Emerging Market Firms Research Articles

Does green financing promote outward FDI in enterprises? Evidence from China

In the context of sustainable development, green rules and standards have been incorporated into the international investment system. The specific advantages driving outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by emerging market enterprises have also undergone profound changes. Green financing plays an important role in promoting green transformation and may become a new type of competitive advantage driving OFDI by firms. Based on legitimacy theory, we explore the impact of green financing on OFDI by emerging market firms. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021, we find that green financing significantly promotes corporate OFDI. Improving ESG levels, alleviating financing constraints and expanding production scale are the main channels. The positive effects of green financing on OFDI are more pronounced in heavily polluting industries, capital-intensive enterprises and state-owned enterprises. This study confirms the positive impact of green financing on OFDI earlier, and also provides useful inspiration and reference for emerging market countries to improve the green financial system and actively promote global green and sustainable development.

Carry Trades and FX Risk Buffers: Foreign Currency Debt of Emerging Market Firms

Abstract The surge in foreign currency (FC) corporate debt in emerging economies has sparked concerns about macroeconomic stability, heightened by speculation about non-financial firms engaging in carry trades. Using firm-level data on the currency denomination of both assets and liabilities, we find evidence of firms' carry trades: firms save in local currency liquid assets and earn higher interest income after issuing short-term FC debt. They also set aside FC liquid assets as FX risk buffers. A large degree of heterogeneity in incentives is observed. Notably, listed firms participate more in carry trades and allocate less FX risk buffers than non-listed firms.

Financial performance of emerging market companies during the COVID-19 pandemic: moderating role of sustainability performance

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether sustainability performance (SP) served as a safeguard for firm profitability (FP) and enhanced corporate resilience in emerging markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 1,091 firms in 25 emerging markets from 2017 to 2021, this study analyses the moderating role of SP on the relationship between FP and COVID-19 by using hierarchical linear modelling at three levels: (a) time-level; (b) firm-level; (c) country-level. Findings The results indicate that during the years 2020–2021, emerging market firms with robust SP showed better FP in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also indicate that all dimensions of sustainability, i.e. environmental, social and governance (ESG), have significantly affected the FP in the post-COVID period. Hence, adhering to ESG principles aids in alleviating adverse financial repercussions during times of crises. Practical implications This study provides valuable insights for companies and policymakers for finding solutions that may assist them in improving SP globally and enduring crises resiliently. The findings are also relevant to institutional investors that consider SP as an investment criteria. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was temporary, the lessons learned could protect firms from future similar global crises. Originality/value This study enhances the understanding of the contingency relationship between sustainability and financial performance by offering up-to-date empirical insights within the context of emerging markets during the pandemic. It demonstrates how different institutional frameworks influenced the SP–FP association during the crisis. Thus, this paper expands the understanding of crisis management literature and bridges the research void concerning the impact of SP on FP in an emerging market context.

Balancing customer and employee orientations: impact on financial distress and firm value

PurposeThis paper investigates the effect of balanced orientation (BO) toward customers and employees on financial distress and firm valuation. Rooted in stakeholder theory and the attention-based theory of firms, the study aims to understand how a balanced synthesis of employee orientation (EO) and customer orientation (CO) influences the long-term market performance and survivability of firms, particularly in the context of emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachA panel dataset of the top 500 firms listed on the National Stock Exchange of India was analyzed using fixed-effect panel models with robust estimators. The Heckman procedure was employed to address selection bias. Financial data were sourced from the CMIE Prowess database and balanced orientation data were extracted from the annual letters to shareholders.FindingsThe study finds that a balanced approach to EO and CO significantly lowers bankruptcy risk and increases firm valuation. Contrary to the traditional dichotomy of EO and CO, BO emerges as a key driver in reducing financial distress and enhancing long-term market performance. Firms embracing multiple strategic orientations outperform those solely focused on customer orientation.Practical implicationsFor emerging market firms facing resource constraints, developing BO is challenging but crucial. This study suggests adopting a sequential or alternating approach to developing EO and CO, which can alleviate bankruptcy risk and improve market valuation even in competitive environments.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing literature by empirically demonstrating the significance of BO in emerging markets. It offers a novel perspective on strategic management, highlighting the importance of balancing customer and employee needs, especially in resource-constrained environments.

