Multinational Enterprises In China Research Articles

How Can Multinational Enterprises Effectively Implement Local Consumer-Oriented Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategies? A Multi-Perspective Study on the Differences in CSR Response Mechanisms between Chinese and Japanese Consumers

Fully understanding the local populace’s awareness and reactions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a strong emphasis on sustainability is crucial for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to design and implement effective localized CSR strategies. This study centers on the home appliance industry and utilizes semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys as the research methods to construct and validate a model called “Attribution–Perception–Satisfaction–Loyalty (APSL)” that visualizes consumer responses to CSR information, particularly in the context of sustainability. We further explore the distinctions in the mechanism between Chinese and Japanese consumers, considering cultural, economic, and institutional aspects related to sustainability. The findings reveal that beyond the perceptions related to value-driven motivations, there are pronounced differences between Chinese and Japanese consumers in stakeholder-driven, self-interest-driven, and strategy-driven motivations, which can impact sustainability initiatives. Notably, Japanese consumers are more significantly affected by the impact of CSR on their satisfaction and loyalty. This study not only enriches and expands the theoretical framework of CSR and consumer responses to CSR but also offers insights and recommendations for MNEs in China and Japan to help overcome the self-reference criterion and implement local CSR marketing strategies with a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Is there a relationship between environmental performance and outward FDI? A study of Chinese MNEs

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the question, “How do firm-level, home-country and host-country environmental performance (EP) affect the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs)?”Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine the relationships between EP and OFDI propensity and between EP and OFDI intensity using a sample of 359 Chinese firms in industries with a significant environmental footprint between 2009 and 2019 (2,002 firm-year observations) and a Heckman two-stage model.FindingsThis study shows that the propensity for OFDI by Chinese MNEs is significantly and positively related to the firm’s prior EP and the country-level EP of China. However, the amount of FDI invested is significantly and positively related to the firm’s prior EP and negatively related to the EP of the host country.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that FDI in a country by an MNE is determined by a combination of firm-level EP, home-country EP and host-country EP. This study finds that the decision to undertake FDI (propensity) and the decision about how much to invest (intensity) are determined by different factors. The propensity for FDI is determined by the home-country EP and firm-level EP. However, the intensity of FDI is determined by a combination of the host country EP and firm-level EP. A limitation is that this study only examines MNEs in China, so the findings may not apply to other countries.Originality/valueThis paper shows that MNEs’ EP is positively related to the propensity and intensity of their OFDI decisions. However, this paper shows that the home-country and host-country EP may also play an important role in determining the propensity or intensity of OFDI.

Marketing Strategies of Multinational Enterprises in China--Taking Wal-Mart as an Example

This paper takes Wal-Mart as an example to analyze transnational marketing strategies. The importance of the research topic is to find out the advantages and disadvantages of multinational enterprises in China, as well as what strategies multinational enterprises should adopt in the process of transnational operation. This topic is chosen because the economy is becoming increasingly developed, the economic activities of countries and regions worldwide are interdependent, and the transnational marketing of enterprises is increasing. As a representative company with the largest turnover in the world, the advantages and disadvantages of Wal-Mart are discussed with case studies. This can serve as a learning target for other multinational companies to draw experience and enhance the cross-cultural concept. It can also avoid the problems caused by the excessive pursuit of low cost and the phenomenon of "acceding to the soil" when entering the Chinese market. Multinational enterprises in China should attach importance to localization and accurate positioning of enterprises in combination with the actual situation.

CSR and stakeholder salience in MNE subsidiaries in emerging markets

The purpose of this study is to identify the key stakeholder groups pressuring multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging markets (EMs), also if the pressure is global or local, to develop corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Drawing on stakeholder salience and institutional theories, all the stakeholder groups acknowledged and analysed in the literature were identified and examined to understand if they were perceived by MNEs in China as effective in pressuring them to engage in CSR strategies and activities. Results demonstrate that only stakeholder groups with power – government power or voting power – are perceived as having enough pressure to make MNEs’ Chinese subsidiaries engage in CSR, which is contrary to current theories. Our results allow us to theorise on an extension of the concept of utilitarian power and political power when analysing stakeholder salience in EMs. This research has important implications for managers as balancing and working with limited resources and correctly identifying and prioritising key stakeholders are vital to successfully improving performance.

