IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v18y2009i4p373-386.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Returnee entrepreneurs and firm performance in Chinese high-technology industries

Author

Listed:
  • Dai, Ou
  • Liu, Xiaohui

Abstract

Building on the knowledge-based view and network perspectives, this paper explores the relationships between knowledge, networks and firm performance. Using a unique, hand-collected dataset of 353 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of returning entrepreneurs and 358 local entrepreneur-owned SMEs from Zhongguancun Science Park in China, we find that the SMEs of returning entrepreneurs perform better than those owned by local entrepreneurs due to their technological and commercial knowledge as well as their international entrepreneurial orientation. Our results show that international networks positively affect firm performance in high-tech industries. Our findings indicate that returnee entrepreneurs gain competitive advantages through utilising their intangible assets to exploit business opportunities and development in an emerging economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Dai, Ou & Liu, Xiaohui, 2009. "Returnee entrepreneurs and firm performance in Chinese high-technology industries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 373-386, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:4:p:373-386
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593109000365
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Ingmar Björkman & Günter K Stahl & Eero Vaara, 2007. "Cultural differences and capability transfer in cross-border acquisitions: the mediating roles of capability complementarity, absorptive capacity, and social integration," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 658-672, July.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. Tan, Justin, 2006. "Growth of industry clusters and innovation: Lessons from Beijing Zhongguancun Science Park," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 827-850, November.
    4. Gregory G. Dess & G. T. Lumpkin & J. G. Covin, 1997. "Entrepreneurial strategy making and firm performance: tests of contingency and configurational models," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 677-695, October.
    5. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 2004. "Foreign subsidiaries as a channel of international technology diffusion: Some direct firm level evidence from Belgium," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 455-476, April.
    6. Mike Peng & Jessie Zhou, 2005. "How Network Strategies and Institutional Transitions Evolve in Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 321-336, December.
    7. Shige Makino & Andrew Delios, 1996. "Local Knowledge Transfer and Performance: Implications for Alliance Formation in Asia," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(5), pages 905-927, December.
    8. Cooper, Arnold C. & Artz, Kendall W., 1995. "Determinants of satisfaction for entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 439-457, November.
    9. Sucheta Nadkarni & Pedro David Perez, 2007. "Prior conditions and early international commitment: the mediating role of domestic mindset," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 160-176, January.
    10. Jagdip Singh, 1995. "Measurement in Cross-National Research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(3), pages 597-619, September.
    11. Gautam Ahuja & Riitta Katila, 2001. "Technological acquisitions and the innovation performance of acquiring firms: a longitudinal study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 197-220, March.
    12. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    13. Scott Shane & Toby Stuart, 2002. "Organizational Endowments and the Performance of University Start-ups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(1), pages 154-170, January.
    14. Rosalie L Tung, 2008. "The cross-cultural research imperative: the need to balance cross-national and intra-national diversity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(1), pages 41-46, January.
    15. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    16. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Mary M Maloney & Shalini Manrakhan, 2007. "Causes of the difficulties in internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(5), pages 709-725, September.
    17. Chandler, Gaylen N. & Hanks, Steven H., 1993. "Measuring the performance of emerging businesses: A validation study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(5), pages 391-408, September.
    18. Phillips McDougall, Patricia & Shane, Scott & Oviatt, Benjamin M., 1994. "Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(6), pages 469-487, November.
    19. Castanias, Richard P. & Helfat, Constance E., 1992. "Managerial and windfall rents in the market for corporate control," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 153-184, July.
    20. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    21. Gans, Joshua S. & Stern, Scott, 2003. "The product market and the market for "ideas": commercialization strategies for technology entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 333-350, February.
    22. Christensen, Clayton M., 1993. "The Rigid Disk Drive Industry: A History of Commercial and Technological Turbulence," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 531-588, January.
    23. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    24. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    25. Michael R Mullen, 1995. "Diagnosing Measurement Equivalence in Cross-National Research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(3), pages 573-596, September.
