Cultural differences,insecure property rights and the mode of entry decision

We develop a theory of a multinational corporation’s optimal mode of entry in a new market. The foreign firm can choose between a licensing agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary or shared control (joint venture). In an environment in which property rights are insecure, opportunism is possible, and the identification of new business opportunities is costly, we show that the relationship between the quality of the institutional environment and the mode of entry decision is non-monotonic. Licensing is preferred if property rights are strictly enforced, while a joint venture is chosen when property rights are poorly enforced. For intermediate situations, the better use of local knowledge made possible by shared control under a joint venture works as a double edged sword. On the one hand, it makes the monitoring activity of the multinational more credible, on the other it offers insurance to both parties, potentially compromising the incentives faced by the local partner. We are grateful to the Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano for providing financial support. For useful comments we would like to thank Klaus Desmet, Cecilia Testa, Henry Wan and Gerald Willmann and seminar participants at Cornell, Ente Luigi Einaudi, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Kiel, Milano, Universidad de Sao Paolo, the Midwest International Economics Meetings in Indianapolis, SAET VI conference in Rhodes, and the City University of Hong Kong Conference on Intellectual Property Rights.     

基于层级决策外资股权进入模式选择研究

对3452家在华外资企业股权结构的实证分析结果表明，外资的特定优势、风险态度、与东道国的文化差异，东道国的经营风险、行业特性、经营地市场环境、经营地优惠政策等因素，对于独资模式和合资模式的选择有着重要的影响。而在合资方式下的选择中，上述因素的作用明显弱化，外资将会更多地考虑东道国合作方的优势和能力。上述发现支持了层级决策假说。     

创新能力、所有权优势与中国企业 海外市场进入模式选择

市场进入模式是企业战略研究领域的一大核心主题。本文关注企业微观因素与东道国宏观因素对中国企业外国市场进入模式选择的影响。本文的结论是：创新能力强与国际化经验丰富的中国企业选择绿地新建模式进入外国市场的可能性较大;规模经济突出且所有权优势明显的中国企业选择并购模式的可能性大。规模经济突出和所有权优势明显的中国企业,选择合资模式进入外国市场的可能性大。在选择外国市场进入模式时,中国跨国公司较少考虑文化距离、政府治理水平以及基础设施等约束和激励因素;同时,规模效用和所有权优势而非创新能力与国际化经验始终发挥着重要的影响力。这可能是导致中国跨国公司“大而不强”、国际化竞争优势不足的重要原因。     

Joint Ventures versus Fully Owned Subsidiaries: Multinational Strategies in Liberalizing Economies

As ceilings on foreign shareholdings are withdrawn during liberalization, multinationals enter through fully owned subsidiaries that compete with their own joint ventures, unless local partners permit them to raise their stakes. In a framework of quantity competition, this paper demonstrates that an entry threat is more credible when joint venture investment is reversible, the units are independently managed and the local stake is high. Further, profitability of horizontal merger between the units encourages a share reallocation, while its absence favours a new subsidiary. Under irreversible investment, the threat is less credible and both share reallocations or new subsidiaries are less likely.     

The choice of market entry mode: Greenfield investment,M&A and joint venture

Multinationals may enter a host market by different modes of foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper examines the choice of FDI mode, and shows that the profitability of greenfield investment influences this choice not only directly, but also indirectly since it determines the outside option of potential acquisition targets and joint venture partners. In particular, even if greenfield investment is a viable option, the multinational may prefer a joint venture to M&A, and M&A to greenfield investment, provided that M&A and joint venture both involve sufficiently low fixed costs. The reason is that the profitability of greenfield investment both reduces the acquisition price in the case of M&A, and gives local firms an incentive to agree to a joint venture.     

风投机构联盟网络演变与联合投资行为研究

基于投中集团ChinaVenture数据库风险投资事件，从风投机构联盟网络及其子群层面实证检验风投机构网络位置对联合投资策略的影响。结果发现，网络位置与联合投资概率呈倒U型关系，与跨子群联合投资概率呈正U型关系，即随着网络位置上升，网络位置偏低机构更倾向于与原子群伙伴进行联合投资；网络位置偏高机构更倾向于独立投资，且在联合投资中更倾向于寻找跨子群联合伙伴。在我国风投机构联盟网络演变过程中，网络关系缔结或终止影响风投机构信息获取能力及投资决策。因此，政府应关注风投行业自发形成的联盟网络，掌握这一非正式制度的演变规律，以更好地培育当地风险投资市场。     

