Environmental Risk and Foreign Equity Ownership in Joint Ventures in China

ABSTRACT

Environmental risk in a host country is a key issue that foreign firms must deal with when deciding how much equity ownership to acquire and how much control to have in an equity joint venture (EJV) in that country. This study examines the relationship between changes in the risk situations in China and the level of foreign equity ownership in the EJV. It hypothesizes that Japanese partners would be more likely than U.S. or Hong Kong partners to acquire a 50% or higher level of equity ownership. This tendency would become more pronounced when the risk conditions in China deteriorate. The empirical results, based on 3,838 EJVs in China that had foreign partners from U.S., Japan, Hong Kong and Europe during the 1979–1992 period, are largely consistent with the hypotheses.     

The determinants of foreign partner's equity ownership in Southeast Asian joint ventures

Using a sample of 375 equity joint venture agreements between 2 partners in 6 Southeast Asian countries, we document the active role of Asian companies in driving the flow of joint venture activity in this region and provide a comparative analysis of joint ventures in transitional and non-transitional Southeast Asian countries. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between the foreign partner's equity ownership and partner uncertainty, the types of joint venture activities, and the frequency of transactions between the joint venture partners. In addition, we show that the relationship between the foreign partner's equity ownership and partner uncertainty, as proxied by cultural dissimilarity, depends on the types of joint venture activities. In the case of Vietnam, a transitional economy, the evidence suggests that, in the presence of a weak legal and regulatory system, foreign firms are entering the country on a smaller scale and are more prone to informal, relational contracting as a substitute for legal enforcement.     

Determinants of ownership preference of international joint ventures: new evidence from Chinese manufacturing industries

Given the large size and rapid growth of foreign direct investment in China, the subject of ownership preference is of great interest to academics as well as to firms intending to invest in China. This study focuses on two sets of variables: industry-specific factors and venture-specific factors. Statistical tests based on information of 818 international joint ventures (IJVs) in China show that duration and scale of IJVs are positively associated with the level of foreign ownership. Industry-specific factors such as skill intensity, market concentration, market potentials, and foreign business agglomerations also positively influence the ownership preference of foreign firms, while local industry R and D intensity and productivity are found to be significant but negatively associated with the ownership preference.     

How do ownership control position and national culture influence conflict resolution strategies in international joint ventures?

In this study, we investigate the relationship between ownership control position, national culture, and selection of conflict resolution strategies (CRS) of multinational corporations (MNCs) in their attempts to solve conflicts with local partners in international joint ventures (IJVs). The empirical evidence is based on a survey of 89 Nordic MNCs. The results show that MNCs select their CRS depending on their national culture and their ownership control position in IJVs. In addition, interesting results were found related to the interaction effects on the choice of CRS of national culture and ownership control position as well as of the trust between partners and national culture.     

How to retain local senior managers in international joint ventures: The effects of alliance relationship characteristics

How can international joint ventures keep their local senior managers from quitting? Drawing on international business literature, social exchange theory, and social integration theory, this study examines how the characteristics of an alliance relationship affect local senior managers' turnover intentions. The findings from 139 ventures in China show that decision-making participation and social integration help retain local senior managers. However, the effects of participation and social integration decrease with high levels of foreign ownership control. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

What Drives Foreign Ownership in Japan? Evidence from Before and After Japan's Financial Crisis

The ownership structure of Japanese firms has long been characterized by the superiority of ownership by banks and business partners; however, after the mid-1990s, the relative share of foreign ownership increased significantly. Results from this study suggest that almost 90% of the variance in foreign ownership occurs within and between firms. As expected, a substantial percentage of the variance of foreigner ownership is explained by macroeconomic shocks. The results indicate that firm size, profitability, dividends, risk, and financial health are important factors that drive foreign ownership.     

基于企业性质的贸易顺差与贸易摩擦分析

随着我国贸易顺差的不断上升和贸易摩擦案件的频发,贸易顺差和贸易摩擦的问题引起了广泛的关注。通过理论分析和实证分析的方法,本文从企业性质的角度研究了我国贸易顺差和贸易摩擦的形成原因及其相互关系,研究表明内需不足、人民币估值过低并不是我国贸易顺差形成的原因,而是大额贸易顺差所产生的结果;我国贸易顺差的形成是外商直接投资企业推动的国际分工体系深化的结果,与企业性质存在着直接的联系。     

Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia

This paper analyzes the causal relationship between foreign ownership and various aspects of plant performance using micro data from the Indonesian Census of Manufacturing. It examines the implications of foreign ownership in two different contexts: foreign acquisitions and foreign privatizations. To control for the possible endogeneity of FDI decision propensity score matching is combined with a difference-in-differences approach. The results indicate that foreign ownership leads to significant productivity improvements in the acquired plants. The improvements become visible in the acquisition year and continue in subsequent periods. After three years, the acquired plants exhibit a 13.5% higher productivity than the control group. The rise in productivity is a result of restructuring, as acquired plants increase investment outlays, employment and wages. Foreign ownership also appears to enhance the integration of plants into the global economy through increased exports and imports. Finally, productivity improvements and evidence of restructuring are also found in the context of foreign privatizations.     

