IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intman/v24y2018i4p317-332.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subnational Institutions and Location Choice of Emerging Market Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Jie

Abstract

I examine how subnational institutions of emerging markets affect the location choice of emerging market firms. I argue that the weak institutions in emerging markets push firms to acquire the skills needed for survival in unfavorable institutional environments. When they start their international venturing, such knowledge, skills, and capabilities will become their unique advantage, which makes them more resilient to red tape, nepotism, and corruption in the host countries. Using a sample of 143 outward FDI events of Chinese multinationals, I test the relationship between subnational institutions at home and firm propensity to enter a target market with weak institutional systems and found robust empirical support for the use of different estimation strategies. Further, my results demonstrate that the effect of subnational institutions at home on location choice is more pronounced in private enterprises compared to state-owned enterprises. This study reveals the importance of home country effects in location choice research and tests empirically the existence of institutional advantage.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Jie, 2018. "Subnational Institutions and Location Choice of Emerging Market Firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 317-332.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:24:y:2018:i:4:p:317-332
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2018.04.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075425317303253
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intman.2018.04.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ashish Arora & Anand Nandkumar, 2012. "Insecure Advantage? Markets for Technology and the Value of Resources for Entrepreneurial Ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 231-251, March.
    2. Utz Weitzel & Sjors Berns, 2006. "Cross-border takeovers, corruption, and related aspects of governance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 786-806, November.
    3. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung & Minyuan Zhao, 2008. "Perspectives on China's outward foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(3), pages 337-350, April.
    4. Christine M. Chan & Shige Makino & Takehiko Isobe, 2010. "Does subnational region matter? Foreign affiliate performance in the United states and China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(11), pages 1226-1243, November.
    5. Jun Xia & Xufei Ma & Jane W. Lu & Daphne W. Yiu, 2014. "Outward foreign direct investment by emerging market firms: A resource dependence logic," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9), pages 1343-1363, September.
    6. Head, Keith & Ries, John & Swenson, Deborah, 1995. "Agglomeration benefits and location choice: Evidence from Japanese manufacturing investments in the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3-4), pages 223-247, May.
    7. Luo, Yadong & Xue, Qiuzhi & Han, Binjie, 2010. "How emerging market governments promote outward FDI: Experience from China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 68-79, January.
    8. Guy L. F. Holburn & Bennet A. Zelner, 2010. "Political capabilities, policy risk, and international investment strategy: evidence from the global electric power generation industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(12), pages 1290-1315, December.
    9. Hennart, J.M.A., 2012. "Emerging market multinationals and the theory of the multinational enterprise," Other publications TiSEM 23818daa-f6ed-4fd6-bca4-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    10. Nguyen, Thang V. & Le, Ngoc T.B. & Bryant, Scott E., 2013. "Sub-national institutions, firm strategies, and firm performance: A multilevel study of private manufacturing firms in Vietnam," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 68-76.
    11. Linda Argote & Ella Miron-Spektor, 2011. "Organizational Learning: From Experience to Knowledge," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1123-1137, October.
    12. Yadong Luo & Rosalie L Tung, 2007. "International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 481-498, July.
    13. Cynthia A. Montgomery & Harbir Singh, 1984. "Diversification strategy and systematic risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 181-191, April.
    14. Mohsin Habib & Leon Zurawicki, 2002. "Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 291-307, June.
    15. Paul Shrivastava, 1983. "A Typology Of Organizational Learning Systems," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 7-28, January.
    16. Nile W. Hatch & David C. Mowery, 1998. "Process Innovation and Learning by Doing in Semiconductor Manufacturing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(11-Part-1), pages 1461-1477, November.
    17. Geleilate, José-Mauricio G. & Magnusson, Peter & Parente, Ronaldo C. & Alvarado-Vargas, Marcelo J., 2016. "Home Country Institutional Effects on the Multinationality–Performance Relationship: A Comparison Between Emerging and Developed Market Multinationals," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 380-402.