Study on Securities Laws and Regulations in the Field of Mergers and Acquisitions of Multinational Enterprises in China

As Chinese reform and opening up continues to bear fruit, more and more multinational enterprises are merging and acquiring domestic enterprises to achieve their expansion purposes, which also promote international trade to a certain extent. Meanwhile, in the continuous practice of transnational M&A activities, the problem of state regulation of this activity has gradually emerged, particularly under the legal regime of securities law is more obvious. To facilitate the progress and development of foreign M&A, it is necessary to regulate transnational M&A activities reasonably and effectively in China. The first part of this paper describes the three remarkable stages in the past decades of its development, then analyzes the regulatory features of the current legal system of securities law in China from the horizontal and vertical perspectives, and the subject as well as object views. Moreover, it presents the shortcomings of the existing regulations. After elaborating the basic overview of the Chinese securities law system, the reasons for the inadequacy of the existing regime are analyzed including the objective regulatory requirements of the market, the urgent need to correct the dual-track legislation model, and the gap with other developed countries. Finally, constructive suggestions are made for the reform of the legal system. The essay adopts the legal norm analysis method, aiming at proposing feasible measures to improve the law system. At present, there are large loopholes and gaps in the fields of securities law for foreign investors’ M&A, so the research topic of this paper is of practical urgency and certain practical significance.

A Study on the Impact of Intercultural Communication on Multinational Corporations and Countermeasures

The differences between Chinese and non-Chinese cultures in multinational enterprises in China are introduced, and how communication in different cultural contexts can be efficient and effective, avoiding unnecessary communicative conflicts and thus leading to increased efficiency. The theory of speech act is used to explore the characteristics of multicultural communication in multinational enterprises. By analyzing the speech act characteristics of employees in multinational companies, we can raise people's awareness of different cultural backgrounds, different thinking habits and different values, and help them to control the appropriateness and accuracy of their speech acts in cross-cultural communication, so as to promote cost-effective communication and efficient communication in the company.

EFFECTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES ON TURNOVER INTENTION OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM

The global gradual economic recovery has restored the voluntary turnover rate to the level before the outbreak of the epidemic. Cultural differences are considered to be an additional reason for the brain drain of foreign multinational enterprises. A survey was conducted to collect responses from 202 millennial in selected foreign multinational corporations in China. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between human resource practice (HRPs) mediated by individualism/ collectivism (IC) and turnover intention (TI) by adopting the recognized and well-established social exchange theory, so as to provide new academic ideas for the Millennium employee management of multinational corporations in China. This study was utilized a cross-sectional study as a tools for data collection. For data analysis, this study implemented a Partial-Least Square (PLS) as tools of data analysis. The results highlight the mediating role of individualism/collectivism, reduce Millennium employee turnover intention. In addition, the results verify the negative effect of human resource practice on turnover intention. Therefore, it is important for the management of multinational enterprises in China to develop human resources practices that meet the cultural cognitive of Chinese employees. This study is the first to measure the mediating effect of individualism/collectivism, which defines the theoretical and practical significance and the direction of future research. In addition, more cultural factors will be added to the future research.

Introduction to the Special Issue on the New Silk Road of Innovation: R&D Networks, Knowledge Diffusions, and Open Innovation

Introduction to the Special Issue on the New Silk Road of Innovation: R&D Networks, Knowledge Diffusions, and Open Innovation

Green supply chain management and clean technology innovation: An empirical analysis of multinational enterprises in China

This study identifies the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on clean technology innovation (CTI) by enterprises in China as well as compares the effects of forward and backward GSCM and the differences by industry and home country. The effect of CTI on GSCM is tested by 501 samples of mostly multinational enterprises in China from 2014 to 2016. The results indicate that CTI benefits from GSCM, which remains robust to a series of sensitivity test. And different management directions show great differences, where the backward GSCM has a stronger promotion effect on CTI than the forward GSCM. Moreover, light polluting industries and capital-intensive industries have stronger incentives to adopt GSCM than heavy-polluting industries and labour-intensive industries. And domestic companies perform better than foreign companies.

