Skip to main content
Log in

Overcoming distrust: How state-owned enterprises adapt their foreign entries to institutional pressures abroad

  • Article
  • Published:
Journal of International Business Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

State-owned (SO) enterprises are subject to more complex institutional pressures in host countries than private firms. These institutional pressures arise from a weak legitimacy of “state ownership” in some countries, which arises from a combination of ideological conflicts, perceived threats to national security, and claimed unfair competitive advantage due to support by the home country government. These institutional pressures directed specifically at SO firms induce them to adapt their foreign entry strategies to reduce potential conflicts and to enhance their legitimacy. Testing hypotheses derived from this theoretical argument for subsidiaries of listed Chinese firms, we find that SO firms adapt mode and control decisions differently from private firms to the conditions in host countries, and these differences are larger where pressures for legitimacy on SO firms are stronger. These findings not only extend institutional theory to better explain differential effects on different entrants to an organizational field, but demonstrate how foreign investors of idiosyncratic origins may proactively build legitimacy in host societies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According to the UNCTAD FDI database, Chinese outward FDI flows increased to US$84.2 billion in 2012, accounting for more than a quarter of FDI from Asian emerging economies (i.e., Asia excluding Japan). Of the Chinese outward FDI, according to the estimates by the Heritage Foundation, 96% of the dollar value from 2005 to the middle of 2012 came from SOEs (Scissors, 2012).

  2. For instance, additional screening and approval by the government are needed in Canada only when foreign SO investors attempt to take controlling interests (“acquisition of control”) in Canadian firms (Investment Canada Act, 2013).

  3. In the Euronext market, a shareholder of a listed company wanting to increase its equity stake beyond 30% must make a public bid for all outstanding shares, while Hong Kong Stock Exchange requires controlling shareholders to make a public bid for all outstanding shares if the floating shares go below 25% of total issued shares.

  4. Following international accounting standards, these are reported as subsidiaries (IAS 27, §13), joint control (IAS31, §7), and significant influence (IAS28, §§6–7). “Significant influence” is associated with ownership levels of 20% or more and thus still meets the definition of FDI commonly used in the IB literature.

  5. Since 2007, China Security Regulatory Commission have required all the listed companies to disclosure in their annual reports the controlling chain and the identity of the ultimate controller of the listed entities, which makes our distinction of SO vs PO quite reliable.

  6. We thank the action editor for this suggestion.

  7. For example, when a listed parent company holds 80% ownership in a son company and this son company in turn holds 80% ownership in an overseas subsidiary, the parent firm’s voting right in the overseas subsidiary is 80% and cash flow right is 64%.

  8. The descriptive statistics for the subsamples used in Tables 5 and 6 are available from the authors upon request.

  9. Note that in Column (8) of Table 5 the interaction between host technology and state is not significant. We examined VIF values of the variables included in this column and found that host technology and rule of law have VIF values of well above 10, suggesting high correlations between the two variables, which might lead to the insignificance of the interaction term. Thus estimating the two interaction effects in separate models, as in columns 3 and 5, is appropriate.

  10. We thank a reviewer for suggesting this. Geographical distance was computed based on the latitude and longitude of the city where the Chinese firm is located and the capital city of the host country. It was measured as the log of geographic distance in kilometers. The information is from the CEPII.

  11. In 2004–2005, German machine tool manufacturers Wohlenberg, Schiess, Waldrich Coburg, Kelch, and Grosse Jacquard, all of which were undergoing insolvency procedures at the time, were acquired by, respectively, Shanghai Electric Group, Shanyang Machine Tool Group, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Plant, Harbin Measuring and Cutting Tool Group, and Hisun Group, all of which were SO firms (Jungbluth, 2013, Table 1). Similarly, Dürkopp Adler was facing financial challenges but not insolvency at the time of its takeover by the SO MNE ShangGong Group, and has since been successfully restructured while maintaining key operations in Europe (Klöckner, 2013).

  12. We thank the special issue editor’s guidance on this matter.

References

  • Anand, J., & Delios, A. 2002. Absolute and relative resources as determinants of international acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 23 (2): 119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & Gatignon, H. 1986. Modes of foreign entry: A transaction cost analysis and propositions. Journal of International Business Studies, 17 (3): 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asiedu, E., Jin, Y., & Nandwa, B. 2009. Does foreign aid mitigate the adverse effect of expropriation risk on foreign direct investment? Journal of International Economics, 78 (2): 268–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aybar, B., & Ficici, A. 2009. Cross-border acquisitions and firm value: An analysis of emerging-market multinationals. Journal of International Business Studies, 40 (8): 1317–1338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boning, O. 2013. Nobody trusted us at the time (interview with Zhang Min). Unternehmer edition, August: 42–43.