    18. Michael A Witt & Arie Y Lewin, 2007. "Outward foreign direct investment as escape response to home country institutional constraints," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 579-594, July.
    19. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, 2008. "The effectiveness of laws against bribery abroad," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(4), pages 634-651, June.
    20. Christine Oliver, 1997. "Sustainable competitive advantage: combining institutional and resource‐based views," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 697-713, October.
    21. Yoo, Dasun & Reimann, Felix, 2017. "Internationalization of Developing Country Firms into Developed Countries: The Role of Host Country Knowledge-Based Assets and IPR Protection in FDI Location Choice," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 242-254.
    22. Lin Cui & Fuming Jiang, 2012. "State ownership effect on firms' FDI ownership decisions under institutional pressure: a study of Chinese outward-investing firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(3), pages 264-284, April.
    23. Peter J Buckley & L Jeremy Clegg & Adam R Cross & Xin Liu & Hinrich Voss & Ping Zheng, 2007. "The determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 499-518, July.
    24. Wilbur Chung & Juan Alcácer, 2002. "Knowledge Seeking and Location Choice of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(12), pages 1534-1554, December.
    25. Rui, Huaichuan & Yip, George S., 2008. "Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic intent perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 213-226, March.
    26. Wang, Chengqi & Hong, Junjie & Kafouros, Mario & Boateng, Agyenim, 2012. "What drives outward FDI of Chinese firms? Testing the explanatory power of three theoretical frameworks," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 425-438.
    27. Estrin, Saul & Nielsen, Bo B. & Nielsen, Sabina, 2017. "Emerging market multinational companies and internationalization: the role of home country urbanization," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68350, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    28. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    29. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro, 2008. "Better the devil you don't know: Types of corruption and FDI in transition economies," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 12-27, March.
    30. Marvin B. Lieberman, 1987. "The learning curve, diffusion, and competitive strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(5), pages 441-452, September.
    31. Ine Paeleman & Tom Vanacker, 2015. "Less is More, or Not? On the Interplay between Bundles of Slack Resources, Firm Performance and Firm Survival," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(6), pages 819-848, September.
    32. Klaus E. Meyer & Hung Vo Nguyen, 2005. "Foreign Investment Strategies and Sub‐national Institutions in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 63-93, January.
    33. Paul S. Adler & Kim B. Clark, 1991. "Behind the Learning Curve: A Sketch of the Learning Process," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 37(3), pages 267-281, March.
    34. John H. Dunning & Changsu Kim & Donghyun Park, 2008. "Old Wine in New Bottles: A Comparison of Emerging-Market TNCs Today and Developed-Country TNCs Thirty Years Ago," Chapters, in: Karl P. Sauvant (ed.), The Rise of Transnational Corporations from Emerging Markets, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    35. Gary P. Pisano & Richard M.J. Bohmer & Amy C. Edmondson, 2001. "Organizational Differences in Rates of Learning: Evidence from the Adoption of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(6), pages 752-768, June.
    36. Klaus Uhlenbruck & Peter Rodriguez & Jonathan Doh & Lorraine Eden, 2006. "The Impact of Corruption on Entry Strategy: Evidence from Telecommunication Projects in Emerging Economies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 402-414, June.
    37. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Mehmet Genc, 2008. "Transforming disadvantages into advantages: developing-country MNEs in the least developed countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(6), pages 957-979, September.
    38. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    39. Gautam Ahuja & Sai Yayavaram, 2011. "PERSPECTIVE ---Explaining Influence Rents: The Case for an Institutions-Based View of Strategy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1631-1652, December.
    40. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, 2006. "Who cares about corruption?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 807-822, November.
    41. Weilei (Stone) Shi & Sunny Li Sun & Mike W. Peng, 2012. "Sub-National Institutional Contingencies, Network Positions, and IJV Partner Selection," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1221-1245, November.
    42. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
    43. Klaus E. Meyer & Saul Estrin & Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Mike W. Peng, 2009. "Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 61-80, January.