Effects of the Value Chain in International Joint Ventures

Summary

This paper examines differences in the resource profile and experience of Sino-foreign joint ventures located in the two sectors: non-consumer electronics and fast moving consumer goods [FMCG]. It identifies key dimensions along which the two sectors differ and considers the implications for joint ventures. The impact of sectoral differences suggests that the industrial sector of China into which a foreign company invests is of consequence, especially for the business priorities of Chinese partners and for the ease with which a joint venture can be managed through the foreign partner's corporate network. Foreign partners are likely to find more flexibility, and a greater opportunity to influence joint venture management in the FMCG sector compared with non-consumer electronic sector. The physical and infrastructural features of the sectors appear to be particularly consequential for managing an investment in China, and they may be more significant than institutional factors.     

Shareholder protection, ownership concentration and FDI

Host country's weaker legal shareholder protection may make it costlier for parent shareholders to monitor the foreign subsidiary and hold managers accountable in case of misconduct. This prospect may motivate the managers to invest in such foreign environments. However, the agency costs associated with such investments can increase as well. The latter would tend to discourage such FDI. We test this ex ante uncertain relationship using a sample of publicly quoted UK parents that established new, majority owned joint venture subsidiaries in Continental Europe. We find that host country's weak legal shareholder protection discourages FDI. This negative relationship, however, is less important for firms with higher ownership concentration, implying that parent's ownership concentration may be a substitute for host country's weak legal shareholder protection.     

Partner nationality, market-focus and IJV performance: A contingent approach

This study examines how Taiwanese firms engaging in various types of international joint ventures (IJVs) have performed in China, and how different types of market-focus affect IJVs’ performance. Based on the IJV classification scheme suggested by [Makino S., & Beamish P. W. (1998). Performance and survival of joint ventures with non-conventional ownership structures. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(4): 797–818], this study outlines and examines three categories of IJVs, according to partner nationality: Taiwan-Taiwan (T-T) JVs, Taiwan-Local (T-L) (China) JVs, and Taiwan-Foreign (T-F) (third-country) JVs. We propose two hypotheses, with associated sub-hypotheses, to examine the major effects of partner nationality on performance, as well as the moderating effects of local market-focus on the relationship between partner nationality and performance. Through the analysis of 236 Taiwanese JVs in China, we find that (1) T-L JVs perform better than T-T JVs and T-F JVs; (2) T-L JVs focusing on the local market do not perform better than those focusing on foreign markets; and (3) T-F JVs focusing on foreign markets perform better than those focusing on the local market.     

Does founder ownership affect foreign investments? Evidence from India

We study the effect of founder ownership on foreign investments for Indian firms. We show that foreign investors underinvest in firms with higher level of founder ownership, since these firms are more vulnerable to information problems and expropriation risk. This effect is particularly stronger when founder ownership exceeds a threshold beyond which founders hold effective control on firms. We exhibit that information problems are the main cause of the relation between foreign investments and founder ownership. This is because the relationship is more pronounced in case of business group firms and firms that are engaged in more earnings management.     

Host country risk and foreign ownership strategy: Meta-analysis and theory on the moderating role of home country institutions

Empirical evidence for the relationship between host country risk and a firm’s ownership level in its foreign entry strategy is inconclusive. We revisit this relationship by integrating the internalisation logic with an institution-based view to examine the moderating effects of formal and informal institutions in the home country. By meta-analysing 64 empirical studies involving 52,229 ownership decisions on foreign market entry, this study gives support to theoretical arguments that the focal relationship is positively moderated by institutional constraints on policymakers and risk-taking tendencies in the home country but is negatively moderated by the joint effect of these two institutional factors. These findings shed new light on the literature of host country risk and foreign ownership strategy. Besides describing the implications of the findings for theory and practice, we discuss the agenda for future theory development in international business.     

Ownership structures of norwegian foreign subsidiaries in manufacturing

This article explores how Norwegian multinational companies select ownership structures for their foreign manufacturing subsidiaries. Hypotheses are drawn from various theoretical perspectives on the choice of wholly owned versus partly owned affiliates. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 174 foreign direct investments made by Norwegian companies. One main finding is that political risk of the host country strongly increases the probability that ownership of a foreign subsidiary is shared. The results also suggest that cultural distance between the home and the host countries leads to a higher propensity to joint venture. Other results were less conclusive and little support was found for a transaction coast approach to choice of ownership structures.     

