A Research on the Waiting Time of Mixed Ownership Enterprises’ Transnational Investment: Based on the Resource Dependence Theory

Abstract

This paper compares the waiting time of initial and subsequent multinational investment of mixed ownership enterprises with that of state-owned enterprises by using the data of Chinese enterprises’ transnational investment from 1998 to 2010, and analyzes its impact mechanism. The results show that in the initial stage of transnational investment, mixed ownership enterprises do not show shorter waiting time than state-owned enterprises, and there is no significant difference between the two. However, with the improvement of equity balance, compared with state-owned enterprises, non-state-controlled mixed ownership enterprises show shorter waiting time for initial transnational investment; in the subsequent stage of transnational investment, the waiting time for transnational investment of mixed ownership enterprises is significantly shorter than that of state-owned enterprises. The results of this study provide theoretical and practical support for China’s mixed ownership reform from the field of transnational investment, and also expand the application of the resource dependence theory in the field of international business.The main contributions of this paper are as follows: Firstly, using the theory of resource dependence, we explain the internationalization of state-owned enterprises and mixed-ownership enterprises. Different from other theories, the resource dependence theory can systematically explain the motivation of transnational investment and mixed ownership reform of state-owned enterprises, and also can deeply analyze the differences of behavior patterns between mixed ownership enterprises and state-owned enterprises in the process of internationalization. Secondly, previous studies neglect the research on the behavior of mixed ownership enterprises in the field of transnational investment and its influencing factors. At present, there are few studies on mixed ownership enterprises, especially on their internationalization strategies and performance. Finally, this paper breaks through the previous static research thinking on the investment strategy of multinational enterprises, regards the overseas investment behavior of multinational enterprises as a continuous, dynamic and multiple behavior, and enriches and expands the research on the promotion of the process of enterprise internationalization.