Local CSR and Emerging Market Firms’ Upgrading: Evidence from China

Local CSR and Emerging Market Firms’ Upgrading: Evidence from China

EXPRESS: Untangling the Duality of Emerging Market Firms’ Response to OFDI Policies on Their Innovation Performance: A Resource Dependence Perspective

Firms’ international expansion, affected by outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) policies of home countries, can greatly shape their innovation performance. Yet, existing literature lacks sufficient investigation toward the nexus between corporate response to policies in OFDI activities and subsequent innovation performance. Thus, the authors designed this study to examine how a firm’s response to OFDI policies affects its innovation performance. Drawing upon the resource dependence theory, the authors theorize corporate response to OFDI policies as firm dependence on home government. By arguing that such dependence differentially affects firm innovation through support and control mechanisms, they elucidate the inverted U-shaped relationship between corporate response to OFDI policies (measured by the percentage of a firm’s OFDI projects in policy-favored markets) and innovation performance (measured as patent counts). Furthermore, this curvilinear relationship, they posit, is moderated and strengthened by home-government subsidies the firm receives (calculated as the ratio of annual subsidies received to yearly sales). With archival data of 2,050 Chinese listed manufacturing firms responding to specific OFDI policies during 2013–2021, their predictions are corroborated. Overall, by illuminating the innovation implications of OFDI as corporate response to policies, this study contributes to the international marketing literature in the context of emerging markets.

Can environmental tax promote green M&A in emerging market firms? Evidence from China's heavy polluters

AbstractBased on a sample of heavily polluting firms listed in China, we examine the impact of environmental taxes on the green M&A behavior of these firms. Our findings underscore that environmental taxes have significantly increased the likelihood of heavily polluting firms engaging in green M&A endeavors. This impact is particularly pronounced in areas with high media attention, low financing constraints, and high environmental investment. However, our examination of the economic consequences shows that green M&A does not improve the green innovation performance and ESG performance of firms. The analysis of M&A motivations shows that the majority of heavy polluters' green M&A targets are located in regions with weak environmental regulation, confirming that green M&A under the environmental tax burden is a tool used by firms to engage in pollution transfer. In addition, green M&A under the environmental tax burden is characterized by financial investment, connected M&A, and nonsignificant M&A, confirming that green M&A under the environmental tax burden may be a tool used by companies seeking only the appearance of “greenwashing.” Therefore, green M&A under the environmental tax burden tends to be underpinned by opportunistic motives of pollution transfer and “greenwashing,” rather than substantive green transformation and upgrading. We provide evidence from emerging markets on the impact of environmental taxes on green M&A, which adds to the literature in this area and has policy implications for government regulation of corporate environmental governance practices.

How Does Financial Technology Innovation Impact Business Performance?

ABSTRACT Financial technology (FinTech) is transforming traditional financial services and has a significant impact on business performance. This study investigates how FinTech affects the performance of businesses in China. It constructs a FinTech Index based on data from the Baidu Search Index and aligns this index with the financial data of publicly listed Chinese companies over the period from 2011 to 2021. We find that the development of FinTech positively affects corporate performance improvement through external and internal environment mechanisms. The findings reveal that FinTech significantly contributes to business performance by enhancing information transparency, alleviating financing constraints, and improving the efficiency of corporate investment environments. Additionally, we find that the impact of FinTech development on corporate performance exhibits heterogeneity. The beneficial effects of FinTech on corporate performance are particularly noticeable in in eastern regions, groups with lower levels of centralization, and areas with weaker regulatory oversight. The empirical results can be used to help emerging market firms improve their performance and assist investors in identifying worthwhile investment prospects.

Home country influence in cross-border mergers and acquisitions by emerging market firms: a systematic review

PurposeEmerging market firms (EMFs) are increasingly expanding their global presence through cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs). While such deals are distinct from those by advanced market firms, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of how emerging home markets form this distinctiveness. This study aims to remedy this gap.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a systematic literature review of 84 empirical papers. Through a broad search string and seven exclusion criteria, the authors carefully select studies on country-level home factors of CBMAs by EMFs.FindingsAfter summarizing paper volumes, journals and context factors of home/host countries and industries, the authors highlight different strands of institutional theory as the prevailing perspective and pre-M&A issues as the foremost theme. CBMAs by EMFs are influenced by distinct home-exclusive factors, and the mechanisms linking home-country factors to CBMAs by EMFs show significant inconsistencies across studies.Originality/valueThis review focuses on home country influence and thus goes beyond general characteristics of CBMAs by EMFs. The authors highlight more diverse types of home country factors and CBMA outcomes and, more importantly, take a closer look at involved mechanisms. Doing so, the authors identify gaps and disparities that have limited the understanding of home country influence in CBMAs by EMFs. To correct this, the authors offer a comprehensive roadmap for future research, contributing to EMF studies in particular and CBMA and international business research in general.

