The view of institutional pluralism

Whether to invest in a corrupt host country is an important decision for MNEs. Although scholars have investigated the contingent impacts of the institutional characteristics of the MNE parent's home country, extant research concentrates on examining the country-level contingent impact. It neglects the institutional pluralism view that MNEs could face different institutional logics through firm-level channels in their home country, which influences their decision to enter a corrupt host country. Employing the unique dataset of 42,126 Japanese MNE-host country-year pairs, this study finds that MNEs are discouraged from investing in corrupt host countries when they have greater foreign ownership or a higher ratio of independent board members because they face shareholder-oriented institutional logic in the home country. Such an effect is mitigated when MNEs are embedded in cross-equity holdings, as they face stakeholder-oriented logic.     

Managerial Risk‐taking in International Acquisitions in the Brewery Industry: Institutional and Ownership Influences Compared

This paper deals with the role that institutional differences play in managerial risk‐taking when firms engage in international acquisitions. It is assumed that multinational corporations (MNCs) have different interests and capabilities when dealing with international acquisition, which in the authors’ view are significantly shaped by specific home country institutional influences. This study concerns the question of how different forms of ownership – concentrated (e.g. family and bank based) and dispersed (stock market based) – influence risk‐taking and managerial decision‐making in large international acquisitions. Comparing a total of 12 large acquisitions of four leading MNCs in the global brewery industry, the paper shows that mutually reinforcing influences of country of origin (coordinated vs liberal market economies) and ownership (family ownership vs stock market ownership) lead to different risk profiles and managerial risk‐taking with regard to international acquisitions.     

对外直接投资对母国收入差距的影响效应——基于跨国面板数据的研究

本文将企业异质性理论引入内生增长模型，讨论对外直接投资（OFDI）对母国收入差距的影响机理，并基于1981~2015年85个国家（地区）的面板数据，同时运用静态模型与动态模型验证了二者间存在"倒U型"关系，即随着对外直接投资强度的提升，母国收入差距呈现先扩大再缩小的态势；OFDI一方面通过促进母国的技术进步与产业结构升级、挤出部分国内投资等渠道加剧了收入不平等程度，另一方面以推动母国的金融发展与教育拓展等方式对收入差距产生削减效果；OFDI对收入差距的影响在不同经济发展水平、不同地理区位的国家中具有异质性：当人均GDP小于5767.53美元时，对外直接投资强度显著地扩大了母国收入差距，当人均GDP超过5767.53美元时，二者之间不存在显著的线性关系；欧洲国家的OFDI与收入差距之间呈现出"倒U型"关系，美洲、亚洲国家的OFDI促进了母国收入差距的扩大，非洲国家的OFDI对收入差距无显著影响；此外，OFDI对母国收入差距的影响具有跨期效应，随着时间推移与OFDI存量增加，其间接效应的边际效果有所减弱。     

全球价值链视角下我国对外依存程度分析

嵌入全球价值链可促进我国经济发展，却也使我国更加依赖于外国市场，从而增加了国家风险。本文以全球价值链为视角，基于世界投入产出模型构建了增加值对外依存程度的测算方法，对当前的不同测算方法进行了比较，提出了传统贸易、全球价值链的简单和复杂参与下的对外依存程度。最后，利用2000-2014年的世界投入产出表进行测算。结果表明：我国的对外依存程度呈现先升后降的态势；传统贸易下对外依存程度的变化是我国对外依存度变化的主要原因。这意味着：平衡全球价值链嵌入和国家风险的关键是提高全球价值链的参与程度。本文的方法和结论可以为我国政府管理国家风险和贸易谈判提供支持。     

Bargaining power and the trade-off between the ownership and control of international joint ventures in China