    26. Havnes, Pers-Anders & Senneseth, Knut, 2001. "A Panel Study of Firm Growth among SMEs in Networks," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 293-302, June.
    27. Srilata Zaheer & Akbar Zaheer, 1997. "Country Effects on Information Seeking in Global Electronic Networks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(1), pages 77-100, March.
    28. Jeffrey G. Covin & Dennis P. Slevin, 1989. "Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 75-87, January.
    29. Coviello, Nicole & Munro, Hugh, 1997. "Network relationships and the internationalisation process of small software firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 361-386, August.
    30. Roy, Abhik & Walters, Peter G. P. & Luk, Sherriff T. K., 2001. "Chinese puzzles and paradoxes: conducting business research in China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 203-210, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mike Wright & Xiaohui Liu & Trevor Buck & Igor Filatotchev, 2008. "Returnee Entrepreneurs, Science Park Location Choice and Performance: An Analysis of High–Technology SMEs in China," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(1), pages 131-155, January.
    2. Filatotchev, Igor & Liu, Xiaohui & Lu, Jiangyong & Wright, Mike, 2011. "Knowledge spillovers through human mobility across national borders: Evidence from Zhongguancun Science Park in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 453-462, April.
    3. Chila, Vilma, 2021. "Knowledge dynamics in employee entrepreneurship : Implications for parents and offspring," Other publications TiSEM a1f5d18c-783b-4af6-8414-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Johan Wiklund & Holger Patzelt & Dean Shepherd, 2009. "Building an integrative model of small business growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 351-374, April.
    5. Pak, Yong Suhk & Ra, Wonchan & Lee, Jong Min, 2015. "An integrated multi-stage model of knowledge management in international joint ventures: Identifying a trigger for knowledge exploration and knowledge harvest," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 180-191.
    6. Adrián Kovács & Bart Looy & Bruno Cassiman, 2015. "Exploring the scope of open innovation: a bibliometric review of a decade of research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(3), pages 951-983, September.
    7. Khan, Zaheer & Lew, Yong Kyu, 2018. "Post-entry survival of developing economy international new ventures: A dynamic capability perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 149-160.
    8. Ulrich Lichtenthaler & Eckhard Lichtenthaler, 2009. "A Capability‐Based Framework for Open Innovation: Complementing Absorptive Capacity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 1315-1338, December.
    9. Tobias Pehrsson & Navid Ghannad & Anders Pehrsson & Tobias Abt & Siyuan Chen & Fabian Erath & Tobias Hammarstig, 2015. "Dynamic capabilities and performance in foreign markets: Developments within international new ventures," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 28-48, March.
    10. Ricardo Rodrigues & Carlos Sampaio & Paulo Duarte & José Manuel Hernández-Mogollón, 2022. "Cross-Border Innovation: Assessing Concepts, Contexts, and Content," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Petra Andries & Dirk Czarnitzki, 2014. "Small firm innovation performance and employee involvement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 21-38, June.
    12. Bai, Wensong & Holmström-Lind, Christine & Johanson, Martin, 2018. "Leveraging networks, capabilities and opportunities for international success: A study on returnee entrepreneurial ventures," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 51-62.
    13. Martinkenaite, Ieva & Breunig, Karl Joachim, 2016. "The emergence of absorptive capacity through micro–macro level interactions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 700-708.
    14. Shaker A. Zahra & Congcong Zheng & Jifeng Yu, 2018. "Learning advantages of newness: A reconceptualization and contingent framework," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 12-37, March.
    15. Henri A. Schildt & Markku V.J. Maula & Thomas Keil, 2005. "Explorative and Exploitative Learning from External Corporate Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(4), pages 493-515, July.
    16. Ahammad, Mohammad Faisal & Tarba, Shlomo Yedidia & Liu, Yipeng & Glaister, Keith W., 2016. "Knowledge transfer and cross-border acquisition performance: The impact of cultural distance and employee retention," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-75.
    17. Sirén, Charlotta & Kohtamäki, Marko, 2016. "Stretching strategic learning to the limit: The interaction between strategic planning and learning," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 653-663.
    18. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    19. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Presutti, Manuela, 2019. "SMEs international growth: The moderating role of experience on entrepreneurial and learning orientations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 613-624.
    20. Li, Shenxue & Clark, Timothy & Sillince, John, 2018. "Constructing a strategy on the creation of core competencies for African companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 204-213.

    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:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:4:p:373-386. 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/133/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.