Artificial intelligence orientation and internationalization speed: A knowledge management perspective

This study explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) orientation in facilitating the internationalization speed of enterprises from emerging economies. Based upon a knowledge management perspective, the paper proposes that AI orientation positively affects internationalization speed via broadening the scope of new knowledge, promoting knowledge creation, application, and dissemination within organizations, and hastening the redundancy of existing knowledge to increase adaptability to global dynamics. Moreover, while online local knowledge search facilitates, offline local knowledge search constrains the acceleration effect of AI orientation on internationalization. Using a dataset from China, the paper finds that AI orientation has a significant positive effect on accelerating the internationalization processes of emerging market firms, and home country embeddedness negatively while regional digital development positively moderates this relationship. The findings contribute to the literature by elucidating how AI orientation expedites the process of an emerging market firm's internationalization from a knowledge management perspective, thereby providing insights for the future scholarly investigation and practical applications in this field.

Does Eco-Innovation of Emerging Market Firms Benefit from Knowledge Spillovers of MNC in a Multi-dimensional Task Environment?

Taking a socially proactive stance that aligns with their economic imperatives has led multinational corporations (MNCs) to focus on social innovation that tackles environmental challenges (or eco-innovation hereafter). Their knowledge of eco-innovation is important to emerging markets that are facing severe environmental challenges and to emerging market firms (EMFs) whose eco-innovation activities face resource and knowledge constraints. MNCs, through their foreign direct investment (FDI) activities in host emerging markets, can divulge economic, knowledge and environmental values of eco-innovation, helping EMFs to improve their eco-innovation through knowledge spillover channels. Taking the value-based approach, we draw on the eco-innovation research and the MNC/FDI spillovers literature to develop hypotheses on the relationship between regional knowledge spillovers of MNCs and the eco-innovation of EMFs in a multi-dimensional task environment characterized by munificence, complexity and dynamism. Our empirical examination is based on a sample of Chinese manufacturing firms from 2003 to 2013. We find support for hypotheses that regional knowledge spillovers of MNCs enhance the positive effects of munificence and mitigate the negative effects of complexity and dynamism on the eco-innovation of EMFs.

Conceptualising the effects of green supply chain on firms’ propensity for responsible waste disposal practices in emerging markets

ABSTRACT This study examines how green supply chain management (GSCM) in emerging markets affects firms’ waste disposal practices in Thailand’s dynamic economy. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), we examined 320 Thai SMEs’ survey data to understand GSCM. The research reveals two key findings: A strong positive correlation exists between green supplier initiatives and green manufacturing processes, with suppliers’ sustainable efforts accounting for 27.2% of the variance in green practices (r-square = 0.272). This shows how much green supplier engagement affects manufacturing. Green distribution plays a significant role in promoting customer cooperation in the green economy, explaining 48.9% of the variance in customer engagement with sustainable practices (r-square = 0.489). Green supplier and distribution practices significantly impact waste disposal, but green manufacturing and customer cooperation fall short of anticipated impacts. Green supplier cooperation is essential for green manufacturing but does not directly lead to effective waste disposal, suggesting a disconnection and the potential for more integrated approaches. Green distribution helps meet customer demand for sustainable practices. This divergence suggests a potential oversight in GSCM implementation, emphasizing the need to integrate GSCM considerations into emerging market firms’ strategic frameworks and strategic policy interventions to improve waste disposal practices through GSCM adoption.

Technological lock-in developing countries: The role of external financing

Liabilities denominated in foreign currency have established a permanent role in emerging market firms’ balance sheet, which implies that changes in both global liquidity conditions and in the value of the currency may have a long- lasting effect for them. In order to consider the financial conditions that may encourage (discourage) structural change in a small, open economy, we adopt the framework put forward by the “Monetary theory of distribution” (MTD). More specifically, we follow the formulation adopted by Dvoskin and Feldman (2019), whereby the financial system is intended as a basic sector that promotes innovation (Schumpeter, 1911). In accordance to this, financial conditions are binding only for the innovative entrepreneurs, whose methods of production are not dominant and hence they need to borrow from banks to kick- start their production. Through this device, our model offers an explanation to the technological lock-in experienced by a small, open economy which takes international prices as given.

Understanding the adoption index of green investment practices among emerging market firms in Himachal Pradesh: A empirical analysis

Understanding the adoption index of green investment practices among emerging market firms in Himachal Pradesh: A empirical analysis

Investors response to different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation

Purpose Leveraging signalling theory and institutional environment theory, this study aims to examine how the entrepreneurial orientation of emerging market firms impacts initial public offering (IPO) performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct regression analysis based on archival data from 312 firms’ IPOs in India. Findings The results in the Indian context suggest it differs from IPO performance in developed markets. In an emerging market context, the findings suggest that only competitive aggressiveness is valued by investors in IPOs. The findings further show that proactiveness and autonomy negatively influence IPO underpricing. Research limitations/implications The research propositions imply that, owing to institutional voids in emerging markets, investors’ risk propensity and, hence, rewarding a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation differ from those in developed markets. Originality/value Extant literature has given limited attention to the dynamics of entrepreneurial orientation and the effect of each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation on IPO performance in emerging markets.

