Conclusion and Directions for Future Research

In the previous chapters, we provided a conceptual framework, as well as practical examples, of the relationship between national culture, cultural distance, and managerial issues in China. By showing the links between studies on culture and international management with a rigorous mixed methods approach, our analysis shed light on how academic discourses of cultural, ethnic, or national categorizations traverse management issues of foreign SMEs in China. This chapter presents some concluding remarks, together with the main contributions to theory, practice, and policy-makers. The study confirmed that local cultural characteristics, values, beliefs, and behavioral patterns affect foreign SMEs’ management processes in China. Our analysis is useful to improve SEMs’ strategies for enhancing adaptive capabilities and performance in complex, distant, and multifaceted settings, such as the Chinese market. Our findings also support the identification of policies and measures to promote international growth and competitiveness of SMEs and local systems.