An examination of the investments in U.S. biotechnology firms by foreign and domestic corporate partners

This study examines the characteristics that make start-up biotechnology firms attractive alliance partners. We distinguish between firm specific and location-specific characteristics as well as between foreign and domestic corporate partners. We present and test a longitudinal model of alliance development based on data from 64 public biotechnology firms. The results provide evidence that foreign and domestic alliance capital inflows are driven by different factors. Firm-specific factors explain minimal variance in capital inflows from foreign alliance partners; rather, location-specific factors seem to matter more. The reverse is true for domestic alliance partners. Further, our results suggest that firm size moderates the relationship between location-specific factors and capital inflows from foreign alliance partners such that larger firms benefit more when located in technologically munificent environments.     

Do Labour Strategies Matter? An Analysis of Two Enterprise-Level Data Sets in China

This paper examines the effect of labour strategies and management types on firm performance in Chinese enterprises. We use two large panel surveys on Chinese enterprises, spanning almost two decades of transition. Our findings suggest that, as commonly thought, there are significant differences across ownership types in China in the degree to which flexible labour market strategies are utilized; and more flexible strategies (such as bonus-reward systems) do seem to significantly enhance performance. However, after controlling for different degrees of labour market flexibility, ownership differences have little influence on enterprise performance (with the exception that foreign joint ventures clearly outperform other types in growth and labour productivity). This important result suggests that the impact of Chinese ownership types on performance is felt through cost-impacts rather than via direct differences in competitive behaviour or the goals of enterprise decision-makers.     

Formal and informal influences of the state on OFDI of hybrid state-owned enterprises in China

This study investigates how the state influences the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of hybrid state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. Previous studies have provided conflicting arguments and empirical findings on the internationalization of SOEs, with some studies proposing a positive relationship between state ownership and OFDI, while others propose a negative relationship. In this paper, we argue that the mixed effects are due to different influences of different levels of state ownership and different types of political connections. We investigate our proposed hypotheses based on a sample of publicly listed hybrid Chinese SOEs between 2009 and 2016. We find an S-shaped relationship between state ownership and OFDI such that at low levels of state ownership, OFDI increases as state ownership increases; at medium levels of state ownership, OFDI decreases as state ownership increases; at high levels of state ownership, OFDI increases again as state ownership increases. We further find that executive-branch political connections between boards and top management teams of firms and the government have a negative effect on OFDI, while legislative-branch political connections have no significant effect on OFDI.     

The Practice of Mining and Inclusive Wealth Development in Developing Countries

This study uses the institutional perspective to examine the interaction effects between the subnational institutional context and firm-level parameters on corporate environmental behaviors, based on a unique cross-sectional data set of private firms compiled from three different sources in China. Our results suggest that both enforcement stringency of environmental regulations at the provincial-level and private firms’ foreign ownership negatively affect compensation fees, which are levies charged for firms’ emissions. Enforcement stringency also moderates the firm-level relationship between foreign ownership and compensation fees, but such a cross-level moderating effect holds only for private firms with non-HMT (Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan) investments.     

马克思“重建个人所有制”涵义浅释

马克思＂重新建立个人所有制＂的思想是对共产主义社会所有制关系的科学设想,它是马克思主义政治经济学的基本理论之一,同时也是国内外学者讨论的焦点之一,尤其是对于＂个人所有制＂涵义的理解众说纷纭,莫衷一是。实际上,国内学者关于马克思重新建立个人所有制的争论焦点多数是针对译文的而非理论本身。通过对《资本论》第一卷德文四个不同版本及其中译版的考察可以看出,马克思＂重新建立个人所有制＂更应该理解为重新建立生产资料全社会共同占有基础上的＂个人财产＂。     

The bank–firm relationship during economic transition: The impacts on bank performance in emerging economies

We analyze the lending relationships between 1011 banks and 17,284 client borrowers across 11 emerging economies. We first demonstrate that a state-owned bank's risk appetite increases as its number of family business group-owned borrowing partners increases. Second, we show that a non-financial firm-owned bank's risk appetite also increases as its number of family business group-owned borrowing partners increases. Finally, we show that a bank is more likely to reduce its risk appetite and improve its operational cost efficiency as its foreign ownership ratio increases, regardless of the bank's lending partner. These findings suggest that, in the post-privatization period, the ownership structure changes of banks and/or borrowers affect the lending relationship and the bank's risk appetite and cost efficiency.