  • Brouthers, K. D. 2002. Institutional, cultural and transaction cost influences on entry mode choice and performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 33 (2): 203–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brouthers, K. D. 2013. A retrospective on: Institutional, cultural and transaction cost influences on entry mode choice and performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 44 (1): 14–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, R., & Spekman, R. 1998. The dark side of alliances: Lessons from Volvo–Renault. European Management Journal, 16 (2): 136–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, P. J., Clegg, J., Cross, A., Liu, X., Voss, H., & Zheng, P. 2007. The determinants of Chinese outward FDI. Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (4): 499–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, C. M., & Makino, S. 2007. Legitimacy and multi-level institutional environments: Implications for foreign subsidiary ownership structure. Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (4): 621–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, S., Hadi, A., & Price, B. 2000. Regression analysis by example. New York: Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics, 3rd edn. New York: Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics.

    Google 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): 204–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y. Y., & Young, M. N. 2010. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions by Chinese listed companies: A principal–principal perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 27 (3): 523–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Child, J., & Marinova, S. T. forthcoming. The role of contextual combinations in the globalization of Chinese firms. Management and Organization Review, accepted.

  • Clifton, J., & Diaz-Fuentes, D. 2010. Is the European Union ready for foreign direct investment from emerging markets? In K. P. Sauvant, W. A. Maschek, & G. McAllister (Eds), Foreign direct investments from emerging markets. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui, L., & Jiang, F. 2012. State ownership effect on firms’ FDI ownership decisions under institutional pressure: A study of Chinese outward-investing firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 43 (3): 264–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cui, L., Meyer, K. E., & Hu, H. 2013. What drives firms’ intent to seek strategic assets by foreign direct investment? A study of emerging economy firms. Journal of World Business, 49(4): 488–501.

  • Deng, P. 2009. Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion? Journal of World Business, 44 (1): 74–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding, Y., Nowak, E., & Zhang, H. 2010. Foreign vs. domestic listing: An entrepreneurial decision. Journal of Business Venturing, 25 (2): 175–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding, Y., Zhang, H., & Zhang, J. X. 2008. The financial and operating performance of Chinese family-owned listed firms. Management International Review, 48 (3): 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Djankov, S., La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., & Shleifer, A. 2008. The law and economics of self-dealing. Journal of Financial Economics, 88 (3): 430–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dow, D., & Karunaratna, A. 2006. Developing a multidimensional instrument to measure psychic distance stimuli. Journal of International Business Studies, 37 (5): 578–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eden, L., & Miller, S. R. 2004. Distance matters: Liability of foreignness, institutional distance and ownership strategy. Advances in International Management, 16: 187–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrin, S., Baghdasaryan, D., & Meyer, K. E. 2009. The impact of institutional and human resource distance on international entry strategies. Journal of Management Studies, 46 (7): 1171–1196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Globerman, S., & Shapiro, D. 2009. Economic and strategic considerations surrounding Chinese FDI in the United States. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26 (1): 163–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant. 2012. Fear the dragon? Chinese foreign direct investment in Canada, Conference Board of Canada, http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=4884, accessed September 2012.

  • Hall, R. E., & Jones, C. I. 1999. Why do some countries produce so much more output per worker than others? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114 (1): 83–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennart, J. F. 2009. Down with MNE-centric theories! Market entry and expansion as the bundling of MNE and local assets. Journal of International Business Studies, 40 (9): 1432–1454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennart, J. F., & Park, Y. R. 1993. Greenfield vs. acquisition: The strategy of Japanese investors in the United States. Management Science, 39 (9): 1054–1070.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A. J. 1999. Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the US chemical industry. Academy of Management Journal, 42 (4): 351–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, E., & Sun, L. 2006. Dynamics of internationalization and outward investment: Chinese corporations’ strategies. China Quarterly, 187 (September): 610–634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hope, O. K., Thomas, W., & Vyas, D. 2011. The cost of pride: Why do firms from developing countries bid higher? Journal of International Business Studies, 42 (1): 936–957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Investment Canada Act. 2013. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-21.8/, accessed March 2014.

  • Jones, D. C., & Mygind, N. 1999. The nature and determinants of ownership changes after privatization: Evidence from Estonia. Journal of Comparative Economics, 27 (3): 422–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jungbluth, C. 2013. Aufbruch nach Westen: Chinesische direktinvestitionen in deutschland. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klöckner, J. 2013. Chinesische Investoren: Freunde in der Krise. Die Zeit, 3 March, http://www.zeit.de/2013/09/Chinesen-Unternehmen-Duerkopp-Adler, accessed March 2014.

  • Knutsen, C. H., Rygh, A., & Hveem, H. 2011. Does state ownership matter? Institutions’ effect on foreign direct investment revisited. Business & Politics, 13 (1): article 2.

