IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v129y2021icp145-156.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Chinese MNE acquisition of unrelated foreign businesses: The role of diversified business group affiliation, private ownership and strategic asset seeking

Author

Listed:
  • Shi, Xinwei
  • Sutherland, Dylan
  • Williams, Christopher
  • Rong, Ke

Abstract

While the acquisition by Chinese firms of unrelated foreign businesses has become quite common, it is a highly risky undertaking not fully explained by international business scholars. Using resource-based and institutional theory, we hypothesize that affiliation with a domestically diversified business group confers pre- and post-acquisition advantages and legitimacy, fostering unrelated foreign acquisitions. In addition, we argue that private ownership as well as a motive to seek strategic assets amplify this tendency among Chinese firms affiliated to diversified groups. Ordered logit modelling for 662 Chinese cross-border M&As over a 10-year period provides support for our hypotheses. Our findings shed new light on: the distinctive characteristics of Chinese MNEs; broader conceptual arguments regarding the strategy of emerging market MNEs; the apparent paradox of why Chinese MNEs have used international acquisitions to diversify at a time when many Western diversified conglomerates are divesting non-core businesses.

Suggested Citation

  • Shi, Xinwei & Sutherland, Dylan & Williams, Christopher & Rong, Ke, 2021. "Chinese MNE acquisition of unrelated foreign businesses: The role of diversified business group affiliation, private ownership and strategic asset seeking," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 145-156.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:129:y:2021:i:c:p:145-156
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.036
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321001223
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.036?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. 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.
    2. Datar, Srikant & Frankel, Richard & Wolfson, Mark, 2001. "Earnouts: The Effects of Adverse Selection and Agency Costs on Acquisition Techniques," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 201-238, April.
    3. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    4. Katrin Muehlfeld & Padma Rao Sahib & Arjen Van Witteloostuijn, 2012. "A contextual theory of organizational learning from failures and successes: A study of acquisition completion in the global newspaper industry, 1981–2008," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 938-964, August.
    5. Birgitte Grøgaard & Asmund Rygh & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2019. "Bringing corporate governance into internalization theory: State ownership and foreign entry strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1310-1337, October.
    6. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, 2006. "Business groups and their types," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 419-437, December.
    7. 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.
    8. Peter J Buckley & L Jeremy Clegg & Hinrich Voss & Adam R Cross & Xin Liu & Ping Zheng, 2018. "A retrospective and agenda for future research on Chinese outward foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(1), pages 4-23, January.
    9. Wang, Chengqi & Yi, Jingtao & Kafouros, Mario & Yan, Yanni, 2015. "Under what institutional conditions do business groups enhance innovation performance?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 694-702.
    10. Tan, Danchi & Meyer, Klaus E., 2010. "Business groups' outward FDI: A managerial resources perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 154-164, June.
    11. Sunny Li Sun & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan, 2017. "Institutional relatedness behind product diversification and international diversification," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 339-366, June.
    12. Lihua Wang & Edward J. Zajac, 2007. "Alliance or acquisition? a dyadic perspective on interfirm resource combinations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1291-1317, December.
    13. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2005. "Institutions, ownership, and finance: the determinants of profit reinvestment among Chinese firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 117-146, July.
    14. Popli, Manish & Ladkani, Radha M. & Gaur, Ajai S., 2017. "Business group affiliation and post-acquisition performance: An extended resource-based view," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-30.
    15. 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.
    16. Holmes, R. Michael & Hoskisson, Robert E. & Kim, Hicheon & Wan, William P. & Holcomb, Tim R., 2018. "International strategy and business groups: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 134-150.
    17. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    18. 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.
    19. Deng, Ping, 2009. "Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 74-84, January.
    20. Paul H. Malatesta & Kathryn L. DeWenter, 2001. "State-Owned and Privately Owned Firms: An Empirical Analysis of Profitability, Leverage, and Labor Intensity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 320-334, March.
    21. Cheng, Cong & Yang, Monica, 2017. "Enhancing performance of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in developed markets: The role of business ties and technological innovation capability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 107-117.
    22. Joseph P. H. Fan & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2006. "On the Patterns and Wealth Effects of Vertical Mergers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(2), pages 877-902, March.
    23. Granovetter, Mark, 1995. "Coase Revisited: Business Groups in the Modern Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 4(1), pages 93-130.
    24. Lu, Jiangyong & Liu, Xiaohui & Filatotchev, Igor & Wright, Mike, 2014. "The impact of domestic diversification and top management teams on the international diversification of Chinese firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 455-467.
    25. Child, John & Rodrigues, Suzana B., 2005. "The Internationalization of Chinese Firms: A Case for Theoretical Extension?1," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(3), pages 381-410, November.
    26. Daphne W. Yiu, 2011. "Multinational Advantages of Chinese Business Groups: A Theoretical Exploration," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 7(2), pages 249-277, July.
    27. Dunning, John H., 2000. "The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 163-190, April.
    28. 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.
    29. 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.
    30. Borda, Armando & Geleilate, José-Mauricio G. & Newburry, William & Kundu, Sumit K., 2017. "Firm internationalization, business group diversification and firm performance: The case of Latin American firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 104-113.
