Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T06:33:14.471Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Unpacking the Impact of OFDI Speed and Rhythm on Innovation Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2022

Xiaobo Wu
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Jian Du*
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Yue Xu
Affiliation:
Cardiff University Business School, UK
Hongqi Xu
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China China Vanke Co., Ltd.
Shan Zhu
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
*
Corresponding author: Jian Du (dujian@zju.edu.cn)

Abstract

In this study, we focus on the temporal behaviors – speed and rhythm – of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) and examine the effect of such behaviors on innovation performance. Using a learning perspective, we argue that OFDI speed has an inverted U-shaped effect on EMNEs’ innovation performance, whereas the relationship between the uneven rhythm of OFDI and innovation performance is negative. The results, based on OFDI panel data of 1,092 Chinese firms, support our predictions that a moderate OFDI speed and a more regular pattern of OFDI expansion provide sources of competitiveness and contribute to firms’ innovation performance.

摘要

本研究以新兴跨国企业对外直接投资的时间行为(包括速度和节奏)为研究对象,考察了这种行为对创新绩效的影响。本研究从学习视角出发提出对外直接投资速度对新兴市场国家创新绩效的影响呈倒U型,而对外直接投资节奏的不均匀性与创新绩效呈负相关。基于385家中国企业1092个对外直接投资的面板数据,研究结果支持了我们的预测,即适度的对外直接投资速度和更有规律的对外直接投资扩张模式能够提供竞争力来源并促进企业创新绩效。

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Association for Chinese Management Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

