Russia's emerging multinationals: trends and issues

The paper focuses on the emergence of Russia's multinational companies. It aims to analyse their motives to internationalise as well as the approaches to internationalisation. While relevance of the theoretical perspectives is highlighted, the intention of the paper is to contribute to the understanding of the present-day phenomenon of emerging Russian multinationals; a phenomenon that has been largely overshadowed by the remarkable rise of Chinese and Indian companies. A special attention is devoted to the R&D activities of Russian multinational companies, and access to foreign technology as a driver of corporate restructuring. A discussion of the challenges and opportunities for host countries and policy implications is provided.Russia, multinational companies, emerging economies, foreign investment, technology transfer, MNEs

Foreign Direct Investment in Times of Global Economic Crisis: Spotlight on New Europe

This paper examines the potential impact of the economic crisis, which started in 2008, on the dynamics global foreign direct investment, especially in the new member states of the European Union. The global economic crisis that hit the world in 2008 has forced scholars and policy makers alike to rethink their approaches to the global economy, in particular to financial markets (including stock exchanges and portfolio investment). It can be hypothesised that the crisis has been particularly devastating because it has resulted from the coincidence of three factors: a cyclical downturn in the world economy; a structural change that hit certain industries which used to be star performers in the global economy (especially the automotive industry); and the collapse of the previous model of the financial industry based on excesses. This paper asks how this crisis affects foreign direct investment flows, with special attention being paid to the question of which locations are set to lose the least and which ones are set to lose the most. In this respect, particular attention is paid to the activities of subsidiaries of multinational enterprises. These subsidiaries can follow different scenarios as a response to the global economic turmoil, including a reorganization of their production systems, and a reduction or closure of activities that are deemed to be less necessary for the continuation of activities. Finally, the paper examines the policy implications of the crisis. It challenges the view that rising economic nationalism (in the form of protecting one location against locations in other countries) would be the right answer to the problems created by corporate restructurings.foreign direct investment, credit crunch, foreign subsidiaries, Europe

Europeanisation Strategy of Chinese Companies: Its Perils and Promises

The magnitude of outward FDI from China over the recent years has been impressive. It is widely acknowledged that China's government plays an active role in encouraging its companies to go global and become multinational as they realise the value of outward FDI. The paper traces the development of China's outward direct investment policies and discusses the various motives of Chinese companies' internationalisation. More specifically, in this paper we look at the European continent as the emerging destination for Chinese outward direct investment and analyse the implication this trend has for European companies and governments.China, multinational companies, emerging economies, outward investment, public policy

From Quantity to Quality: Challenges for Investment Promotion Agencies

Most investment promotion agencies worldwide are now placing a higher emphasis on attracting high "quality" FDI, including R&D centers and headquarter functions as well as knowledgeintensive industries such as information and communication technologies, biotechnology or nanotechnology. We argue that this requires a different approach than policies focused on the "quantity" of FDI inflows, leading to changes in the policy mix and in the approach to performance measurement. Targeting quality entails a shift from a mindset that prioritizes attraction of greenfield investments towards one where the focus is on subsidiary development. Another implication is that the interplay between FDI policies and innovation policies becomes more relevant and needs to be further nurtured. We focus on the management challenges that investment promotion agencies face in this transition from quantity to quality, drawing attention to the consequences for their human capital, structural capital and relational capital strategies.Aftercare, FDI, intellectual capital, investment promotion, R&D, subsidiary development

New Europe's Promise for Life Sciences

The life sciences sector (and biotechnology in particular) has emerged as a prospective area, and attracted a lot of attention recently. Multinational companies in the life sciences seek to explore new markets, and, on the other side, governments strive to develop the life sciences sector perceiving it as a basis for long-term development. Whilst the R&D activities of global multinationals in life sciences still remain concentrated in the Triadic economies, these companies increasingly seek for new location to tap the knowledge. New EU member states emerge as such prospective locations. Notwithstanding the interest towards this sector, the body of literature on the development of life sciences in new EU member states, and particularly, the role of multinational companies, remains scant. In this explorative study we attempt to fill this gap and focus on the role of multinational companies in the Czech life sciences sector.Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Multinational Companies, European Union

A New Nexus Between Foreign Direct Investment, Industrial and Innovation Policies

This paper deals with the interplay between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the industrial and innovation policies of host developing economies. It aims to redefine the nexus between these different, though yet strongly interconnected policy areas, by bringing the affiliates of multinational corporations already established in a host economy to the first level of analysis. It argues that host country governments should concentrate on enhancing innovativeness and development of existing foreign-owned affiliates, instead of striving to attract higher volumes of FDI inflows.Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, Foreign-owned Affiliates, Industrial Policy, Innovation Policy

Internationalization of Chinese firms in Europe

Since end of the 1990s, the world has been witnessing a phenomenon of internationalisation of Chinese companies. This internationalisation is often understood through FDI inflows, whereby multinational companies establish their presence in a form of subsidiaries overseas. However, lately many companies (and Chinese firms in particular) started to use strategic alliances and M&As as a pair of tools of internationalisation. Despite the growing body of literature on this topic in the context of advanced western economies, use of strategic alliances in the internationalisation of Chinese firms remains an under-researched topic. In the paper we investigate the potential benefits for Chinese companies to internationalise through strategic alliances and M&As, and specifically in comparison to the traditional forms of outward FDI. By using the data from Thomson SDC database, we specifically focus on the Single European market as a new prospective location for Chinese companies and provide a quantitative overview of Chinese firms' alliances as well as M&As in Europe. To illustrate the optimal pattern of internalisation of Chinese firms in Europe, we additionally use a case study of Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.strategic alliances, emerging economies, China, Europe, internationalisation