Evolution of MNE strategies amid China’s changing institutions: a thematic review

Caleb H. Tse (), Klaus Meyer, Yigang Pan () and Tailan Chi ()
Additional contact information
Caleb H. Tse: Nanyang Technological University
Yigang Pan: York University
Tailan Chi: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Journal of International Business Studies, 2024, vol. 55, issue 6, No 1, 657-675

Abstract: Abstract As China’s economy rose to become the second largest in the world, its institutions did not converge with those of other advanced economies as predicted by many Western observers; instead, China developed a distinct form of state-led capitalism. As a result, how multinational enterprises (MNEs) engage with China’s changing institutional context needs to be revisited. To this end, we review 331 papers on MNE strategies and operations in China published in top international business and management journals between 2001 and 2022. We first introduce the path of institutional change and the opportunities and challenges it created for MNEs in China. We focus on six aspects of MNE strategies and operations: market entry, strategic alliances, innovation and knowledge sharing, global value chain strategies, guanxi and relationship management, and non-market strategies. Our analysis of China’s institutional trajectory and of MNE strategies and operations points to three persistent institutional mechanisms of concern for MNEs: challenges to organizational legitimacy, protection of property rights, and the enabling and directing aspect of institutions created by industrial policies. Insights from this analysis point to future research needs on institutional nonlinearities and discontinuities, linkages between inward and outward investments, and geopolitical influences on national institutions.

Keywords: China; Institutional theory; Institutional change; Multinational corporations (MNCs); Multinational enterprises (MNEs); Qualitative review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-024-00715-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:55:y:2024:i:6:d:10.1057_s41267-024-00715-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... nt/journal/41267/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41267-024-00715-5

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of International Business Studies is currently edited by John Cantwell

More articles in Journal of International Business Studies from Palgrave Macmillan, Academy of International Business
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().