美国企业在中国市场的战略调整

近年来，随着中国经济的迅速增长和市场的不断开放，美国在华公司在经营战略上也有了新的调整和变化，这些变化集中体现出以下的六大趋势：投资区域由东部地区向中西部地区扩展；投资范围由一级城市向二级城市延伸；跨国并购成为主要进入方式；投资方式由合资向独资转变；制造业仍是投资热点，服务业投资加强；高科技产业转移加快，研发力度加大。     

Technology interdependence and entry modes of the Taiwanese technological multinational companies: moderating effects of political instability,technological uncertainty,and Confucian dynamism

This study aims to examine how technology interdependence and three environmental variables, namely political instability, technological uncertainty and Confucian dynamism, in the host country collectively influence Taiwanese technological multinational company’s (MNC) entry mode choice between joint venture (JV) and wholly owned subsidiary (WOS). Grounded on theories of transaction cost economies and organisational design, this study hypothesises a positive technology interdependence–WOS relationship that can be explained by appropriation and coordination concerns. Moreover, the aforementioned relationship can be positively moderated by technological uncertainty while negatively moderated by political instability and Confucian dynamism. These hypotheses were examined and supported using logistic regressions in the analysis of 195 foreign entries undertaken by Taiwanese information and electronic MNCs.     

东道国舆论环境与海外进入模式选择 ——基于海量媒体数据的定量考察

逆全球化背景下日趋复杂的东道国舆论环境给我国国际化进程带来严峻挑战,对其如何影响跨国企业进入国际市场的关键决策还缺乏系统的实证检验。基于情感分析技术（NLP）和网络爬虫,对2015-2022年间830余万条媒体报道进行文本分析,构建涉华舆情指数,系统分析与检验了东道国舆论环境对我国企业海外进入模式选择的影响。研究发现,东道国舆论环境越差,相比于独资模式,中国企业更倾向于选择合资模式进入海外市场;相比于跨国并购,中国企业更倾向于选择绿地投资进入海外市场;跨国企业的产权性质和国际化经验起到正向调节作用。在影响机制方面,东道国舆论环境通过影响企业的规制、规范和认知合法性来影响跨国企业投资设立模式的选择。本文的研究结论为跨国企业恰当地选择海外市场进入模式、积极规避或弱化舆论风险,更好地在东道国投资布局与经营发展提供对策建议。     

The choice of foreign market entry mode: An analysis of the dynamic probit model

Based on the official survey data of Taiwanese FDI in China, this study investigates the transaction cost determinants of foreign market entry mode choice. In contrast to the existing literature, this paper constructs a panel data set and makes a dynamic probit analysis on the mode choice between wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Empirical results indicate that state dependence between current and past modes plays an important role in determining entry mode choice. However, the impact of state dependence will be reduced significantly if the mode adopted in the previous period is associated with poor performance of the parent firm. There is strong linkage between mode performance and future mode choice. Evidence also shows that the hypothesized influences of transaction cost factors on entry mode choice gain support in the dynamic choice process.     

The institutional environment for multinational investment

This article posits that the effect of political hazards onthe choice of market entry mode varies across multinationalfirms based on the extent to which they face expropriation hazardsfrom their potential joint-venture partners in the host country(the level of contractual hazards). As political hazards increase,the multinational faces an increasing threat of opportunisticexpropriation by the government. Partnering with host-countryfirms that possess a comparative advantage in interactions withthe host-country government can safeguard against this hazard.However, as contractual hazards increase, the potential benefitto the joint-venture partner of manipulating the political systemfor it's own benefit at the expense of the multinational increasesas well, thereby diminishing the hazard-mitigating benefit offorming a joint venture. A two-stage bivariate probit estimationtechnique is used to test these hypotheses on a sample of 3,389overseas manufacturing operations by 461 firms in 112 countries.     

Vertical alliance and vertical integration for the inflow of technology and new product development in the pharmaceutical industry

Pharmaceutical firms are increasingly seeking vertical alliance (licensing and joint venture) or bridges and vertical integration (merger and acquisition, M&A) or buffers. However, the question remains whether alliance and integration modes of organisation contribute to the clinical trials activities for a new product development. Using data on 250 pharmaceutical firms, this study examines the linkage between the external technology-sourcing modes and an increase in clinical trials activities, advancing new product development. The findings indicate that licensing mode may not be an effective in comparison to joint ventures and M&A modes of the organisation. Comparing the two modes – vertical joint venture (bridges) and vertical integration (buffer) – the former appears to be effective than the latter (M&A) in sourcing external technology acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry. Implications of these findings are addressed in terms of strategy and structure in a broader context.     