Equity ownership and operational control constitute two crucial elements in the design of the governance structure of international joint ventures (IJVs). Based on the bargaining power theory, this study proposes that discrepancies between majority ownership and dominant control may exist as a consequence of bilateral bargaining, which is attributable to the influence of both contextual and resource content variables. Based on a survey database containing over 700 IJVs in China, our empirical findings illustrate contingencies under which equity share and dominance of control may reveal a trade-off relationship. The foreign partner will be more likely to secure a position of dominant control by accepting ownership concessions when it is at the upstream stage of the IJV, which is characterized by a high dependence on foreign input. Furthermore, while intangible resources furnished by the foreign parent exert positive impacts on the foreign partner’s attainment of dominant operational control in general, the foreign partner’s supply of product related knowledge and marketing expertise is particularly capable of rendering it bargaining power in managing the trade-off between ownership and control whenever necessary. These findings may suggest foreign firms adopt a flexible mindset in their negotiations with potential local counterparts in order to achieve collaborative goals.     

混合所有制改革中政府激励行为与非国有资本策略选择的主观博弈分析

国有企业全面深化改革意味着经济利益格局的重塑,作为政策供给者的政府和作为政策核心反应者的非国有资本是混合所有制改革的重要参与主体。本文利用主观博弈理论分析了混合所有制改革历程中政府和非国有资本两大博弈主体策略选择的行为逻辑,并通过Matlab软件模拟不同初始状态下非国有资本策略选择受政府激励行为影响的动态演化过程。研究结果表明：受非国有资本参与混合所有制改革的交易成本和违约风险、额外收益和政府激励成本的影响,当政府支持的激励力度较小时,"不参与"是非国有资本的最优策略。当政府支持的激励力度较大时,"参与"是非国有资本的最优策略。从政策层面推动混合所有制的发展,实现国有资本和非国有资本在各自比较优势基础上发挥协同效应时,政府应进一步构建合理的政策制度,降低非国有资本的准入门槛,赋予非国有资本公平的进入机会,并推动资本间重组兼并,完善产权交易市场,以此降低混合所有制改革参与主体的交易成本和进入壁垒。     

公共管理与中国发展——公共管理学科发展的回顾与前瞻

从20世纪70年代末起在中国大地开始进行的历史性变革到现在已经超过20年了。在这场变革中 ,以经济学为代表的许多社会科学学科做出了重要的贡献。随着中国改革的深入与发展 ,随着改革重点从提高效率为主到效率与公平兼顾 ,从市场经济体制的建设向民主与法制社会的转变 ,越来越多的改革实践问题向中国的社会科学领域的学者 ,尤其是向公共管理领域的学者 ,提出了挑战。如果说经济学在中国前一时期的改革与发展中成为社会科学领域中的带头学科 ,那么中国未来的改革与发展则迫切要求公共管理加入到带头学科的行列之中。随着公共管理专业硕士 (MPA)学位教育在中国的开展 ,更多的人们开始了解公共管理这个学科领域在中国改革与发展中的重要地位与作用 ,开始关注这个学科的工作及成果。本刊自2002年第2期开始 ,创办“中国公共管理论坛”这个栏目 ,就是希望能够在中国公共管理领域的学者之间 ,在公共管理领域的学者和实践者之间 ,搭起一座桥梁 ,提供一个学术交流的园地 ,使公共管理不辱使命 ,承担起历史的重任 ,为中国进一步的改革与发展做出其应有的贡献。本栏目的创办得到了清华大学公共管理学院的大力支持 ,他们还专门为本期组织撰写了首篇文章 ,旨在理清国内外公共管理学科的历史发展脉络 ,对有关公共管理学     

Antecedents and Outcomes of Political Tie Intensity: Institutional and Strategic Fit Perspectives

Although international nonmarket strategy research has highlighted the importance of political ties, it is still unclear why some foreign subsidiaries are more politically active than others and what conditions may render political practices beneficial in a host country. We argue that foreign subsidiary political tie intensity—the extent to which senior managers provide time and resources in informally dealing with government officials for nonmarket purposes—will be influenced by political institutions in their parent's home country, especially when the MNE parent attempts to protect foreign subsidiary resources. Additionally, we assert that fit between a parent's home country political institutions and foreign subsidiary political tie intensity will positively affect subsidiary performance. We employ primary data collected from 181 foreign subsidiaries in the Philippines and find support for our hypotheses. This study advances international nonmarket strategy research by highlighting how an MNE's home country political institutions shape subsidiary political networking and strategic performance outcomes in host country environments.     

