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This paper aims to analyse the characteristics of Chinese multinational corporations in other emerging economies using evidence from Latin America (LA) vis-à-vis the features found in previous studies of Chinese companies operating in developed countries.

It does this by studying the fit of theoretical frameworks recently developed for Chinese firms, the support from the government and the strength of their capabilities in relation to those of local competitors. The analysis is based on case studies with data collected from a theoretical sample of Chinese companies operating in LA.

The results show that these companies seem to be following a pattern similar to that described by Mathews’s (2006) Linkage–Leverage–Learning, that the support from the government does not seem to play an important role in their internationalisation process, that they appear to have developed a set of capabilities strong enough to compete in the host market (in particular how to combine their strengths with those of local partners) and that they are engaged in a positive cycle of development that helps them to overcome some of the challenges and barriers of operating in Latin American emerging markets by complementing/leveraging their strengths with those of local firms.

The findings indicate that Chinese companies are following patterns in their internationalisation to Latin American emerging markets that seems to be a combination of conventional theories (including previous studies on emerging markets-based firms) with idiosyncratic elements.

This study aims to investigate how natural resource-seeking as a type of strategic intent influences foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice. Grounded in the strategic intent approach and institution theory, the authors developed an interactive conceptual framework by integrating natural resource-seeking intent (NRI) with regulatory institutional factors.

The authors developed an interactive conceptual framework by integrating NRI at a firm level with regulatory factors of governmental support, political risk and economic freedom at country level. Using empirical data from a sample of 137 Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) projects in 19 Asian countries, statistical analysis was conducted using a conditional logistic regression technique.

Empirical findings from our study suggest that NRI has a strong influence on OFDI location choice of the Chinese firms. More importantly, the results demonstrate that influence of NRI on location choice is contingent on the regulatory forces both in the home and host countries settings. NRI is more likely to influence FDI location choice when government support from the home country is stronger and/or when political risk in a host country FDI is higher.

This is an empirical-based original study, and it contributes to the literature in several ways. First, the study enriches the strategic intent approach by demonstrating the contingency conditions from regulatory factors, especially home government support on a firm’s pursuit of NRI. Second, the study provides an explanation for the behaviour pattern of Chinese OFDI regarding their response to political risk in a host country. Third, the study demonstrates the influence of “institutional embededness” on the firm’s strategic intent. Managerial and policy implications are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends, patterns and the impact of cultural and home country macroeconomic influences on Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&A) as foreign entry strategy for the period of 1998-2011.

Using three regression models, namely, ordinary least squares, the random effects and fixed effects to examine the impact of home country macroeconomic and cultural factors on CBM&A outflows as an entry mode of Chinese firms. The authors check the robustness of the results using system GMM.

The findings suggest that CBM&A as a preferred mode of market entry provides a means for obtaining strategic resources to develop competitive advantages for the Chinese emerging market firms. The regression results indicate that home country macroeconomic and cultural variables, including gross domestic product (GDP), liquidity, interest rates, inflation, acquisitions in resource seeking sectors and cultural distance play an important role in explaining the trends of CBM&A outflows by the Chinese firms.

The results imply that government support to emerging market multinational enterprises (EMEs) to acquire strategic assets and economic policies in the home country play an important role in shaping international expansion behaviour of EMEs through CBM&A. The study demonstrates that outward investments of EMEs are partly a function of the level of economic policies and government support at home. The limitation is that most of the Chinese CBM&A transactions took place in Asia/Pacific locations. Future studies appear warranted if new data become available.

The study demonstrates how the institutions, strategic asset seeking with government support and economic policies in the home country play important role in shaping international expansion behaviour of emerging market enterprises through CBM&A thereby contributing to the political economy literature and institutional theory. More importantly, the study shows that the level of economic policies and development such as GDP, money supply, interest rates, inflation of the home country are important for EME growth in the international market.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical perspective on China's official outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) data, commonly used in most research on the internationalization of Chinese companies. Owing to the deficiencies of China's statistical system, official OFDI data leave us with only a limited understanding of the pattern of Chinese OFDI in general and cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in particular.

Based on a theoretical discussion of the internationalization of companies, some propositions about the development pattern of Chinese M&As are derived. This study uses the Dealogic database, which covers Chinese cross‐border M&As during the period from January 1999 to May 2007 in order to analyse the development trend, geographical destination, sectoral distribution, and equity participation of Chinese cross‐border M&As.

First, the growth of China's OFDI has not been as fast as expected, while the development of cross‐border M&As has been very impressive. Second, although official OFDI statistics reveal that Asia remains the most important investment destination, our M&A data analysis shows that the developed countries in the West have attracted most Chinese cross‐border M&A investments. Third, in contrast to the official OFDI statistics, our findings reveal a heavy concentration of M&As in mining and manufacturing. Finally, our cross‐border M&A data suggest that Chinese companies predominantly seek high‐level equity participation in the acquired target companies abroad.

This paper fills a gap in the study of the development pattern of Chinese cross‐border M&A investments and offers a complementary view and a better understanding of the internationalization of Chinese companies.

The first purpose of this paper is to propose a scalable video coding scheme providing flexibility in video transmission, especially under wireless environment. The second purpose is to analyze the problem of lengthening the key frame interval in distributed video coding (DVC), and propose an approach to improve the rate‐distortion (RD) performance of DVC for long group‐of‐frames (GOF) size.

In the proposed scheme, a base layer is first obtained from an H.264 coder. When a DVC coder is then used to code the enhancement layer, information in processing the base layer is extracted and analyzed to make multiple side‐information available and reduce error accumulation for DVC coding, thus further improving the performance of the DVC coder.