    31. Gaur, Ajai S. & Kumar, Vikas & Singh, Deeksha, 2014. "Institutions, resources, and internationalization of emerging economy firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 12-20.
    32. Vinit M. Desai, 2008. "Constrained Growth: How Experience, Legitimacy, and Age Influence Risk Taking in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 594-608, August.
    33. John A. Mathews, 2017. "Dragon multinationals powered by linkage, leverage and learning: A review and development," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 769-775, December.
    34. Chari, Murali D.R., 2013. "Business groups and foreign direct investments by developing country firms: An empirical test in India," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 349-359.
    35. Jiatao Li & Peixin Li & Baolian Wang, 2019. "The liability of opaqueness: State ownership and the likelihood of deal completion in international acquisitions by Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 303-327, February.
    36. N Capar & M Kotabe, 2003. "The relationship between international diversification and performance in service firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(4), pages 345-355, July.
    37. Leslie E. Palich & Laura B. Cardinal & C. Chet Miller, 2000. "Curvilinearity in the diversification–performance linkage: an examination of over three decades of research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 155-174, February.
    38. Aguilera, Ruth V. & Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Infantes, Paula M. & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2020. "Business groups and internationalization: Effective identification and future agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    39. 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.
    40. Buckley, Peter J. & Munjal, Surender & Enderwick, Peter & Forsans, Nicolas, 2016. "The role of experiential and non-experiential knowledge in cross-border acquisitions: The case of Indian multinational enterprises," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 675-685.
    41. Dylan Sutherland & John Anderson & Peter Hertenstein, 2018. "Is the Strategic Asset Seeking Investment Proclivity of Chinese MNEs Different to that of Developed Market MNEs? A Comparative Analysis of Location Choice and Orientation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 911-933, December.
    42. Yiu, Daphne W., 2011. "Multinational Advantages of Chinese Business Groups: A Theoretical Exploration," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 249-277, July.
    43. Arkadiy V. Sakhartov & Timothy B. Folta, 2015. "Getting beyond relatedness as a driver of corporate value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(13), pages 1939-1959, December.
    44. Max Boisot & Marshall W. Meyer, 2008. "Which Way through the Open Door? Reflections on the Internationalization of Chinese Firms," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 4(3), pages 349-365, November.
    45. Boisot, Max & Meyer, Marshall W., 2008. "Which Way through the Open Door? Reflections on the Internationalization of Chinese Firms," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 349-365, November.
    46. Sea-Jin Chang & Chi-Nien Chung & Ishtiaq P. Mahmood, 2006. "When and How Does Business Group Affiliation Promote Firm Innovation? A Tale of Two Emerging Economies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(5), pages 637-656, October.
    47. Choelsoon Park, 2002. "The Effects of Prior Performance on the Choice Between Related and Unrelated Acquisitions: Implications for the Performance Consequences of Diversification Strategy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7), pages 1003-1019, November.
    48. Deepak K. Datta, 1991. "Organizational fit and acquisition performance: Effects of post‐acquisition integration," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 281-297, May.
    49. Sutherland, Dylan & Anderson, John & Hu, Zheyuan, 2020. "A comparative analysis of location and non-location-bounded strategic asset seeking in emerging and developed market MNEs: An application of new internalization theory," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    50. Ramamurti, Ravi & Williamson, Peter J., 2019. "Rivalry between emerging-market MNEs and developed-country MNEs: Capability holes and the race to the future," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 157-169.
    51. Carney, Michael & Van Essen, Marc & Estrin, Saul & Shapiro, Daniel, 2017. "Business group prevalence and impact across countries and over time: what can we learn from the literature," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68281, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    52. John Child & Suzana B. Rodrigues, 2005. "The Internationalization of Chinese Firms: A Case for Theoretical Extension?," Management and Organization Review, International Association of Chinese Management Research, vol. 1(3), pages 381-410, November.
    53. 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.
    54. Ajai Gaur & Andrew Delios, 2015. "International Diversification of Emerging Market Firms: The Role of Ownership Structure and Group Affiliation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 235-253, April.
    55. Michael Carney & Marc van Essen & Saul Estrin & Daniel Shapiro, 2017. "Business group prevalence and impact across countries and over time : What can we learn from the literature?," Post-Print hal-02312101, HAL.
    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. Xiao, Shufeng & Tian, Xiaocong, 2023. "Performance feedback and location choice of foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    2. Ranjit Gupta & Maya Gianchandani & Cristian Mejia & Yogesh B. Gianchandani & Yuya Kajikawa, 2023. "Revealing Integrated Product and Geographical Diversification Trajectories in Multinational Pharmaceutical Enterprises," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Vasanthan Subramaniam & Mosharrof Hosen, 2023. "Corporate diversification and debt financing: Do family shareholders protect their control rights?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 1305-1317, March.
    4. Steiber, Annika & Corvello, Vincenzo & Ghosh, Swapan, 2023. "International acquisition processes: A cultural analysis of GE Appliances’ business transformation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 171-180.
    5. Su, Cong & Kong, Lingshuang & Ciabuschi, Francesco, 2022. "Innovativeness and the relevance of political ties in Chinese MNEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 494-508.
    6. Driffield, Nigel & Jones, Chris & Kim, Jae-Yeon & Temouri, Yama, 2021. "FDI motives and the use of tax havens: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 644-662.
    7. 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).
    8. Luiz, John M. & Barnard, Helena, 2022. "Home country (in)stability and the locational portfolio construction of emerging market multinational enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 17-32.
    9. Hsiao, Hsiao-Fen & Tang, Jinquan & Wen, Conghua, 2024. "Diversification's effect and manager experience on investment efficiency," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 890-900.

