Chinese outward foreign investment: strategies for international development
Abstract
Supported by the ‘Go Global’ (or ‘Going Out’) policy promoted by the Chinese government since 1999, a number of Chinese firms have developed rapidly abroad during the last two decades. This chapter investigates whether their internationalization behaviors conform to existing theoretical frameworks, namely the Uppsala stage model (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977, 2009), the Eclectic Paradigm (Dunning, 2001, 2006), the Linkage, Leverage, Learning (LLL) model (Mathews, 2006), and the ‘Born Global’ model (McDougall et al., 1994; Cavusgil and Knight, 2015). The theoretical frameworks of these models derive from the cases of Western MNCs during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. However, currently Chinese firms develop abroad in a more trade-friendly world, and with the strong support of Chinese authorities. By thoroughly investigating the cases of 12 carefully-selected firms, this chapter identifies the peculiarities of Chinese MNCs’ international development.