  • Kogut, B., & Chang, S. 1991. Technological capabilities and Japanese foreign direct investment in the United States. Review of Economics & Statistics, 73 (3): 401–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kogut, B., & Singh, H. 1988. The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode. Journal of International Business Studies, 19 (3): 411–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, T. 1999. Transnational transfer of strategic organizational practices: A contextual perspective. Academy of Management Review, 24 (2): 308–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, T., & Roth, K. 2002. Adoption of an organizational practice by subsidiaries of multinational corporations: Institutional and relational effects. Academy of Management Journal, 45 (1): 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, T., Roth, K., & Dacin, M. T. 2008. Institutional theory in the study of multinational corporations: A critique and new directions. Academy of Management Review, 33 (4): 994–1006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulawczuk, P. 2007. The purchase of a monopoly: France telecom acquires TPSA. In K. E. Meyer, & S. Estrin (Eds), Acquisition strategies in European emerging markets. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., & Shleifer, A. 2008. The economic consequences of legal origins. Journal of Economic Literature, 46 (2): 285–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., Li, Y., & Shapiro, D. M. 2012. Knowledge seeking and outward FDI of emerging market firms: The moderating effect of inward FDI. Global Strategy Journal, 2 (4): 277–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., Newenham-Kahindi, A., Shapiro, D. M., & Chen, V. Z. 2013. The two-tier bargaining model revisited: Theory and evidence from China’s natural resource investments in Africa. Global Strategy Journal, 3 (4): 300–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, M. H., Cui, L., & Lu, J. Y. 2014. Varieties in state capitalism: Outward FDI strategies of central and local state-owned enterprises from emerging economy countries. Journal of International Business Studies, 45 (8): 980–1004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N. 2011. Capitalism in China: A centrally managed capitalism (CMC) and its future. Management and Organization Review, 7 (10): 63–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y. P., & Woywode, M. 2013. Light-touch integration of Chinese cross-border M&A: The influences of culture and absorptive capacity. Thunderbird International Business Review, 55 (4): 469–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez-de-Silanes, F., La Porta, R., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. 1998. Law and finance. Journal of Political Economy, 106 (6): 1113–1155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, J. W., & Xu, D. 2006. Growth and survival of international joint ventures: An external–internal legitimacy perspective. Journal of Management, 32 (3): 426–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, J. Y., Liu, X. H., Wright, M., & Filatotchev, I. 2014. International experience and FDI location choices of Chinese firms: The moderating effects of home country government support and host country institutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 45 (4): 428–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y. D., Xue, Q., & Han, B. 2010. How emerging market governments promote outward FDI: Experience from China. Journal of World Business, 45 (1): 68–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. 1977. Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83 (2): 340–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E. 2001. Institutions, transaction costs and entry mode choice in Eastern Europe. Journal of International Business Studies, 31 (2): 357–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E. 2004. Perspectives on multinational enterprises in emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (4): 259–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E. 2013. What is and why do we study international business? AIB Insights, 13 (1): 10–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E., & Thein, H. H. 2014. Business under adverse home country institutions: The case of international sanctions against Myanmar. Journal of World Business, 49 (1): 156–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E., Estrin, S., Bhaumik, S. K., & Peng, M. W. 2009a. Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies. Strategic Management Journal, 30 (1): 61–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. E., Wright, M., & Pruthi, S. 2009b. Managing knowledge in foreign entry strategies: A resource-based analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 30 (5): 557–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morck, R., Yeung, B., & Zhao, M. 2008. Perspectives on China’s outward foreign direct investment. Journal of International Business Studies, 39 (3): 337–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, E. J. 2009. Controlling cartels – Implications of the EU policy reforms. European Management Journal, 27 (1): 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musacchio, A., & Lazzarini, S. G. 2012. Leviathan in business: Varieties of state capitalism and their implications for economic performance. SSRN Working Paper #20709042.

  • Naughton, B. 1994. Chinese institutional innovation and privatization from below. American Economic Review, 84 (2): 266–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyland, C., Forbes-Mewett, H., & Thomson, S. B. 2011. Sinophobia as corporate tactic and the response of host communities. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 41 (4): 610–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramasamy, B., Yeung, M., & Laforet, S. 2012. China’s outward foreign direct investment: Location choice and firm ownership. Journal of World Business, 47 (1): 17–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regnér, P., & Edman, J. 2014. MNE institutional advantage: How subunits shape, transpose and evade host country institutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 45 (3): 275–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rui, H., & Yip, G. S. 2008. Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic intent perspective. Journal of World Business, 43 (2): 213–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sauvant, K. P. 2010. Is the United States ready for foreign direct investment from emerging markets? The case of China. In K. P. Sauvant, W. A. Maschek, & G. McAllister (Eds), Foreign direct investments from emerging markets. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schütte, H., & Chen, S. E. 2013. Reaching high: Sany’s internationalization (B). Shanghai, China: China Europe International Business School, case number CEIBS CC-312-019.

