Managing exposure of direct foreign investment to political risk: The case of food businesses in China

Direct foreign investment (DFI) allows a multinational corporation (MNC) to generate and appropriate extra-normal profits from its unique assets in a foreign market. China has become increasingly attractive for foreign investment over the past 20 years. This entails political risk, but MNCs can reduce the risk by relying heavily on MNC-specific assets, often in the form of tacit knowledge. A joint venture with a local partner creates an incentive for a local stakeholder to shield the DFI from political risks and allows the partner to contribute location-specific assets to the venture, further reducing the MNC's risk.