    44. J. Myles Shaver, 1998. "Accounting for Endogeneity When Assessing Strategy Performance: Does Entry Mode Choice Affect FDI Survival?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(4), pages 571-585, April.
    45. Chengqi Wang & Junjie Hong & Mario Kafouros & Mike Wright, 2012. "Exploring the role of government involvement in outward FDI from emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(7), pages 655-676, September.
    46. Hélène Dernis & Mosahid Khan, 2004. "Triadic Patent Families Methodology," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2004/2, OECD Publishing.
    47. B Elango & Chinmay Pattnaik, 2007. "Building capabilities for international operations through networks: a study of Indian firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 541-555, July.
    48. Estrin, Saul & Nielsen, Bo B. & Nielsen, Sabina, 2017. "Emerging Market Multinational Companies and Internationalization: The Role of Home Country Urbanization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 326-339.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Matt, Tanja & Kleindienst, Ingo, 2020. "Going subnational: A literature review and research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    2. Xiao, Shufeng & Tian, Xiaocong, 2023. "Performance feedback and location choice of foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    3. Zhao, Yanping & Chen, Qing & de Haan, Jakob, 2023. "Does central bank independence matter for the location choices of Chinese firms’ foreign investments?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    4. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Li, Cheng, 2021. "State ownership and internationalization: The advantage and disadvantage of stateness," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    5. Chidlow, Agnieszka & Wang, Jue & Liu, Xiaohui & Wei, Yingqi, 2021. "A co-evolution perspective of EMNE internationalization and institutions: An integrative framework of 5Cs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4).
    6. Zhang, Yameng & Zhan, Wu & Xu, Yekun & Kumar, Vikas, 2020. "International friendship cities, regional government leaders, and outward foreign direct investment from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 105-118.
    7. Basuil, Dynah A. & Datta, Deepak K., 2019. "Effects of Firm-specific and Country-specific Advantages on Relative Acquisition Size in Service Sector Cross-Border Acquisitions: An Empirical Examination," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-80.
    8. Ludan Wu & Dylan Sutherland & John R. Anderson, . "Are emerging market MNEs more attracted towards better patent enforcement regimes when undertaking greenfield R&D-focused FDI?," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    9. Anton, Sorin Gabriel & Nucu, Anca Elena Afloarei, 2022. "On the role of institutional factors in shaping working capital management policies: Empirical evidence from European listed firms," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    10. Artemis Chang & Rui Torres de Oliveira & Hsi-Mei Chung & Nan Zheng, 2022. "Subnational response differences on the Belt and Road Initiative policy and firm internationalization: A longitudinal and multi-level approach," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(2), pages 152-171, June.
    11. Jie Wu & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2022. "Dynamic capabilities of emerging market multinational enterprises and the Uppsala model," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(5), pages 690-714, November.
    12. Sengupta, Aditi Sarkar & Kleindienst, Ingo & Hutzschenreuter, Thomas, 2023. "Heterogenous internationalization processes of emerging economy MNEs: A review and research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    13. Xu, Kai & Hitt, Michael A. & Brock, David & Pisano, Vincenzo & Huang, Lulu S.R., 2021. "Country institutional environments and international strategy: A review and analysis of the research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    14. Donnelly, Róisín & Manolova, Tatiana S., 2020. "Foreign location decisions through an institutional lens: A systematic review and future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4).
    15. Kouznetsov, Alex & Kim, Sarah & Wright, Chris, 2019. "An audit of received international business corruption literature for logic, consistency, completeness of coverage," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(4).
    16. Earl, Anna & Michailova, Snejina, 2021. "Home governments and MNEs in Russia: Relationships and MNE external legitimacy," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    17. Keilla Dayane Silva-Oliveira & Edson Keyso Miranda Kubo & Michael J. Morley & Rodrigo Médici Cândido, 2021. "Emerging Economy Inward and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: A Bibliometric and Thematic Content Analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 61(5), pages 643-679, October.
