Entry mode choice of Chinese enterprises: The impacts of country risk, cultural distance and their interactions

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of Chinese enterprises “going global.” Drawing on three leading theoretical perspectives including the transaction cost theory, organizational capability theory and eclectic theory, this paper develops hypotheses to test how country risk and cultural distance are associated with entry mode choices of enterprises from China. Based on a sample of 167 Chinese companies, an empirical investigation has been conducted employing logistic regression and hierarchical regression analyses. Our results show that country risk and cultural distance have significant impact on entry mode choice. With the increase of country risk or cultural distance, businesses prefer non-ownership-based entry modes such as trade and licensing. However, entry mode choice is also noticeably influenced by the interaction between country risk and cultural distance, which is a new finding of international entry mode research. Furthermore, private enterprises are more likely to adopt high-involvement entry mode than the state-owned enterprises, and service enterprises are less likely to use high-involvement entry mode, which suggests that different approaches are used to deal with country risk and cultural distance by various types of enterprises.     

Entering central and eastern Europe: Risks and cultural barriers

Scholars have argued that the slow pace of Western investment in Central and Eastern Europe may be caused by two entry barriers: cultural influences and high international risks. This study examines the influence of culture and international risks on the entry mode choices of Western European firms entering Central and Eastern European markets since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990. Evidence from 227 Western European companies shows that, for firms entering Central and Eastern Europe, investment risk perceptions are important determinants of mode choice while culture and contractual risk have only minimal influence. Managerial implications are also discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An institution-stakeholder framework for examining business relationship dynamics in a transforming Eastern Europe

Since the collapse of the USSR, most Central and East European countries have been integrated into global economic institutions through membership in the WTO and EU significantly changing the regional business climate. Through an in-depth analysis of a petroleum pipeline project initiated in Ukraine, a country on the EU's periphery, this research presents a framework based on institutional climate and stakeholder levers of influence for explaining the type of existing and evolving business relationships in the region. A relational matrix for Eastern Europe is developed with a set of guidelines for global firms and investors seeking markets in the region.     

International Hotel Companies in Russia

Abstract

Existing studies addressing the modal choice in the global hotel industry have discussed to a limited extent the restrictions posed to the choice of entry mode by the local environment, mainly the host government. This paper describes entries of foreign hotels in a market, Russia, in which the local (city) government has an active role in the hotel industry. The study proposes that, in the Russian market, the foreign hoteliers have to take into account the interests of the local governments regardless of the operation mode. On the basis of secondary data collected mainly from industry reports and Russian newspapers, the strategic choices made by the foreign hotel companies can be divided into two categories. First, some hotel chains have brought their brands to the Russian market early, but have made strategic concessions in the mode of entry. Second, there are companies that have stuck to their general strategies and postponed entry to Russia until it could be done with the mode preferred by the company.     

Host country’s environmental uncertainty,technological capability,and foreign market entry mode: Evidence from high-end equipment manufacturing MNEs in emerging markets

The paper investigates the impact of the host country’s environmental uncertainty on the choice of entry mode and also discusses the moderating role of technological heterogeneity in this relationship. Based on the resource-based view and institutional theory framework, we first analyze the investment motivation of emerging industries in emerging markets and evaluate the environmental uncertainty from two dimensions, including the institutional environment (country level) and industry environment (market level). Then, the theoretical predictions are empirically tested using 173 overseas investment events in China’s high-end equipment sector from 2010-2018. Our findings suggest that when the uncertainty of the industry environment is low, no matter how uncertain is the institutional environment, most firms tend to choose a cooperative strategy. Once the industry environment indicators become turbulent, a high degree of institutional environment uncertainty causes firms to evade trade barriers by choosing a new plant. Alternatively, choosing a relatively conservative mode, such as export. Meanwhile, technological capability weakens the influence of environmental uncertainty on entry mode.     

Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China

When social enterprises, being defined by their social mission and profitability, internationalize, they need to respond to institutional logics in the host country. By juxtaposing institutional logic and entry mode choice literature, this paper shows how social enterprises accommodate different institutional logics when they enter foreign markets. We collected data on Chinese healthcare reform, governmental policies and their changes, and conducted 36 in-depth interviews and three expert group meetings. By analyzing five non-Chinese hospitals entering China, we show how social enterprises, as hybrid organizations, respond to governmental, commercial, and social institutional logics, when entering a foreign market.     