R&D by US multinationals in China: geography and patterns of co-invention

PurposeThis paper addresses the geographical dimension of cross-border knowledge integration, expressed as the co-invention of patent filings and investigates the siting of patenting activities by major US corporations in China. Most importantly, the study looks into the patterns of international co-invention or the links of these locations to headquarters and other company subsidiaries.Design/methodology/approachThe study explores the cases of six US multinationals that file international patent applications in China. The applications were analyzed based on the composition of invention teams and the locations of inventors.FindingsThe co-invented patent filings by US multinational enterprises (MNEs) in China demonstrate a high degree of US–Chinese subsidiary collaboration. Links with other subsidiaries are marginal, and at the same time, high levels of sole patenting by inventors in China point to competence-creating research and development (R&D) activities taking place.Practical implicationsThe lack of subsidiary-subsidiary collaboration, especially subsidiaries in other emerging markets, indicates a less diversified strategy of leveraging internal networks of knowledge. This also implies that Chinese subsidiaries still lack attractiveness as partners in subsidiary-subsidiary co-invention. Only two companies in our sample, Procter & Gamble and Intel, demonstrate a highly diversified, integrated and transnational pattern of innovation management.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the contextual understanding of the rich landscape of R&D activities of major US MNEs in China. By exploring these cases, the paper identifies a number of trends. First, the R&D activities in this sample are highly concentrated in technological clusters located in Beijing and Shanghai. Technological clustering is an important advantage of the innovation landscape in emerging markets. Second, the paper underscores the importance of differentiating between different types of co-invention. The patent applications in this sample tend to unite inventors mostly from the US and China, and so multi-country applications involving subsidiaries in other countries are rare. Thus, the level of integration outside the center-host bandwidth is low. However, Chinese subsidiaries demonstrate high levels of autonomy by filing single-country applications, which implies that they are building their own research identity.

The Effects of Compliance Timing on Multinational Enterprises’ Corporate Performance in China: An Application of Institutional Perspectives

Purpose – Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) tend to face a high level of institutional pressures in regions with high institutional development level. When complying with institutional pressures, firms try to make decisions to maximize profit while minimizing the risks to them. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the institutional development level on institutional compliance timing by MNEs and the relationship between compliance speed and corporate performance. Design/methodology – The research focuses on three main variables, which are the institutional development level (as a determination of the institutional pressure level), the firm’s compliance speed (as a determination of the compliance timing), and the firm’s financial performance (as a determination of the corporate performance). We collected 19,869 firm-level data from CSMAR (the China Stock Market and Accounting Research), 6,922 CSR data from RKS (the Rankins CSR Ratings), and province and city-level data from the NERIM (National Economic Research Institute Index of Marketization) and NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China). The firms in China were chosen for analysis, and the analysis period was from 2008 to 2017. Random Effects GLS Regression was used to test the relationships among the variables. Findings – This study examined the effect of the institutional development level on the firm’s compliance speed, together with the effect of compliance speed on the firm’s financial performance of the MNEs in China. We found that the institutional development level positively influenced firms’ financial performances, which means the firms’ financial performances are better in the region with a high institutional development level. The compliance speed of institutional practice by firms was faster in the higher level of institutional development. However, the firm’s delayed compliance led to better financial performance. Originality/value – Studies in the resource dependence view of Institutional Theory often fall short in understanding the theory by overlooking the firm’s active decision-making. Thus, the findings do not present a full scope of corporate performance in this regard. This study not only found a way to test the role of a firm’s independent decision-making (i.e., compliance timing) when facing the institutional pressure but also prove the significant role of the compliance timing on corporate performance. Also, we were able to test the effect of institutional development level, controlling location-specific variables because we used CSR performance data for MNEs operating in China. Lastly, by doing the above, the findings of this study suggest practical implications to the industry practitioners in MNEs.