In search of parents’ knowledge for joint venture’s innovation

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of dynamic capabilities from the knowledge-based perspective, including knowledge relatedness and knowledge learning, and to investigate the dynamic capabilities on innovation performance in joint venture. Negative binomial regression is used to test the hypotheses in a panel data of 183 joint venture cases. Significant relationships are found between dynamic capabilities and innovation performance. Moreover, the moderating roles of parent patents granted before, parent knowledge diversity and joint venture knowledge diversity are recognised and are hypothesised as positively moderating the effect of knowledge relatedness on innovation performance, but parent patents granted before and joint venture knowledge diversity are hypothesised as negatively tending to moderate the effect of knowledge learning on innovation performance. The findings support our prediction and policy implications are discussed.     

Contractual Hazard,Political Hazard and FDI Ownership Structure in Joint‐venture Enterprises in China

This paper investigates how institutional environments, especially the contractual hazard and the political hazard, affect foreign investors’ share ratios in joint‐venture enterprises in China. We build a model combining Transaction Cost Economics and Property Rights Theory to describe the tradeoff that foreign investors face between choosing a larger share ratio and a smaller one. We argue that when the contractual hazard increases, foreign investors request larger shares to avoid being held up by their domestic partners, and when the political hazard increases, they hold smaller shares to circumvent the local government's grabbing hand. Moreover, the effect of the contractual hazard is channeled through enterprises’ asset specificity. These theoretical predictions are verified by studying the relationship between the ownership structure of Chinese manufacturing joint‐venture enterprises and the provincial‐level institutions they are embedded in.     

Takeovers, Joint Ventures and the Acquisition of Resources for Diversification

This paper explores the influence of acquisition costs on the choice between the takeover and joint venture modes of obtaining the resources required for diversifying expansion. It uses the conditions created by privatisation in the UK utility sector as a natural experiment to examine the determinants of mode choice across groups of firms with unusually homogeneous opportunity sets. The empirical design is able to incorporate acquirer, target and geographical market variables as explanatory factors in mode choice. It is shown that the form of diversifying expansion adopted is highly sensitive to the anticipated costs of using the acquisition process.     

风险投资进入时机、外部环境与企业创新投入

在我国经济进入高质量发展阶段，探究在不同外部环境下风险投资进入时机对企业创新投入的影响具有重要意义。以2010—2019年沪深两市首次公开上市的A股公司为样本，运用异方差稳健OLS模型和Logit模型，研究风险投资进入时机对企业创新投入的影响，并进一步探讨我国不同外部环境的调节效应，结果发现：①VC早期进入能够显著促进被投企业创新能力提升，表现为企业研发投入强度显著提升；②企业所在地区市场化程度越高，风险投资进入时机越早，越能提升企业创新投入和创新能力；③企业所在行业竞争水平越高，风险投资进入时机越晚，越能提升企业创新投入和创新能力。     

风险投资网络强度与价值溢出关系研究

风险投资网络是风险投资机构在联合投资基础上形成的以信任和互利为基础的社会网络关系,其相关研究在国内刚刚起步。从风险投资网络强度为零的经济体和风险投资网络强度大于零两方面进行研究,并对这两种条件下的均衡投资额以及均衡收益进行了比较分析,探讨了风险投资网络强度与价值溢出的关系。     

协同效应、合资公司的稳定性及其福利影响

合资公司是介于市场交易和兼并之间的一种企业组织形式,它的存在会产生多种影响。一方面,合资公司中的协同效应有利于效率的提高,增进社会福利;另一方面,成立合资公司也会导致相关企业市场势力的上升,损害福利。通过一个零售合资企业模型,本文发现实际上这两个方面之间是彼此相关的。具体地,若没有协同效应,则不存在一个可行的利润分配原则和生产配额使得相关企业有意愿加入合资公司,进而无法达到增强市场势力的目的。基于这种关联性,本文给出了针对零售合资公司的反垄断政策建议:在高营利性行业中,当市场集中度较高时,应适用合理性原则;相反,当市场营利性较差或集中度较低时,需采用本身合法原则。     

International joint ventures and tax competition in an integrated market

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, it develops a theoretical model of international joint ventures to suggest a new approach to the determination of profit allocation between the partners in the joint venture. Second, we examine the issue of tax competition between two countries for an international joint venture. We find that even in the absence of any bargaining power for the domestic firms, the foreign firm would like to give up more than half of profits to its partner. Furthermore, the foreign firm would like to locate in a country in which the partner firm is more efficient. We also find, with numerical simulations, that the domestic firm will accept the joint venture if the foreign firm's technology is significantly more superior than its own.     

拟成果购买制下的风险投资与普通风险投资之比较

介绍了普通风险投资及其运行机制,阐述了拟成果购买制体制及其构架下的风险投资,在投资对象、管理模式、退出方式、利润回报方式、回报期限及投资风险等问题上对两种风险投资作了对比,为科研资金的风险投资领域研究提供了参考依据。