Institutionalizing global governance: the role of the United Nations Global Compact

The United Nations Global Compact – which is a Global Public Policy Network advocating 10 universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and anticorruption – has turned into the world's largest corporate responsibility initiative. Although the Global Compact is often characterized as a promising way to address global governance gaps, it remains largely unclear why this is the case. To address this problem, we discuss to what extent the initiative represents an institutional solution to exercise global governance. We suggest that new governance modes, which have arisen in the context of globalization, often adopt a multiactor, multilevel, and network‐based approach. We then analyze how far the Global Compact's institutional design reflects this multiactor, multilevel, and network‐based steering mode. Drawing on this discussion, we offer suggestions regarding how the initiative can be further developed.     

A transaction cost perspective on foreign market entry strategies of US and Japanese firms

A large scale survey of top US and Japanese executives is conducted in order to assess the power of transaction cost economics (TCE) in explaining a firm's choice of entry mode (e.g., joint venture vs. full ownership) when it enters a foreign market. Results suggest that several TCE tenets are useful in explaining US firms' choice of entry mode. However, TCE predictions were not supported by the entry mode choices of Japanese firms. Implications of these findings for researchers and managers are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Opportunities and tripwires for foreign investors in Eastern Europe

This article discusses how the local environment influences the strategic decisions of foreign investors entering Central and Eastern Europe. The current economic transition of the region offers unique opportunities arising from virgin markets and low labor costs. Foreign businesses have been eager to exploit the former, often pursuing first-mover advantages. However, the underlying structural problems of the economies in transition inhibit the development of business: in adapting to the new market environment, firms are in a process of fundamental restructuring. Moreover, the privatization process in the region creates both opportunities and obstacles for entry by acquisition. While the institutional framework is developing toward Western models, it remains incomplete. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Trends in international business thought and literature: A review of international market entry mode research: Integration and synthesis

Although entry mode strategy has traditionally been a central topic of research in international business, it is only recently that integrated research frameworks have developed. Largely in response to the dynamic reconfiguration of global business, these new insights from channel management, global strategy, alliances, and political economy have infused new perspectives into entry mode research. This article reviews and synthesizes this literature. Within an over-arching classificatory framework, central themes and sub-themes within this body of literature are identified and their inter-linkages investigated. The evolutionary process of entry mode research is examined. The article concludes with directions for future research and the need to integrate entry mode research with partnering strategies.     

Acquisition Entry Strategy of Nordic Multinational Enterprises in China: An Analysis of Key Determinants

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the key determinants of acquisition entry strategy (i.e., the choice between full versus partial acquisition) of Nordic multinational enterprises (MNEs) in China. Although general establishment and entry mode strategies have been a highly researched area in international business studies, acquisitions as a specific entry strategy and its different aspects have been scarcely researched. Therefore, the current study aims to fill the gap in literature by analyzing determinants of acquisition entry strategy based on three important theoretical bases: transaction cost economics, resource-based view, and institutional theory. Our study is one of the first to analyze acquisition entry strategy of MNEs from all four Nordic economies (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) in China during 1987 through 2012, and this unique empirical context adds further value to the study findings. The empirical results show that high target country experience, high cultural distance, high level of product diversification, and subsidiary location in institutionally developed and open cities of China were positively associated with choice of full acquisitions by Nordic MNEs. On the other hand, high industry research and development intensity and timing of acquisition led to the choice of partial acquisitions by the investing Nordic MNEs.     

中国入世对跨国公司进入方式的影响

中国入世后，在汽车、电子、化学工业等方面要作大幅度的关税和非关税减让。其中汽车和化学工业在入世前的关税和非关税水平比较高，外国直接投资的进入主要是满足中国内部市场。出口和直接投资方式选择理论，中国和一些发展中国家的关税、市场规模与直接投资和进口的关系。     

Cooperative ventures in emerging economies

Foreign market entry strategy involves choices about which markets to enter and how to do it. Most of the literature on foreign direct investment reflects an interest in ownership structure decisions and the risks foreign investing firm may face. As recognized in many studies, one set of risks arises from public expropriation hazards, a function of the ability of the host country's institutional environment to credibly commit to a given policy or regulatory regime. Empirical research has shown this hazard to have an impact on ownership levels. This study is a theoretical model that describes how multinational firms face moral hazard risk from their local partners and political risk from the host country when they decide to go abroad in a joint-venture alliance. I found that the greater the level of hazard expropriation, the lower the participation of the multinational firm in the final cash flow, except for when the multinational firm has the negotiation power and there is a high level of local investment protectionism. In that case, the multinational firm increases its participation in the final cash flow.     