To wait or not to wait: pacing international expansion in China for best results

PurposeHow to enter and expand in a newly emerged foreign market is less understood. Should multinational enterprises move fast or slowly? In this study, the authors take China as the context to investigate what factors will lead to a fast expansion strategy in a foreign market. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether fast expansion benefits firms’ performance in a rapidly emerging market.Design/methodology/approachBased on insights from field interviews, the authors developed a theoretical framework. Then, the authors collected data from surveys of managers of multinational enterprises from Western countries to test their hypothesis. This research context is based on the experience of multinational enterprises in China which opened up to foreign direct investment in 1979.FindingsThis study shows that internally, strategic long-term investment goals, top management team commitment and externally switching costs and the growth in the demand market which will push firms to expand fast in the newly emerged China market. Faster pace of expansion benefits the performance of multinational enterprises in a newly emerged market.Originality/valueBased on the onsite interviews followed by the survey of top managers of multinational enterprises located in China, this study provides a fine-grained analysis of the importance of pace and its key antecedents. Thus, the results provide new insights to decision-makers of multinational enterprises when considering expanding in an emerging market at its early stages of growth.

CSR's Pattern and Trends within Multinational Enterprises Operating in China

This study examines the trends of corporate social responsibility (CSR) dynamics within multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China. Secondary data was gathered from the published reports (e.g., annual, CSR, sustainability etc.) to measure the study variable with the help of global reporting initiative (GRI-G4) and compute a comprehensive CSR' outline. This study institutes the fundamental but general drifts about the concept of CSR within MNEs in China. Overall, it was found that the inclination of CSR activities is towards social; followed by environmental and economic dimensions. While comparing CSR performance among various sectors, it was reflected that exploration & production, manufacturing and consumer products sectors have outperformed. Similarly, on average, Chinese MNEs disclosed proportionately more CSR activities than Non-Chinese MNEs. These results are very significant both for researchers and corporate practitioners. This research has not only examined the CSR's indicators quantitatively but also its reporting quality, in a quantitative and qualitative manner.

The Effect of Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Host Economies on The Sustainable Development of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment—Evidence from a Cross-Country Sample

Intellectual property rights protection (IPRP) has caused great concern in China, especially since the introduction of the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative. The Chinese government has increased investments to the countries along the B&R, most of which are developing countries with high investment risks. Using the panel data of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in 121 countries from 2003 to 2017, the sustainable relationships between the IPRP of host countries and China’s OFDI has been analyzed. The results of this paper show that, from the worldwide perspective, the stronger the IPRP of the host country, the greater attraction to China’s OFDI. While the IPRP of the countries along the B&R has a nonlinear U-shaped effect on China’s OFDI, which is related to the complex environments of the countries. When the IPRP of the B&R countries is within a certain range, China’s OFDI is biased toward a country with lower IPRP, and when the IPRP exceeds a certain range, China’s OFDI is biased toward a country with higher IPRP. Moreover, the market size, natural resources endowment and political environment of the host country are influential upon China’s OFDI as well. What deserves our attention is that China’s OFDI is more biased towards countries with poor political conditions, which can be related to the enterprise type and that most of the large multinational enterprises in China are state-controlled, resulting in investment decisions largely reflected by the national political goals rather than simple market targets.

Enhancing supply chain operations with extended corporate social responsibility practices by multinational enterprises: Social capital perspective from Chinese suppliers