Extradition treaties and emerging market firms’ host country location choice✰

Traditional perspectives on interstate cooperation stress its benefits in facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) by reducing uncertainty in international operations and enhancing mutual trust between countries. Our investigation explores another side of interstate cooperation by discussing the potential risks that can emerge from it. Our fulcrum for exploring risks comes from an explicit consideration of the divergent interests that can exist between nation states and business. We focus on the phenomenon known as bilateral treaties on extradition, which enable one country to request the repatriation of fugitives or convicted criminals from another country through official cooperation. Extradition treaties extend the jurisdictional influence of a firm's home country to a host country. This mechanism can create concerns for firms when they are motivated to use FDI to escape from their home country, especially from certain emerging markets with weak institutions. We propose that emerging market firms can be motivated to circumvent host countries that have established extradition treaties with their home country. Both private-owned and state-owned enterprises can show this behavior, albeit the effect is weaker for state-owned enterprises as compared to private-owned ones. The effect is particularly strong on firms that have documented malfeasance in their home country. We test these ideas on outward FDI made by Chinese firms in 106 foreign countries during 2001–2013.

Host-country climate risk and the expansion of emerging market firms: a strategic tripod application

ABSTRACT Climate risk is a pressing global concern that affects multinational enterprises in manifold ways. Yet this has received less attention in international management literature. To address the gap, this study examines the impact of climate risk on the expansion and performance of emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) and tests the moderating effects of industry and institutional factors on the relationships. Using a dataset comprising the international acquisitions initiated by MNEs from emerging markets in 1998–2018, we find that host-country climate risk negatively affects the firms’ expansionary entries and is detrimental to firm performance. In addition, we find that firms from high-polluting industries are likely to show greater environmental awareness and increase their commitment to climate-risk countries. At the country level, our results show that home-host country political ties reduce the negative impact of climate risk on firms’ expansion and performance. The findings contribute to the literature on environmental management in an international business context and offer important practical implications for managers and government agencies.

Emerging Market Firms’ Internationalization Pricing Strategies: The Role of Country of Origin and Organizational Learning

Over the last decade there has been significant interest in international expansion of emerging market firms (EMFs) due to their distinctive patterns compared with developed market firms (DMFs). In this article, the authors develop an analytical model to generate prescriptive insights for pricing strategies when EMFs enter new foreign markets. Grounded in the international marketing and organizational learning literatures, the model accounts for local and multinational competition, the influence of country-of-origin effects, and the role of organizational learning in foreign markets. The results suggest that when an EMF enters a host market with a local competitor, it could generate higher profits even when charging a lower price than the local competitor. Additionally, the authors find that DMFs enjoy greater profitability than EMFs in foreign markets as a result of positive country-of-origin effects. Finally, the authors propose and validate the use of organizational learning as a process EMFs can use to surmount the negative impact of country-of-origin effects and achieve greater profitability than DMFs.

Nonbank lenders as global shock absorbers: Evidence from US monetary policy spillovers

We show that nonbank lenders act as global shock absorbers from US monetary policy spillovers. For identification, we exploit monetary policy surprises and the global syndicated lending market, where detailed loan-level data allow us to compare the participation of banks and nonbanks in the same loan. When US policy tightens, dollar credit to non-US firms falls, but nonbanks increase credit supply (relative to banks), thereby mitigating the total credit reduction. This relative increase is stronger for riskier non-US firms, proxied by emerging market firms, high-yield firms, or firms in countries with stronger capital inflow restrictions. Finally, there are real effects associated with the international nonbank channel of monetary policy, as firms with better access to nonbank credit relatively increase total corporate debt, investment, and employment.

R&D investments in emerging market firms: the role of institutional investors and board interlocks

Despite the increase in institutional investor shareholdings in emerging market firms, their impact on R&D investments has received scant attention in the literature. By integrating agency and resource dependence perspectives, we examine the role of different types of institutional investors and their interactions with board interlocks in shaping their preference for R&D investment in their portfolio firms. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 2,478 Indian firm‐year observations from 2005 to 2019, using various estimation techniques. Our results indicate that different categories of institutional investors have distinct preferences for R&D investment. Specifically, we find that ownership by both foreign institutional investors and mutual fund investors negatively impacts R&D investments in firms. While board interlocks positively moderate the impact of institutional investors such as banks and financial institutions and foreign institutional investors on R&D investments in firms, this moderation is negative in the case of mutual fund investors and R&D investments in firms. We contribute to the understanding of the determinants of R&D investments in emerging market firms, with a specific focus on institutional investor ownership and add to the nascent literature on the interaction between two forms of governance, i.e., ownership and board characteristics, in shaping this firm strategy.