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Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment Performance: The Role of Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2015

Marjorie Lyles ,
Dan Li  and
Haifeng Yan
Marjorie Lyles
Affiliation:
Indiana University, USA Lancaster University, UK UIBE, China
Dan Li
Affiliation:
Indiana University, USA
Haifeng Yan
Affiliation:
East China University of Science and Technology, China
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Abstract

We define the ‘Chinese way’ of internationalization as oriented toward experimental learning, in contrast to traditional internationalization models, such as the Uppsala model. Analyses of survey data of private Chinese firms that have made outward foreign direct investments (OFDI) show that only 50 percent follow the Uppsala model in which firms follow a staged approach. The other 50 percent follow more risky explorative OFDI approaches in which the firms learn on the ground experimentally from their OFDI. We further investigate how the founders’ congenital learning, firms’ inward international experience, potential absorptive capabilities, and motivations to learn, influence OFDI performance and how learning outcomes mediate these relationships. We show that the relationship between the firm’s potential absorptive capacity and its OFDI performance is fully mediated by what the firm learned from the OFDI project. Also the firm’s motivation to learn directly affects performance and is partially mediated by what the firm has learned.

摘要

摘要

相较于传统的国际化理论，如乌普萨拉模型，我们提出‘中国式’国际化的概念，并将其定义为试验性学习导向的国际化。调查数据分析显示，200家从事对外直接投资的中国民营企业中，50%的样本企业遵循了‘阶段式’的乌普萨拉模型，另外50%则采用试验性学习这样一种更加冒险的对外直接投资方式。我们进一步考察了创始人的先期学习、内向国际化经验、潜在吸收能力和学习动机对企业绩效的影响，以及学习结果在其中扮演的中介角色。研究表明，企业对外直接投资中的学习结果在潜在吸收能力和绩效之间，起到了完全中介的作用；学习动机直接影响了绩效且部分受到学习结果的中介。

Keywords

Chinese private firmsemerging economieslearningoutward foreign direct investment中国民营企业新兴经济体学习对外直接投资
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , November 2014 , pp. 411 - 437
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2014

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