金融压力指数构建及其有效性检验——基于中国数据的实证分析

金融压力指数能较好地实时反映一国金融体系承受风险的压力状况,帮助决策者和市场参与各方及时准确地前瞻性评估潜在风险来临时可能承受的金融压力水平。根据各市场对整个金融体系的影响程度,利用CDF-信用加总权重法确定各指标权重,构建了包括银行、股票、外汇、保险四大市场的我国金融压力指数测度模型体系。实证研究表明,我国金融压力的阶段性特征明显,在国际金融危机发生时,往往伴随着高的金融压力;我国金融压力主要来自于银行部门,随着近年来我国银行治理水平提高和资本市场发展,银行部门压力指数正缓慢下降,股票市场压力却逐渐上升;外汇市场和保险市场压力指数长期保持在低位运行。有效性检验表明,来自我国FSI的冲击在滞后6个季度会对宏观经济产生显著的不利影响。     

The multinationalization of developing country MNEs: The case of multilatinas

I study the multinationalization — the decision to establish foreign direct investment (FDI) — of developing country firms, in particular Latin American ones or “Multilatinas”. Despite a long exporting tradition, many firms in Latin America have only recently become multinational enterprises (MNEs). The analysis of case studies reveals three insights. First, Multilatinas take a long time to become MNEs, reflecting the additional challenges and need for sophisticated advantages for establishing FDI. Second, Multilatinas are induced to become MNEs after changes in the home country that follow structural reform induce them to upgrade their competitiveness to international levels. As a result, they can overcome the difficulties of establishing FDI and become MNEs. Third, Multilatinas follow four strategies in their selection of the country where to establish FDI first depending on the interplay between difficulties and advantages of operating abroad. These three arguments build on and link the notion of advantages of internationalization put forward by the eclectic paradigm of international production and the idea of difficulties in internationalization presented by the incremental internationalization model. The strategies are explained by the balancing of the ease of overcoming difficulties and the advantages derived from foreign operations.     

DEEP FINANCIAL INTEGRATION AND VOLATILITY

We investigate the relationship between foreign direct ownership of firms and firm‐ and region‐level output volatility using a novel panel data set for European countries. We document a positive, highly robust, relationship between firm‐level foreign ownership and volatility of value added. This relationship holds cross‐sectionally and in panels with firm fixed effects where the relationship captures within‐firm variation over time. Considering domestic firms with assets in foreign countries, we document that it is international diversification, rather than the nationality of the owner, that explains this positive correlation. Our results can also be found at the aggregate level, where we show that region‐level volatility is correlated positively with foreign investment in the region. We show that this positive relation between aggregate volatility and foreign investment can be explained by the granularity of the firm size distribution and the fact that foreign ownership is concentrated among the largest firms.     

Engaging Stakeholders Through Corporate Political Activity: Insights From MNE Nonmarket Strategy in an Emerging African Market

As interest increases in the political engagement between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and emerging economy host governments, less is known about wider MNE stakeholder engagement and the development of nonmarket capabilities in institutionally fragile environments. This study investigates how MNEs engage stakeholders through corporate political activity (CPA) during the pro-market reform of Uganda's electricity generation sector. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews, archival materials and fieldwork notes, and is analyzed using an NVivo-supported grounded analytic method. We find both proactive and reactive leveraging of CPA to manage diverse stakeholders. We argue that the host government remains the most important political stakeholder in the early phases of reform, but changes in institutional and political environments necessitate strategic adaptations as the reform process progresses. These adaptations include the need for local engagement and the accommodation of multi-level stakeholder pressures. Our findings contribute to an understanding of corporate political capabilities in Africa's emerging markets, and illustrate how these capabilities can be strategically leveraged to effectively manage diverse stakeholders.     

