Tacit Sources of Competitive Advantages of the Leading Chinese Companies Extracted From the Longitudinal Analysis of Chinese Internationalisation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify tacit sources of competitive advantages of the leading Chinese MNCs through longitudinal analysis of Chinese internationalisation. Reason behind choosing internationalisation path to evaluate is that it will give the picture of internationalisation scope, direction, nature, speed etc over a period of time and thus will give a clearer idea of tacit sources of their competitive advantages that are not highly explicit on the basis of the established literatures on competitiveness. Despite being originated from developing country, a significant number of Chinese companies are competing with world leading companies in various international markets. What are the sources of their competitive advantage is yet to find a complete answer. Beyond the explicit sources of competitive advantages, implicit sources exist - identification of which can give the complete picture of competitiveness and sustainability. A longitudinal study of Chinese internationalisation through detail observation is intended to identify the tacit sources of competitive advantages of Chinese companies. As it is a longitudinal kind of study, it remains limited into archival analysis of the internationalisation evolution of Chinese companies. Technical know how, competence, and confidence gained from the inward investment of world leading companies in China, moral and financial supports got from the Chinese government, active strategic intent to be established fast in the competitive world by gaining efficiency and strategic assets from mainly the developed part of the world are found as prominent tacit sources of competitive advantages of Chinese multinationals.