By dividing video into base and enhancement layers, the combined video coding architecture enables a flexible video transmission. In addition, several methods are used to improve the RD performance in DVC coding. Simulation shows that the proposed scheme outperforms non‐scalable DVC for long GOF size.

Prediction from the decoding loop in base layer encoder largely reduces enhancement layer spatial redundancy. Multiple side‐information provides better estimation for DVC reconstruction. Long prediction loop is more reliable because error accumulation is effectively compensated.

This paper aims to examine the global competitiveness of an emerging market multinational (EMM) from China through the case of a major European acquisition, in Italy, in the heavy construction industry. Country- and firm-specific factors are considered. Horizontal integration in this oligopolistic industry changes the industry dynamics, with significant implications for its players.

The paper follows case study methodology and triangulates data through a literature review, an examination of available company data and interviews of key personnel. Firm- and country-specific factors, both advantages and disadvantages, including the business environment in the construction industry, globally and regionally, are analyzed.

The paper identifies several key success factors at the firm level, including the integration of research and development, marketing and sales; the development of extensive communication and trust among the managers of both companies; the exploitation of the Chinese market as a source of demand; and the shifting of selected production lines to the Chinese market.

The traditional models of country-specific advantages/disadvantages and firm-specific advantages/disadvantages are augmented by examining the host market and industry task environments. Host country-specific factors for successful integration include favorable local conditions, both in terms of endowments and institutions, and an industrial cluster with supporting firms and services.

Following the case study, managers can refer to the key success factors to emulate “best practices”. The paper concludes with a heuristic developed by the Chairman of Zoomlinon, Chunxin Zhan, underlining five principles for a successful EEM acquisition: understanding, sharing, responsibility, compliance and coordination.

This paper develops a deep case study analysis and provides useful theoretical and practical implications with reference to Chinese acquisition in the Western markets.

While the significance of organizational resources and capabilities is widely discussed, little is known about their interrelationships as well as benefits for firms that are involved in coopetitive relationships. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance effects of entrepreneurial orientation, strategic intent and potential absorptive capacity as well as their complementarity effects on operational and innovation performance for firms involved in horizontal coopetitive relationships.

Drawing upon the resource-based-view, dynamic capabilities and the relational view theories, this study forwards numerous hypotheses between the constructs of interest. The proposed hypotheses are tested utilizing survey data collected from 313 horizontal coopetitive relationships.

The results clearly suggest that entrepreneurial orientation, strategic intent and potential absorptive capacity could positively impact innovation and operational performance outcomes independently. In addition, the authors also find strategic intent and potential absorptive capacity to have differential moderating effects on the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and the performance outcomes.

The findings suggest that although strategic intent and potential absorptive capacity could lead to performance benefits independently, when it comes to coopetitive relationships, the use of both these capabilities may not substantially increase the positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on performance outcomes. Specifically, given that these capabilities could intensify competitiveness as well as hostility between partners, they seem to affect the firm's performance differently.

Globalization, increasing intensity of competition and access to capital markets have enabled emerging market firms to explore inorganic growth through merger and acquisitions (M & A) over the past two decades. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of firm-specific factors on M & A propensity in Chinese technology firms.

The authors analyze data on 152 firms from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over a period of 2001-2011 using logistic and count data regression.

The authors find that the factors that influence M & As in these firms differ from the established factors found in M & A in developed economies. Large, low-debt firms have higher acquisition propensity irrespective of their technological strength and they tend to be serial acquirer too.

The findings provide new insights into inorganic growth behavior of emerging market technology firms and indicate presence of both exploitative and exploratory motives.

The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the concept of “strategic asset-seeking FDI”, which is frequently used in discussion of emerging economy multinational enterprises (MNEs), but it is challenged by some scholars. The author argues that he needs this category because an important type of foreign direct investment (FDI) is not captured by the other motives identified by John Dunning, namely, market-, efficiency- and natural-resource-seeking FDI.

The author illustrates the phenomenon of strategic asset-seeking FDI with case examples that form the starting point for his theoretical arguments.

Some FDI is undertaken explicitly with the aim to use assets acquired abroad to enhance the operations of the investor in other markets, including, notably, the investors’ home market. This contribution to capability-building processes of the MNE, indeed, constitutes an important and distinct type of investment motive.

The author concluded that Dunning’s typology remains a powerful tool to analyze contemporary business strategies, but it suggests refining the definition of the categories.

This paper aims to explore the contribution of China's largest business groups to China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), looking particularly at the question of whether they contribute to strategic‐asset‐seeking OFDI.

It uses national‐level data and business group OFDI data to explore the sectors from which OFDI originates and destinations to which it is sent. From this conclusions are drawn as to the types of investments being made.

In the national context strategic‐asset‐seeking OFDI from China has been rather limited to date. Instead, OFDI expansion still appears more closely linked to China's expansion as a trading nation with a natural resource deficit. Strategic‐asset‐seeking OFDI when it does take place, moreover, is orchestrated to a large extent through large state controlled business groups, as is much other OFDI.

A limitation of this research is the reliance on official data and the assumed simplification that most strategic‐asset‐seeking OFDI is concentrated in the manufacturing industries.

More attention should be paid to the role of these select business groups as they play a significant part in China's OFDI.

There is a growing presumption that much of China's OFDI is strategic‐asset‐seeking in nature and that new theories are required to explain this trend. Many firm‐level studies, however, rely upon just a few high‐profile but unrepresentative cases. This paper redresses this imbalance. It also shows that China's largest trial business groups have played an important role in her OFDI to date.