The erosion of stable shareholder practice in Japan (“Anteikabunushi Kosaku”)

This study reviews the academic literature to explain internationalisation, mode of entry choice and strategic momentum theory. In this research, we ask whether DiMaggio's theory of isomorphism can be applied to Japan, given the country's Anteikabunushi Kosaku practices and the evidence cited in the literature that suggests that national culture influences managerial work values and Japanese entry mode strategies.We suggest that Japanese management attitudes towards entry mode strategy are changing due to a change in corporate governance policy and competition. In response, we argue that Japan's stable shareholder practice is eroding and that as a result of this erosion, the change observed in institutional behaviour is isomorphic.     

Retailers’ foreign market entry decisions: An institutional perspective

Institutional theory emphasizes the relationship between organizations and the environment. Institutions consist of political, cognitive and sociological elements that form the external and internal environment of a firm. Both external and internal environments affect firm decisions and behaviors. This paper introduces institutional theory as a complementary framework to explain international retailers’ foreign market entry choices and suggests propositions for further research. We also consider managerial implications in relation to this theoretical perspective as an explanation for retailers’ internationalization.     

Market Entry Strategies in Emerging Markets: An Institutional Study in the BRIC Countries

This article addresses two of the strategically important questions of market entry strategies in emerging markets: how to enter and when to enter. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between market entry strategies and market success. On the basis of the institutional theory, we develop hypotheses that are tested against data collected from 564 foreign firms with operations in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), using an online survey. Our findings suggest that market entry strategies have a significant effect on market success, showing the greatest market success in India and the lowest in China. We also find that entry mode and length of operation exhibit a significant positive effect on market success. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Contextualizing international learning: The moderating effects of mode of entry & subsidiary networks on the relationship between reforms & profitability

This empirical paper studies how MNEs from developing and emerging markets may learn through their choice of entry mode and subsidiary network configuration, and use this knowledge to increase their responsiveness to pro-market reforms in their home market. The paper proposes that entry modes and network configurations that facilitate knowledge acquisition provide firms from developing countries an advantage when responding to such institutional changes. The analyses use data for the largest Latin American companies from 1989 to 2008. The findings provide evidence for a positive moderating effect of equity international joint ventures, international acquisitions, and subsidiary network centrality closeness on the relationship between reforms and profitability.     

Equity-based entry modes of the Greater Chinese Economic Area's foreign direct investments in Vietnam

In January 2007, Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Vietnam is located in the heart of Asia and has a resource-rich economy, which offers it a significant advantage in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs). The research focuses on equity-based entry mode choices adopted by multinational corporations (MNCs) in the Greater Chinese Economic Area (GCEA) for entering Vietnam. The statistical results indicate that equity-based entry modes are significant when FDI firms entering Vietnam originate from the GCEA, which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. However, the interaction results show that industry does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between location and entry mode, whereas it is not found that industrial cluster is specific to any one location. The generalized model has implications for the theoretical and managerial perspectives of both the host and the home countries.     

How Do Entry Motives and Institutions Influence the Acquisition Strategies of Multinationals in Foreign Markets? Lessons from Acquisitions of Finnish Multinationals in Global Markets

When acquiring foreign targets, multinationals have an option for partial acquisition, staged acquisition, and full acquisition. This study seeks to understand how the motives of market entry and institutions influence these acquisition strategies in foreign markets. By integrating OLI paradigm and institutional theory with an empirical case study of seven acquisitions of Finnish multinationals in global markets, the study finds that the motives of market entry (i.e., market-seeking, efficiency-seeking, strategic-asset-seeking motives) interact with host country institutions in influencing the choice of partial, staged, and full acquisitions. The study also develops six propositions and recommends areas for future research.     

Knowledge, values and internationalisation—introduction to the special edition

Internationalisation is increasingly being seen as an organisational learning process. However, entrepreneurial enterprises tend to be smaller, more innovative and more agile than their larger counterparts. When they internationalise, entrepreneurial firms often expand at a rapid rate. The cultures of so-called ‘born global’ firms also appear to differ from firms that internationalise in a more gradual, stepwise fashion. This raises interesting questions about how entrepreneurial firms acquire and manage knowledge about markets, networks and capabilities in turbulent and uncertain environments and how the values embedded in organisational cultures might influence strategic choices. The following articles in this special edition of the Journal of International Entrepreneurship focus specifically on how innovative firms—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—recognise and exploit market opportunities, how they learn from international market entry and penetration experiences to improve core capabilities and how values may influence supply chain management and start-up decisions.