ACCEPTED BY Senior Editor Jing Li

References

REFERENCES

Aaltonen, P. H. M. 2020. Piecing together a puzzle -A review and research agenda on internationalization and the promise of exaptation. International Business Review, 29(4): 10664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anand, J., McDermott, G., Mudambi, R., & Narula, R. 2021. Innovation in and from emerging economies: New insights and lessons for international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(4): 545559.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ancona, D. G., Okhuysen, G. A., & Perlow, L. A. 2001. Taking time to integrate temporal research. Academy of Management Review, 26(4): 512529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argote, L. 2015. An opportunity for mutual learning between organizational learning and global strategy researchers: Transactive memory systems. Global Strategy Journal, 5(2): 198203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Autio, E., Sapienza, H. J., & Almeida, J. G. 2000. Effects of age at entry, knowledge intensity, and imitability on international growth. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5): 909924.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barkema, H. G., & Drogendijk, R. 2007. Internationalising in small, incremental or larger steps? Journal of International Business Studies, 38(7): 11321148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barkema, H. G., & Vermeulen, F. 1998. International expansion through start up or acquisition: A learning perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1): 726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belderbos, R. 2001. Overseas innovations by Japanese firms: An analysis of patent and subsidiary data. Research Policy, 30(2): 313332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. 1997. The art of continuous change: Linking complexity theory and time-paced evolution in relentlessly shifting organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(1): 134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casillas, J. C., & Acedo, F. J. 2013. Speed in the internationalization process of the firm. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1): 1529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casillas, J. C., & Moreno-Menéndez, A. M. 2014. Speed of the internationalization process: The role of diversity and depth in experiential learning. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(1): 85-101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, J. 2007. International expansion path, speed, product diversification and performance among emerging-market MNEs: Evidence from Asia-Pacific multinational companies. Asian Business & Management, 6(4): 331353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, S. J., & Rhee, J. 2011. Rapid FDI expansion and firm performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(8): 979994.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chao, C. H., & Kumar, V. 2010. The impact of institutional distance on the international diversity-performance relationship. Journal of World Business, 45(1): 93103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, V. Z., Li, J., & Shapiro, D. M. 2012. International reverse spillover effects on parent firms: Evidences from emerging-market MNEs in developed markets. European Management Journal, 30(3): 204218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, S. B., Lee, S. H., & Williams, C. 2011. Ownership and firm innovation in a transition economy: Evidence from China. Research Policy, 40(3): 441452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockburn, I. M., Henderson, R. M., & Stern, S. 2000. Untangling the origins of competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 21(10/11): 11231145.3.0.CO;2-R>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. 1990. Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1): 128152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Inkpen, A., Musacchio, A., & Ramaswamy, K. 2014. Governments as owners: State-owned multinational companies. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(8): 919942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Datta, S., Iskandar-Datta, M., & Singh, V. 2013. Product market power, industry structure, and corporate earnings management. Journal of Banking & Finance, 37(8): 32733285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Clercq, D., Sapienza, H. J., Yavuz, R. I., & Zhou, L. 2012. Learning and knowledge in early internationalization research: Past accomplishments and future directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 27(1): 143165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dierickx, I., & Cool, K. 1989. Asset stock accumulation and sustainability of competitive advantage. Management Science, 35(12): 15041511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du, J., Chang, X., & Wu, X. 2019. The strategic fit of international expansion between temporal and spatial dimensions: Evidence from Chinese MNEs. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 55(4): 743758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, J. 1981. International production and the multinational enterprise (RLE International Business). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Eden, L. 2009. Letter from the editor-in-chief: Time in international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(4): 535538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fang, V. W., Tian, X., & Tice, S. 2014. Does stock liquidity enhance or impede firm innovation? Journal of Finance, 69(5): 20852125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, T. S. 2001. The geographic sources of foreign subsidiaries’ innovations. Strategic Management Journal, 22(2): 101123.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, X., Hou, J., & Liu, X. 2018. Unpacking the relationship between outward direct investment and innovation performance: Evidence from Chinese firms. World Development, 102(C): 111123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-García, R., García-Canal, E., & Guillén, M. F. 2017. Rapid internationalization and long-term performance: The knowledge link. Journal of World Business, 52(1): 97110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haans, R. F. J., Pieters, C., & He, Z. L. 2016. Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research. Strategic Management Journal, 37(7): 11771195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagedoorn, J., & Cloodt, M. 2003. Measuring innovative performance: Is there an advantage in using multiple indicators? Research Policy, 32(8): 13651379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitt, M. A., Hoskisson, R. E., & Kim, H. 1997. International diversification: Effects on innovation and firm performance in product-diversified firms. Academy of Management Journal, 40(4): 767798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, D., Chen, S., Zhang, G., & Ye, J. 2018. Organizational forgetting, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance: A moderated mediation analysis. Management Decision, 56(1): 87104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jain, N. K., Celo, S., & Kumar, V. 2019. Internationalization speed, resources and performance: Evidence from Indian software industry. Journal of Business Research, 95: 2637.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, R. J., Beamish, P. W., & Makino, S. 2014. Time compression diseconomies in foreign expansion. Journal of World Business, 49(1): 114121.Google Scholar
Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J. E. 1977. The internationalization process of the firm-a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 2332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J. E. 2009. The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(9): 14111431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M. V., & Coviello, N. E. 2005. Internationalisation: Conceptualising an entrepreneurial process of behaviour in time. Journal of International Business Studies, 36(3): 284303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khavul, S., Pérez-Nordtvedt, L., & Wood, E. 2010. Organizational entrainment and international new ventures from emerging markets. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(1): 104119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laamanen, T., & Keil, T. 2008. Performance of serial acquirers: Toward an acquisition program perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 29(6): 663672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lazzarini, S. G., Mesquita, L. F., Monteiro, F., & Musacchio, A. 2021. Leviathan as an inventor: An extended agency model of state-owned versus private firm invention in emerging and developed economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(4): 560594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leiponen, A., & Helfat, C. E. 2010. Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth. Strategic Management Journal, 31(2): 224236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levitt, B., & March, J. G. 1988. Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14(1): 319338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J., Chen, D., & Shapiro, D. M. 2009. Product innovations in emerging economies: The role of foreign knowledge access channels and internal efforts in Chinese firms. Management and Organization Review, 6(2): 243266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J., Li, Y., & Shapiro, D. 2012. Knowledge seeking and outward FDI of emerging market firms: The moderating effect of inward FDI. Global Strategy Journal, 2(4): 277295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, P. P. 2007. Toward an integrated theory of multinational evolution: The evidence of Chinese multinational enterprises as latecomers. Journal of International Management, 13(3): 296318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li-Ying, J., Wang, Y., & Salomo, S. 2014. An inquiry on dimensions of external technology search and their influence on technological innovations: Evidence from Chinese firms. R&D Management, 44(1): 5374.Google Scholar
Lieberman, M. B. 1987. The learning curve, diffusion, and competitive strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 8(5): 441452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, W. T. 2012. Family ownership and internationalization processes: Internationalization pace, internationalization scope, and internationalization rhythm. European Management Journal, 30(1): 4756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, J. T., & Mehlum, H. 2010. With or without U? The appropriate test for a U-Shaped relationship. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 72(1): 109118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, J. W., & Beamish, P. W. 2004. International diversification and firm performance: The S-curve hypothesis. Academy of Management Journal, 47(4): 598609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyles, M., Li, D., & Yan, H. 2014. Chinese outward foreign direct investment performance: The role of learning. Management and Organization Review, 10(3): 411437.Google Scholar
Mohr, A., & Batsakis, G. 2017. Internationalization speed and firm performance: A study of the market-seeking expansion of retail MNEs. Management International Review, 57(2): 153177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Bureau of Statistics. 2017. Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment. Beijing: China Statistical Press.Google Scholar
Oviatt, B. M., & McDougall, P. P. 2005. Toward a theory of international new ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 36(1): 2941.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pacheco-de-Almeida, G., Hawk, A. Y., & Bernard Yin, A. 2008. Speed and Tobin's Q HEC Paris Research Paper No. SPE: 2017–1198. Available from URL: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1095492 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1095492CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phene, A., & Almeida, P. 2008. Innovation in multinational subsidiaries: The role of knowledge assimilation and subsidiary capabilities. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(5): 901919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piperopoulos, P., Wu, J., & Wang, C. 2018. Outward FDI, location choices and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises. Research Policy, 47(1): 232240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prashantham, S., & Young, S. 2011. Post-entry speed of international new ventures. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(2): 275292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumpeter, J. A. 1939. Business cycles: A theoretical, historical and statistical analysis of the capitalist process. U.M.I. (University Microfilms International) Out-of-Print Books on Demand.Google Scholar
Shi, W., & Prescott, J. E. 2012. Rhythm and entrainment of acquisition and alliance initiatives and firm performance: A temporal perspective. Organization Studies, 33(10): 12811310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simcoe, T. S. 2007. XTPQML: Stata module to estimate fixed-effects Poisson quasi-ML regression with robust standard errors. Boston, MA: Boston College Department of Economics.Google Scholar
Smith, S. W. 2014. Follow me to the innovation frontier? Leaders, laggards, and the differential effects of imports and exports on technological innovation. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(3): 248274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, H., & Mathews, J. A. 2015. Accelerated internationalization and resource leverage strategizing: The case of Chinese wind turbine manufacturers. Journal of World Business, 50(3): 417427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsai, K. H., & Yang, S. Y. 2013. Firm innovativeness and business performance: The joint moderating effects of market turbulence and competition. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(8): 12791294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vermeulen, F., & Barkema, H. 2002. Pace, rhythm, and scope: Process dependence in building a profitable multinational corporation. Strategic Management Journal, 23(7): 637653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, C. F., Chen, L. Y., & Chang, S. C. 2011. International diversification and the market value of new product introduction. Journal of International Management, 17(4): 333347.Google Scholar
Wang, C., Deng, Z., Kafouros, M. I., & Chen, Y. 2012. Reconceptualizing the spillover effects of foreign direct investment: A process-dependent approach. International Business Review, 21(3): 452464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, F., Ning, L., & Zhang, J. 2017. FDI pace, rhythm and host region technological upgrading: Intra- and interregional evidence from Chinese cities. China Economic Review, 46: 6576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, J., Wang, C., Hong, J., Piperopoulos, P., & Zhuo, S. 2016. Internationalization and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises: The role of host-country institutional development. Journal of World Business, 51(2): 251263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xie, Z. Z., & Li, J. T. 2015. Demand heterogeneity, learning diversity and innovation in an emerging economy. Journal of International Management, 21(4): 277292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xie, Z. Z., & Li, J. T. 2018. Exporting and innovating among emerging market firms: The moderating role of institutional development. Journal of International Business Studies, 49(2): 222245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, J. Y., Lu, J., & Jiang, R. 2017. Too slow or too fast? Speed of FDI expansions, industry globalization, and firm performance. Long Range Planning, 50(1): 7492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahra, S. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hitt, M. A. 2000. International expansion by new venture firms: International diversity, mode of market entry, technological learning and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5): 925950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar