Cross-cultural factors, knowledge transfer and football development in China: Insights from a mixed methods approach

China has launched a long-term plan for football (soccer) development. One of its strategic initiatives consists of recruiting foreign coaches to obtain advanced skills and knowledge. The aim of this article is to analyse the reasons why the competitiveness of Chinese football has not yet reached the level of other countries, as well as to investigate the role played by the knowledge transferred by coaches from a leading football country such as Spain. Based on a mixed methods research design, the results suggest three reasons for the lower level of development of football in China: the prioritisation of academic success by young Chinese football players, traditional learning via repetition and automatisms, and the lack of success of China’s national football team. The study contributes to the literature on the influence of cultural factors on national athletic success. Moreover, it offers practical implications for improving China’s national strategy for football development

Distance factors and establishment mode choice of emerging-market multinationals: The moderating effect of administrative distance

Regulations, governance quality, and political structure are important factors that may alter the cost and difficulties associated with doing business in foreign markets. Emerging-market multinationals (EMNEs), with an imperative motivation to go abroad and to be competitive in a global landscape, should consider the impact of administrative distance, namely, the regulatory institutional differences between home and host countries. We suggest that the study of administrative distance is particularly important when addressing investment flows from emerging economies to developed ones, because of the differences between them. Drawing on transaction cost theory and institutional perspective, we analyze the moderating effect of administrative distance on the relationship between other cross-national distance factors—cultural, geographic and economic—and establishment mode choice of EMNEs. From a sample of 357 outward foreign direct investments carried out by Indian firms, our results show that administrative distance moderates the relationship between cultural, geographic and economic distance, and establishment mode decisions

Chinese investments in Latin America: An analysis of host country determinants

Despite cultural differences and political instability, Latin America is already the second main destination of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), only behind Asia. Although natural resource-seeking has been the traditional motivation for Chinese firms doing business in Latin America, market-seeking is also becoming an increasingly important driver. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of host country factors on the location decisions of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Latin America. We analyzed a sample of 106 investments carried out by 52 Chinese MNEs in 10 Latin American countries between 2005 and 2017. Our findings indicate that cultural distance negatively influences location choice by Chinese MNEs, while political risk has no influence. Moreover, market-seeking motivations and good diplomatic relations between China and the host country also matter

Decision-Specific Experience and Imitative Behaviour in Foreign Ownership Structure Decisions: Evidence from Large Chinese Firms

Drawing on institutional theory, this article examines the importance of decision-specific experience and imitative behaviour of Chinese multinational corporations’ (MNCs) foreign ownership structure decisions. From a sample of 189 outward foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions, the authors find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that Chinese firms tend to choose ownership structures based on prior experience with similar ownership structures. Moreover, Chinese firms tend to follow the ownership structure patterns established by earlier Chinese entrants. This article also investigates the moderating effects of cultural distance and host country-specific experience

La elección entre filial propia y joint venture: el caso de las multinacionales chinas

Hasta hace poco, China era fundamentalmente conocida como país receptor de inversiones directas en el exterior (IDEs). Sin embargo, una nueva generación de multinacionales chinas se está convirtiendo en protagonista principal de los flujos emisores de IDE a nivel mundial. Por ello, conocer el comportamiento internacional de estas empresas está suscitando cada vez un mayor interés. A partir de una muestra de 189 IDEs efectuada por empresas chinas entre 2002 y 2010, este artículo pretende contribuir al conocimiento de estas nuevas multinacionales mediante el análisis de los determinantes de su elección entre filiales propias y joint ventures

Las multinacionales chinas en España. Situación actual y retos de futuro

Las multinacionales chinas se están convirtiendo en actores principales del nuevo escenario global, y han realizado inversiones significativas en otros países durante los últimos años. Aunque España todavía no es uno de sus destinos principales, se observa una tendencia creciente de los flujos inversores. Este trabajo estudia las características de las inversiones chinas en España con datos a nivel de empresa, analizando el número de inversiones, los principales sectores de destino, la propiedad estatal o privada de la empresa china inversora, la modalidad de inversión utilizada y la región de localización. Asimismo, ofrece una serie de reflexiones sobre la importancia de la inversión china en España y sus perspectivas de cara al futuro

Firm-specific factors and entry mode choice: An analysis of Chinese hotel chains

The Chinese hotel sector has experienced spectacular growth in recent years. Furthermore, it is expected that Chinese hotel chains will increase their presence abroad in the future. One of the key decisions in the internationalization process of hotel firms is the choice of entry mode into a foreign country. Many different factors influence this strategic decision. From a sample of 185 entries carried out by the largest Chinese hotel firms, this study analyses some of the main firm factors that might influence entry mode choice. The results support the relationship between the entry mode of Chinese hotel chains and firm size, previous international experience and asset intangibility

The internationalisation of Indian multinationals: determinants of expansion through acquisitions

In recent years, there is an increasing number of papers focusing on the internationalisation process of Indian multinationals. However, there is still a gap in understanding the determinants of their outward foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. Thus, this paper analyses the factors influencing the choice between FDI modes by Indian firms. Our findings show that industry technological intensity, host country risk, host market attractiveness, previous international experience and the volume of exports from India to the host country are determining factors of the choice between acquisitions and greenfields

Multinacionales chinas en España: determinantes de la elección del modo de establecimiento

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) are emerging as major global players. Some of them have carried out significant foreign direct investments (FDIs) in developed countries. The main objective of these outward FDIs is to access strategic assets like internationally recognised brands or technological and managerial know-how. As a result, Chinese MNEs are receiving increasing attention in the international management literature. The study of these emerging-market MNEs has generated an interesting epistemological debate among researchers on the applicability of traditional theoretical frameworks. The main question is whether conventional arguments originated in MNEs coming from developed-countries are still valid in the case of developing-country MNEs. While some scholars argue that the analysis of emerging-market MNEs requires new theory, others argue that no new theory is required. Drawing on the transaction cost theory, this paper aims to contribute to this debate by analysing the determining factors of establishment mode choice by Chinese MNEs, namely the choice between acquisition and greenfield investment. From a sample of 88 Spanish subsidiaries of Chinese companies, results show that strategic asset-seeking and a lower growth rate of the Spanish economy are associated with a greater preference for acquisitions. However, industry’s technological intensity turned out to be not significant.Desde el inicio del siglo XXI, las multinacionales chinas se están erigiendo en actores principales del nuevo escenario global. Algunas de ellas han efectuado inversiones importantes en países desarrollados con la finalidad de conseguir activos estratégicos como marca o know-how. Estas multinacionales chinas están recibiendo una creciente atención en la literatura sobre dirección internacional de la empresa. Como consecuencia, se ha suscitado un debate académico sobre si los marcos teóricos convencionales resultan aplicables para explicar su comportamiento internacional o si se necesitan nuevos modelos teóricos que se adapten mejor a sus peculiaridades como multinacionales procedentes de una economía emergente. Nuestro trabajo pretende contribuir a este debate analizando, desde la teoría de los costes de transacción, los factores determinantes del modo de establecimiento utilizado por las empresas chinas, es decir, la elección entre adquisiciones o nuevas filiales propias. A partir de una muestra de 88 empresas radicadas en España con participación china, nuestros resultados indican que la búsqueda de activos estratégicos y una menor tasa de crecimiento de la economía española se asocian con una mayor preferencia por las adquisiciones en detrimento de las nuevas filiales propias. Sin embargo, la intensidad tecnológica del sector no resulta significativa en la elección del modo de establecimiento

Destination Attributes and Chinese Outbound Tourism to Europe

China is one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets. Europe is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists. However, Europe still accounts for a small percentage of Chinese outbound tourism. If European countries want to benefit from this market, they should pay attention to Chinese tourists’ preferences. This article contributes to the understanding of Chinese outbound tourism by analyzing those destination attributes that can influence the number of Chinese tourists received. From a sample of 47 European countries, our findings suggest that a greater cultural distance from China, a large number of World Heritage Sites, a large ethnic Chinese population, and a large number of flight connections to China are associated with the amount of Chinese tourists visiting each country