The Investment Development Path and FDI From Developing Countries: The Role of Pro-Market Reforms and Institutional Voids

We study the applicability of the investment development path to multinationals from developing countries and illustrate these arguments by analyzing the evolution of Brazilian outward foreign direct investment. This model argues that as countries develop, their firms will develop sophisticated capabilities and eventually become multinational firms. In the case of emerging countries, two additional factors accelerate this process. One is the push of pro-market reforms, whereby firms upgrade their capabilities to compete in the home country, thus becoming multinationals earlier than expected. The second is the push of institutional voids, whereby firms avoid excessive and misguided regulations of the local institutional environment.     

Extending Dunning's Investment Development Path: The role of home country institutional determinants in explaining outward foreign direct investment

Recent years have seen an increase in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from emerging markets and post-communist economies alike. Given the specific institutional fabric of these countries, the question is whether mainstream theory can explain the drivers of foreign direct investment outflows or whether new theories are needed to explain this phenomenon. This paper aims to investigate the home country determinants of OFDI from post-communist economies. We augment the Investment Development Path (IDP) with explanations derived from institutional theory and explain the effects of home country institutional factors on the level of OFDI. We test our hypotheses using random effects estimations on a comprehensive panel dataset comprising of OFDI from 20 Central- and Eastern European countries. Our results support the IDP's main propositions but also highlight the importance of accounting for home country institutional factors when investigating the determinants of OFDI. In particular, we find that the inclusion of institutional variables increases the explanatory power of our models and that competition policy and overall institutional reforms play a crucial role in explaining OFDI from CEE countries with important implications for FDI theory.     

我国对外直接投资主要宏观影响因素的实证研究

影响一国对外直接投资的宏观经济因素很多,不同的国家或经济体、不同的宏观因素对对外直接投资的作用程度并不相同。本文针对我国的经济现实,主要以我国对外贸易、资源需求、工资水平为影响我国对外直接投资的主要宏观解释变量,利用1993-2006年的数据进行计量分析。结果显示,对外贸易、资源需求、工资水平因素都对我国对外直接投资有显著的影响。本文还分析了产生这种结果的可能原因并提出了相应的建议。     

FDI location choice of Chinese multinationals in East and Southeast Asia: Traditional economic factors and institutional perspective

This paper investigates the factors determining foreign direct investment (FDI) location choices of Chinese multinational firms. We developed a conceptual framework that synthesizes traditional economic factors and institutional perspective. Then several hypotheses were developed in line with the framework and empirically tested using panel data of Chinese outward FDI to eight economies in East and Southeast Asia across a time period of thirteen years. Our findings suggest that institutional factors demonstrate a higher level of significance, complexity and diversity in determining FDI location choice in comparison with economic factors, while both types of factors influence the FDI location choice of Chinese multinational firms. We also found that the FDI location choices of Chinese firms have a dynamic nature, as statistical evidence indicates a heterogeneous response of Chinese FDI towards different economic groups and during different time periods.     

Institutional compatibility and the internationalization of Chinese SOEs: The moderating role of home subnational institutions

This study investigates the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) through the lens of the mechanism of institutional compatibility. Drawing on institutional theory, we argue that institutional compatibility (thus legitimacy) at home and institutional incompatibility (thus lack of legitimacy) abroad reduce SOEs’ OFDI activities. However, we also argue that home-country subnational factors (coercive, normative, and mimetic forces) provide a potentially offsetting effect. Using a sample of publicly listed Chinese firms, we find that coercive and mimetic forces generated from home subnational institutions reduce the negative effect of state ownership on OFDI activity.     

外商直接投资对经济增长的影响分析

近年来,外商直接投资作为国际化经济的显著特征之一日益发展。它作为外资企业谋求经济利益的主要经济活动之一,与贸易并行的国际经济活动的一部分。以中国、巴基斯坦及日本为例,利用宏观经济数据,用计量经济模型,定量比较分析外商直接投资对经济增长的影响。结果表明:外商直接投资与贸易、人力资本等因素促进中国和巴基斯坦的经济增长,但是促进效果不同。     

替代出口还是促进出口——我国对外直接投资对出口的影响研究

自2002年以来,我国对外直接投资发展迅猛,迅速增长的对外直接投资会促进我国对东道国的出口还是会用海外生产来替代我国对该国的出口呢?本文结合我国对外直接投资与出口贸易的现实情况,通过构建一个影响出口的引力模型,并利用我国2004-2010年35个国家的面板数据进行了混合回归模型分析。研究结果表明,我国对外直接投资对出口贸易存在明显的促进作用,且无论是发达国家还是发展中国家,这种促进效应都存在。因此,对于我国目前而言,无论是对发达国家的逆向上行投资,还是对发展中国家的顺向下行投资,都是具有贸易创造效应的海外投资。     

The Chinese outward foreign direct investment motives in ASEAN countries through export performance: The role of competitive intensity among Chinese smartphone manufacturers

This study aims to examine the impact of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) objectives on the achievement of export performance under competitive intensity. We apply the diverse theoretical perspectives of the eclectic paradigm and institutional theory. Primary data were collected from 162 Chinese manufacturer–exporter companies. Specifically, this research shows that Chinese OFDI motives increase its export performance in ASEAN markets. Furthermore, we discover that competitive intensity moderates the relationship between strategic assets-seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) motive and export performance, but not the relationship between market-seeking FDI motive and export performance. Hence, this study presents a holistic assessment of Chinese smartphone manufacturers' export performance by accounting for the overlooked effect of firms seeking FDI motive through the moderating of competitive intensity.     

Explaining the trends in the UK cross-border mergers & acquisitions: An analysis of macro-economic factors

Most of the growth in international production over the past decades has been via cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&As). Yet prior studies examining the trajectory of cross-border M&A activities as an entry mode of FDI have focused on industry and firm level factors. Dunning (2009) emphasised the importance of macroeconomic variables which may explain foreign direct investment and called for more research to improve our understanding on the effects of macroeconomic variables. Building on prior studies, this study attempts to investigate the role of macroeconomic influences on CBM&As activities in the UK over the 1987–2006 period. This study finds that GDP, exchange rate, interest rate and share prices have significant impact on the level of outward UK CBM&As. On the other hand, GDP, money supply and share price have statistically significant impact on the UK CBM&As inflows.     

Should I stay or should I go now? Understanding terrorism as a driver of institutional escapism

Prior empirical research has examined the effects of terrorism on foreign direct investment. These studies reveal the negative impact of terrorism on national economies, but neglect to theorize and examine how terrorism drives institutional escapism by promoting outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) to countries with lower risk levels. This study proposes and tests a rationalist explanation that builds on the concept of institutional escapism for how terrorism encourages increased levels of OFDI, particularly to countries with reduced risk. Drawing on the resilience, political violence, and international business literatures, we demonstrate through a unique global dataset of 22,873 observations, 5584 home-host country pairs, and 153 countries over 16 years (1995–2010) that terrorism induces institutional escapism in terms of OFDI.     

Friend or Foe? On the role of institutional reforms in the investment development path of Central and East European economies

Many existing studies on emerging markets and firms have concentrated on the separate effects of institutional reforms and quality of the institutional infrastructure for attracting inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and fostering outward FDI. We argue that both these perspectives should be considered in an interplay, as there are links between inward and outward FDI in a country's economic development, which is captured by the investment development path (IDP) concept. Moreover, while predominant attention has been paid to emerging markets, little has so far been done to evaluate the sustainability of the institutional development, including later post-transition stages. We extend the IDP with insights from the institutional theory and conduct a comparative analysis of the effects of institutional reforms on IDP paths of ten Central and Eastern European (CEE) post-communist European Union (EU)-members. We find that while most of the studied post-transition economies follow a quadratic relationship between the net outward investment (NOI) position and each country's economic development, the role of institutional reforms is not in all cases accelerating the movement through the stages of the IDP. We attempt to explain the ambiguous role of institutions in an ensuing detailed discussion of the investigated countries.     

Heterogeneity in OFDI by EMNEs: Drivers and trends of Chinese and Indian firms

Previous research has identified a distinction between the internationalization of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) and their advanced-economy counterparts. However, the question as to whether EMNEs conduct outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in a uniform manner remains under-studied. Prior studies have grouped together all emerging markets but have ignored the essential heterogeneity of EMNEs that leads to their diverse OFDI patterns and behaviours. In this study, we illustrate the drivers and related phenomena of heterogeneity by exploring differences and similarities between Chinese and Indian MNEs’ OFDI activities, namely, investment destinations (i.e., advanced vs. emerging economies), the level of political relationships with host countries, industry sectors supported by institutional patronage, and the primary motivations of investment projects. We suggest that the heterogeneity in OFDI is the result of the institutional environment and the strategic priorities of the industry sector.     