资本流动、外汇管制与人民币内外价值背离

近年国际资本大量流入我国境内,通过外汇管制渠道提高外汇储备,一方面造成外汇市场供给增加,给人民币带来升值的压力;另一方面,央行经常被动性购入外汇,造成外汇占款增多,在外汇占款日趋成为我国基础货币供应主渠道的情况下,我国货币供应量被动增加,超额货币供应成为推动物价资产价格上涨的资金来源,人民币内外价值日趋出现背离趋势。本文认为,外汇管制使基础货币被动放大,放松管制使汇率波动和波动预期提高,二者合并产生了当前的货币现象。     

Governance Structure,Innovation and Internationalization: Evidence From India

We examine the impact of firm-level governance structure on the innovation and internationalization strategies of emerging market firms. We propose that in the case of emerging market firms, governance is a response to the prevailing institutional environment and affects the innovation and internationalization strategies of firms. Based on a longitudinal sample of 16,337 firm-year observations of Indian listed firms over a year time period from 2002 to 2009, we find a positive effect of family ownership and group affiliation on R&D intensity and new foreign investments. Institutional ownership also positively affects new foreign investments, but has no effect on R&D intensity. Further, we find that R&D intensity interacts with family ownership, institutional ownership and group affiliation in affecting new foreign investments.     

The Role of the State in Explaining the Internationalization of Emerging Market Enterprises

While the competitive advantages of firms from developed economies are well understood, knowledge of the advantages that enable emerging market enterprises (EMEs) to expand overseas remains limited. Our analysis goes beyond theorizing that focuses on firm resources, enhancing the understanding of how EMEs expand abroad by internalizing home‐country institutional advantages that extend beyond the firm boundaries. More specifically, we examine how the state and institutional idiosyncrasies in the home country help EMEs internationalize. We demonstrate that state ownership has a strong independent effect on the international expansion of EMEs. This effect, however, is contingent upon firms' own resources and other location‐ and industry‐specific forces pertaining to the market orientation of each subnational region and the institutional policies within a given industry.     

Intra-firm Subsidiary Grouping and MNC Subsidiary Performance in China

Many multinational corporations (MNCs) operate multiple subsidiaries in a foreign country. Drawing upon literature of organizational network and business group, we hypothesize that the number of subsidiaries of an MNC has an impact on subsidiary financial performance in China. We further hypothesized two moderating effects, namely subsidiary's country of origin and subsidiary size. The results show that subsidiary grouping effect is more salient for subsidiaries from Japan and South Korea, and that larger subsidiaries are less affected by the subsidiary grouping effect. Our empirical results were based on a sample of 40,315 MNC subsidiaries in China. The findings underscore the importance of group-based competitive advantages of MNC subsidiaries in international business.     

Exploring the Impact of Cross-side Network Interaction on Digital Platforms on Internationalization of Manufacturing Firms

This study aims to explore how manufacturing firms utilize the benefits of network externalities on digital platforms and how they co-create value with foreign customers to expand internationally through their interactions with customers across the sides of the platform-mediated network. Building on the demand-side perspectives, we develop and empirically test a theoretical model explaining the effect of cross-side network interaction on digital platforms upon manufacturing firms' international intensity, as well as adding critical boundary conditions of industry structure and firm size. Based on a sample of 4197 Chinese manufacturing firms, our empirical findings indicate that manufacturing firms' cross-side network interaction on digital platforms could improve international intensity. We also find that industry growth at home country and larger firm size negatively moderate the relationship between cross-side network interaction and international intensity, while regional industry agglomeration has no significant moderating effect. This study contributes to research on firms' international intensity in the digital age and also extends the demand-side perspectives literature in an IB context.