    18. Sewak, Mayank & Sharma, Anurag, 2020. "Performance implications of MNE subsidiary federation: Evidence from India," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(1).
    19. Yang, Jie & Mohammad, Shoeb, 2023. "Is the cure worse than the disease? The effect of emerging market MNEs on host country corruption," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Xiaohui & Gao, Lan & Lu, Jiangyong & Lioliou, Eleni, 2016. "Environmental risks, localization and the overseas subsidiary performance of MNEs from an emerging economy," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 356-368.
    2. Yang, Jie & Mohammad, Shoeb, 2023. "Is the cure worse than the disease? The effect of emerging market MNEs on host country corruption," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(3).
    3. Wu, Jie & Wood, Geoffrey & Khan, Zaheer, 2021. "Top management team’s formal network and international expansion of Chinese firms: The moderating role of state ownership and political ties," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    4. Xu, Kai & Hitt, Michael A. & Brock, David & Pisano, Vincenzo & Huang, Lulu S.R., 2021. "Country institutional environments and international strategy: A review and analysis of the research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    5. Sun, Sunny Li & Peng, Mike W. & Lee, Ruby P. & Tan, Weiqiang, 2015. "Institutional open access at home and outward internationalization," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 234-246.
    6. Ilan Alon & John Anderson & Ziaul Haque Munim & Alice Ho, 2018. "A review of the internationalization of Chinese enterprises," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 573-605, September.
    7. Foroudi, Pantea & Gupta, Suraksha & Patel, Parth & Batsakis, Georgios & Vaatanen, Juha & Czinkota, Michael, 2023. "The effect of home country characteristics on the internationalization of EMNEs: The moderating role of knowledge stock," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    8. Luo, Yadong & Zhang, Huan, 2016. "Emerging Market MNEs: Qualitative Review and Theoretical Directions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 333-350.
    9. Chabowski, Brian R. & Samiee, Saeed, 2023. "A bibliometric examination of the literature on emerging market MNEs as the basis for future research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    10. Li, Linjie & Liu, Xiaming & Yuan, Dong & Yu, Miaojie, 2017. "Does outward FDI generate higher productivity for emerging economy MNEs? – Micro-level evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 839-854.
    11. Yadong Luo & Rosalie L Tung, 2018. "A general theory of springboard MNEs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(2), pages 129-152, February.
    12. Sengupta, Aditi Sarkar & Kleindienst, Ingo & Hutzschenreuter, Thomas, 2023. "Heterogenous internationalization processes of emerging economy MNEs: A review and research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    13. Munjal, Surender & Varma, Sumati & Bhatnagar, Ankur, 2022. "A comparative analysis of Indian and Chinese FDI into Africa: The role of governance and alliances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1018-1033.
    14. Buckley, Peter J & Cui, Lin & Chen, Liang & Li, Yi & Choi, Yoona, 2023. "Following their predecessors’ journey? A review of EMNE studies and avenues for interdisciplinary inquiry," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    15. Weilei (Stone) Shi & Sunny Li Sun & Daying Yan & Zhu Zhu, 2017. "Institutional fragility and outward foreign direct investment from China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(4), pages 452-476, May.
    16. Pattnaik, Chinmay & Singh, Deeksha & Gaur, Ajai S., 2021. "Home country learning and international expansion of emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3).
    17. Ping Deng & Andrew Delios & Mike W. Peng, 2020. "A geographic relational perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(1), pages 50-71, February.
    18. Hu, Helen Wei & Cui, Lin, 2014. "Outward foreign direct investment of publicly listed firms from China: A corporate governance perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 750-760.
    19. Stoian, Carmen & Mohr, Alex, 2016. "Outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies: escaping home country regulative voids," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1124-1135.
    20. Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah & Tine Petersen Malonæs, 2022. "Firm-specific advantages: a comprehensive review with a focus on emerging markets," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 539-585, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:24:y:2018:i:4:p:317-332. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/601266/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.