The Impact of Strategic Market Entry Considerations on the Financial Performance of Chinese Investment in the Australian Mining Industry

While anecdotal evidence exists that many Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) have failed due to a range of factors, it is also clear that some Chinese OFDI has been very successful. There is little empirical research so far on the financial performance of Chinese OFDI and its influencing factors. This study seeks to fill these research gaps. Using a sample of companies that have received major Chinese OFDI and are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, we examine the financial performance of Chinese OFDI. The study found that performance varied substantially and depended on the influences of several entry factors, including entry timing, developmental stage of the target companies, and ownership level. Using multiple theoretical frameworks, including the institutional perspective, resource‐based view, and transactional cost theory, we discuss the causes of these influencing factors and outline their consequences. Several practical implications are proposed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

关于加强会计人员积业道德建设的思考

会计职业道德问题已经引起越来越多的关注。由会计职业道德和商业道德引发的信任危机已经不仅仅存在于市场经济成熟的国家。甚至在处于经济转型期间的我国，信任危机也很严重。通过对我国会计职业道德现状的初步分析，分别从会计职业道德制度化、处罚力度、职业道德规范等方面构建会计职业道德系统基本结构。     

我国中小型跨国公司成长影响因素研究——基于国内12个省市面板数据的实证分析

基于2003--2009年国内12个省市的面板数据,对中小型跨国公司成长影响因素进行实证分析。从总体上看,我国在中小型跨国公司的培养上需要注重的是研发水平的提高以及市场的扩大（人均GDP的增长）;从个体上来看,企业家精神对浙江省企业对外投资的影响最为显著,市场因素对江苏省和广东省企业对外投资的影响最大。     

“二元”对外直接投资与贸易结构:机理与来自我国的证据

本文针对我国对外直接投资的现实情况,从对外直接投资的二元路径——顺梯度OFDI与逆梯度OFDI(Outward Foreign Direct investment),研究了二元对外直接投资影响贸易结构的机理,并利用我国1984-2008年的数据进行了验证,研究表明,我国对外直接投资较大地促进了我国贸易结构的升级;国内产业结构优化与研发利用率提高均能优化我国贸易结构;汇率水平的变动在我国贸易结构长期调整中并无显著影响。     

Emerging Asian MNCs

Developed countries traditionally account for the lion's share of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational corporations (MNCs). More recently, however, developing countries are emerging as a significant source of outward FDI and globally influential MNCs. The central objective here is to analyze and compare the main issues facing emerging Asian MNCs today with the main issues which faced developed-country MNCs 30 years ago. Our basic hypothesis is that the two groups of MNCs significantly differ due to both exogenous and endogenous factors. Particularly important are differences in motivation and behaviour, ownership patterns, ownership-specific advantages and the institutional infrastructures of their home countries.     

Does outward FDI generate higher productivity for emerging economy MNEs? – Micro-level evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

This paper investigates whether emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMEs) that undertake outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) become more productive, controlling for the self-selection into the global investment market. Particularly, we focus on the moderating effects of firm heterogeneity on the OFDI-productivity nexus. A theoretical framework incorporating the resource-based views and institutional theory is established and the propensity-score matching and difference-in-difference (DID) approaches are combined to test the framework, utilizing unique data on Chinese manufacturing firms over the sample period 2002–2008. We find that EMEs turn to be generally more productive after they conduct OFDI, but this productivity effect varies depending on the parent firm and investment strategy heterogeneity. Our results suggest that EMEs without state ownership but with stronger absorptive capability gain higher and more sustainable productivity effects and such gains are higher for EMEs investing in OECD than in non-OECD countries. Policy and managerial implications are discussed.     

The role of human mobility in promoting Chinese outward FDI: A neglected factor?

Extending Dunning's investment development path, this study examines the impact of human mobility, a neglected factor, on Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) using time-series analysis. Our findings show that the two-way mobility of highly skilled Chinese students and scholars significantly promotes Chinese outward FDI. In addition, Chinese outward FDI is also driven by domestic economic development, but substitutes exports. The findings have important policy and managerial implications.     

Performance shortfalls and outward foreign direct investment by MNE subsidiaries: Evidence from China

Foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been conducting outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) into new overseas destinations. Drawing upon the behavioural theory of the firm, we explain that such OFDI can occur in response to performance shortfalls relative to aspirations. When performance shortfalls in subsidiaries are attributed to the institutional distance between them and the home country of the parent firm, these subsidiaries select institutionally closer destinations for their own OFDI. Our study goes beyond the direct investment of MNE headquarters and advances the internationalisation process model by investigating the underexplored, secondary and springboard-based internationalisation, and by underscoring the value of a subsidiary’s OFDI behaviour.