Extending corporate social responsibility (CSR) to manage global supply chains has become strategically important for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to keep long-term relationships with suppliers in emergent countries. However, whether and how suppliers in developing countries respond to pressures from MNEs for CSR practices is lacking related studies. Built on the value of formal control through contracts and monitoring for diffusing CSR practices, this study further argues that evolving relational ties, which usually happen in multi-periods, with MNEs at both corporate and individual levels can be helpful or even necessary for suppliers to implement CSR practices from the social capital and guanxi theory perspective. Using survey data collected from 211 suppliers of MNEs in China, which is an emergent country characterized with the world's largest supplier base servicing MNEs, our hierarchical regression analysis demonstrates that relational ties including reciprocity, cooperation, and interaction at the corporate level have mediation and moderation effects on the formal control-CSR practices implementation link for these suppliers. Furthermore, personal trust is important and even necessary to motivate CSR practices implementation among the Chinese suppliers. Researching CSR from the supplier perspective, this study contributes new theoretical insights for MNEs to cultivate relational ties with their emergent-country suppliers in support of their formal control for CSR practices adoption by the latter.

How Institutional Distance and International Experience Affect the Success or Failure of Foreign Direct Investment by Chinese Enterprises?

With the sample of 2571 foreign direct investment of multinational enterprises in China from 2005 to 2016, the Logit model is used in this paper to empirically test the influence of host country system differences and international experience on the success or failure of foreign direct investment by Chinese enterprises. Our empirical findings are: the greater the difference in institutional distance (whether positive or negative), the larger the possibility that foreign direct investment by Chinese enterprises will fail, that is, the institutional distance is featured by “symmetric effect” on the success or failure of foreign direct investment by Chinese enterprises; as a “distance bridging” variable, international experience has regulatory effect that weakens the negative effect of institutional distance on Chinese enterprises’ overseas direct investment success rate in the negative institutional distance, but has no regulating effect in the positive institutional distance, which is featured by “asymmetric effect”; the adjustment of institutional distance to the success or failure of foreign direct investment by Chinese enterprises has industry characteristics. When Chinese enterprises directly invest in “sensitive” industries, the adjustment effect of international experience on the relationship between negative institutional distance and investment success or failure is less obvious than that in “non-sensitive” industries. In addition, the sample data of foreign investment by China’s multinational corporation in the “Belt and Road” countries are examined, which is consistent with conclusions. The research results also show that the host country’s dependence on trade, infrastructure and strategic resources are all important factors affecting the success or failure of foreign direct investment of Chinese multinational enterprises. According to the above conclusions, some suggestions and countermeasures are proposed in this paper.

중국의 다국적기업 이전가격 과세제도 개선방안에 관한 연구

중국의 다국적기업 이전가격 과세제도 개선방안에 관한 연구

Knowledge Type, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Creation and Firm Performance: Evidence from the Multinational Enterprises in China

Knowledge Type, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Creation and Firm Performance: Evidence from the Multinational Enterprises in China

Toward a theory of supply chain fields – understanding the institutional process of supply chain localization

When western multinational enterprises (MNEs) build end-to-end supply chains (SCs) to produce and distribute a product or deliver a service in emerging economies, the process is called supply chain localization. These companies encounter institutional environments with regulative, normative and cognitive characteristics very different from those in their home countries. SC localization uncovers and creates institutional voids; we argue that SC localization is a process of institutional change, requiring the MNE to build new institutional infrastructure. To the best of our knowledge, little is known about the institutional process of SC localization and its effects. We carry out a longitudinal case study to investigate SC localization of four MNEs in China. These MNEs are leaders of sustainable business practices in their industries, a distinction that highlights institutional voids in their SC settings. Based on the idea of fields in institutional theory, we build a mid-range theory by introducing the notion of the supply chain field. Our study identifies and contextualizes the key elements of an SC field. It recognizes MNEs, government and semi-government entities, and other participants as institutional actors who serve as architects and builders of the new SCs. We find that SC localization is an institutional process, taking place at both actor and field levels, where continuous ideation of new operations practices leads to structuring of the both the SC and SC field.

Location determinant and MNE’s performance: A modeling test in the China’s automobile industry

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that the location strategy is an important successful condition for multinational enterprise’s investment in China. We conduct a location–performance model for multinationals in China, which is tested using a structural equation modeling approach on a sample of 216 joint ventures of automobile multinational enterprises in China. We find that the relationship between the location determinant and multinational performance is significant and positive, and which is supported by the local partner’s performance.