  • Scissors, D. 2012. Chinese outward investment: Acceleration features the US. Washington DC: The Heritage Foundation, No. 3656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W. R. 2001. Institutions and organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slangen, A., & Hennart, J. F. 2007. Greenfield or acquisition entry: A review of the empirical foreign establishment mode literature. Journal of International Management, 13 (4): 403–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spamann, H. 2010. The “Antidirector Rights Index” revisited. Review of Financial Studies, 23 (2): 467–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. W. 1993. Volvo abandons Renault merger. New York Times, December 3, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/03/business/volvo-abandons-renault-merger.html, accessed November 2013.

  • Sun, Q., & Tong, W. H. S. 2003. China share issue privatization: The extent of its success. Journal of Financial Economics, 70 (2): 183–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tihanyi, L., Griffith, D. A., & Russell, C. J. 2005. The effect of cultural distance on entry mode choice, international diversification, and MNE performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 36 (3): 270–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tipton, F. B. 2009. Southeast Asian capitalism: History, institutions, states, and firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26 (3): 401–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobin, J. 1958. Estimation of relationships for limited dependent variables. Econometrica, 26 (1): 24–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsui, A. S. 2007. From homogenization to pluralism: International management research in the academy and beyond. Academy of Management Journal, 50 (6): 1353–1364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. Q., Hong, J. J., Kafouros, M., & Wright, M. 2012. Exploring the role of government involvement in outward FDI from emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 43 (7): 655–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westney, E. 1993. Institutionalization theory and the multinational corporation. In S. Ghoshal, & E. Westney (Eds), Organization theory and the multinational corporation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersema, M. F., & Bowen, H. P. 2009. The use of limited dependent variable techniques in strategy research: Issues and methods. Strategic Management Journal, 30 (6): 679–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, L. 2013. The “Liability of Foreignness”: Chinese investment in Australia. Mimeo. Perth, Australia: Murdoch University.

  • Wooldridge, J. M. 2002. Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xinhua. 2011. Outlines of China’s 12th five-year national economic and social development plan [in Chinese], http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-03/16/c_121193916.htm, accessed September 2012.

  • Xu, D., & Shenkar, O. 2002. Institutional distance and the multinational enterprise. Academy of Management Review, 27 (4): 608–618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yiu, D. W. 2011. Multinational advantages of Chinese business groups: A theoretical exploration. Management International Review, 7 (2): 249–278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yiu, D., & Makino, S. 2002. The choice between joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary: An institutional perspective. Organization Science, 13 (6): 667–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., Zhou, C., & Ebbers, H. 2010. Completion of Chinese overseas acquisitions: Institutional perspectives and evidence. International Business Review, 20 (2): 226–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, H. X., Luo, Y. D., & Suh, T. W. 2004. Transaction cost determinants and ownership-based entry mode choice: A meta-analytical review. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (6): 524–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, M., Park, S. H. S., & Zhou, N. 2014. MNC strategy and social adaptation in emerging markets. Journal of Internatinal Business Studies, 45 (7): 842–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou, H., & Adams, M. B. 2008. Corporate ownership, equity risk and returns in the People’s Republic of China. Journal of International Business Studies, 39 (7): 1149–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank JIBS Special Issue Editors and three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. We also appreciate the helpful comments on earlier versions of this work from Lin Cui and Larissa Rabbiosi, seminar participants at Copenhagen Business School, University of St. Gallen, George Mason University and HEC Lausanne as well as conference participants at COST workshop “The Impact of Emerging Multinationals on Global Development” (May 2013, Milan), 7th China Goes Global Conference (September 2013, Bremen), and Conference on “Governments as Owners: Globalizing State Owned Enterprises” (September 2013, Boston). Financial support is gratefully appreciated by Yuan Ding from the CEIBS Research Center on Globalization of Chinese Firms, by Klaus Meyer from CEIBS Research Centre for Emerging Market Studies, and by Jing Li from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from the National Science Foundation of China (project 71132002). The research assistance of Ellen Jiang Xiaochu (Ophelia) Yu is greatly appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Accepted by Aldo Musacchio, Guest Editor, 20 February 2014. This paper has been with the authors for three revisions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Meyer, K., Ding, Y., Li, J. et al. Overcoming distrust: How state-owned enterprises adapt their foreign entries to institutional pressures abroad. J Int Bus Stud 45, 1005–1028 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.15

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.15

Keywords

Navigation