Presence of Chinese Businesses in the World

Presence of Chinese Businesses in the World open_in_new

Important Dates

Paper title, abstract and short bio (email): 15 September, 2018

First full draft (word file): 15 December, 2018

 

The importance of Chinese businesses in the global arena has been particularly evident in recent years since they are able to compete effectively against global rivals in both developed and emerging countries (Child and Rodrigues, 2005; Guillen and Garcia-Canal, 2009; Luo and Tung, 2007; Mathews, 2006). Indeed, the growth of Chinese enterprises is clearly evidenced in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). According to UNCTAD (2017), in the last ten years (2006-2016), FDI outflows from China have risen dramatically, from US$ 17,634 million to US$ 183,100 million, corresponding currently to 13% of the global outflows. Moreover, an increasing number of Chinese multinationals appear in Fortune’s ranking of the world’s 500 largest companies: in 2006, only 23 were listed (5%), growing progressively up to 103 in 2016, representing 21% of the firms in this ranking.

Consequently, the international presence of Chinese firms have increasingly attracted scholarly attention. A great number of studies on Chinese investment abroad have been published in specialised and academic journals. For example, many authors have researched the motives and location patterns of this Chinese investment (e.g. Buckley et al., 2007; Kolstad and Wiig, 2012; Morck et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2012). Another topic widely covered is the entry mode choice used by Chinese enterprises in their international adventures; particularly, mergers and acquisitions have attracted much attention (Deng, 2009; Zheng et al., 2016). Other authors have tackled the issue of cross-cultural problems faced by Chinese companies in developed countries (Klossek et al., 2012; Si and Liefner, 2014; Wong, 2012). However, much still remains to be researched regarding Chinese businesses outside of China.

For this special issue, we particularly welcome interdisciplinary submissions that complement the international business perspective. We encourage scholars to utilise different theoretical perspectives and apply a wide variety of rigorous methodological approaches so both conceptual and empirical (qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods) contributions are desired.

Subject Coverage

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following (any other areas are invited providing interesting information about the position of Chinese enterprises worldwide):

  • Competitive business strategies of Chinese enterprises in foreign markets
  • How Chinese companies are achieving legitimacy or reputation in developed countries? In what way new technologies are helping them for?
  • The effects of Chinese investment in both developing or developed countries
  • The ways in which Chinese enterprises are transforming marketing to show that their products have good quality
  • Is Chinese dumping really a threat for the rest of Western companies?
  • The ways in which Chinese companies struggle with their negative institutional heritage (e.g. bribery, lack of transparency)
  • The expansion of Chinese ecommerce outside of China
  • Communication and advertising strategies of Chinese enterprises in foreign markets
  • Chinese digital marketing versus Western digital marketing, are there many differences?
  • What is the Human Resources management approach of a foreign Chinese subsidiary like? It is really different from a host-local company? Are there differences between both Chinese State-owned enterprises and Private enterprises?
  • What is the process of Knowledge Transfer in Chinese multinationals companies? Are there significant differences between the different sectors?
  • What are the innovation processes of Chinese firms like? Which are the particularities of Chinese business model innovation? The ways in which Chinese firms take advantage of host-local knowledge to improve their innovation skills

    Notes for Prospective Authors

    If you are interested in submitting an abstract or have any questions, please email Dr Felix Barahona at felix.barahona@ub.edu and confirm your interest. We would be happy to receive your suggestions and/or answer your queries regarding suitability of your topic. The first step is to submit an abstract. Please email paper title, abstract (300 words) and short bio with previous publications (150 words) to Dr Felix Barahona at felix.barahona@ub.edu not later than 15 September 2018.

Submitted papers should not have been previously published. All papers will be subject to double-blind peer review. All papers must be submitted online and for that it is necessary to be registered with the journal. Please read our submitting articles page. For author guidelines and more information see:

http://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/JESB/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

Important Dates

Paper title, abstract and short bio (email): 15 September, 2018

First full draft (word file): 15 December, 2018

Guest Editor’ Contact Details:

                             Dr. Felix Barahona,

Professor of Strategic Management

University of Barcelona

690 Diagonal Avenue, Barcelona (Spain)

E-mail: felix.barahona@ub.edu Tel: +34 (0)608808000

 

References

Buckley, P. J., Clegg, J., Cross, A. R., Liu, X., Voss, H., & Zheng, P. (2007). The determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment. Journal of International Business Studies, 38, 499-518.

Child, J., & Rodrigues, S. B. (2005). The internationalization of Chinese firms: A case for theoretical extension. Management and Organization Review, 1, 381–410.

Deng, P. (2009). Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion?. Journal of World Business, 44, 74-84.

Guillén, M. F., & García-Canal, E. (2009). The American model of the multinational firm and the ‘new multinationals’ from emerging markets. Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(2), 23-35.

Klossek, A., Linke, B. M., & Nippa, M. (2012). Chinese enterprises in Germany: Establishment modes and strategies to mitigate the liability of foreignness. Journal of World Business 47:35-44.

Kolstad, I., & Wiig, A. (2012). What determines Chinese outward FDI?. Journal of World Business, 47, 26-34.

Luo, Y., & Tung, R. L. (2007). International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 38, 481-498.

Mathews, J. A. (2006). Dragon multinationals: New players in 21st century globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23, 5-27.

Morck, R., Yeung, B., & Zhao, M. (2008). Perspectives on China’s outward foreign direct investment. Journal of International Business Studies, 39, 337-350.

Si, Y., & Liefner, I. (2014). “Cognitive distance and obstacles to subsidiary business success: the experience of Chinese companies in Germany. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 105, 285-300.

UNCTAD (2017). World Investment Report 2017 (Investment and the Digital Economy). New York and Geneva: United Nations.

Wang, C., Hong, J., Kafouros, M., & Boateng, A. (2012). What drives outward FDI of Chinese firms? Testing the explanatory power of three theoretical frameworks. International Business Review, 21(3), 425-438.

Wong, L. (2012). ’Liability of foreignness’: Chinese investment in Australia. Transnational Corporations Review, 4, 46-75.

Zheng, N., Wei, Y., Zhang, Y., & Yang, J. (2016). In search of strategic assets through cross-border merger and acquisitions: Evidence from Chinese multinational enterprises in developed economies. International Business Review, 25(1), 177-186.