    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. Ajai S Gaur & Xufei Ma & Zhujun Ding, 2018. "Home country supportiveness/unfavorableness and outward foreign direct investment from China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(3), pages 324-345, April.
    2. Luo, Yadong & Zhang, Huan, 2016. "Emerging Market MNEs: Qualitative Review and Theoretical Directions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 333-350.
    3. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Catherine Cai, 2020. "The effects of ownership identity on corporate diversification strategy of Chinese companies in foreign markets," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 91-126, March.
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. 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.
    7. 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).
    8. Liang, Yanze & Giroud, Axèle & Rygh, Asmund, 2022. "Strategic asset-seeking acquisitions, technological gaps, and innovation performance of Chinese multinationals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(4).
    9. 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.
    10. Vukicevic, Jelena & Fallon, Grahame & Ott, Ursula F., 2021. "A theoretical and empirical investigation into investment activities of technologically-intensive Chinese state-owned enterprises in the UK," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    11. Liang Chen & Yi Li & Di Fan, 2021. "Who are the most inclined to learn? Evidence from Chinese multinationals’ internationalization in the European Union," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 231-257, March.
    12. Dylan Sutherland & John Anderson & Peter Hertenstein, 2018. "Is the Strategic Asset Seeking Investment Proclivity of Chinese MNEs Different to that of Developed Market MNEs? A Comparative Analysis of Location Choice and Orientation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 911-933, December.
    13. Anderson, John & Sutherland, Dylan & Severe, Sean, 2015. "An event study of home and host country patent generation in Chinese MNEs undertaking strategic asset acquisitions in developed markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 758-771.
    14. Luo, Yadong & Maksimov, Vladislav & Bu, Juan, 2021. "Making Geographic Dispersion Work for Emerging Market MNEs," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3).
    15. Wei, Ziyi & Nguyen, Quyen T.K., 2017. "Subsidiary strategy of emerging market multinationals: A home country institutional perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 1009-1021.
    16. Grimm Noh & Dongyoub Shin, 2018. "The different influences of the government and politicians on the international expansion of Chinese firms," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(5), pages 366-396, December.
    17. Sutherland, Dylan & Anderson, John & Hu, Zheyuan, 2020. "A comparative analysis of location and non-location-bounded strategic asset seeking in emerging and developed market MNEs: An application of new internalization theory," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    18. 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).
    19. 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.
    20. Su, Cong & Kong, Lingshuang & Ciabuschi, Francesco & Yan, Haifeng, 2021. "Reverse innovation transfer in Chinese MNCs: The role of political ties and headquarters," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).

    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:jbrese:v:129:y:2021:i:c:p:145-156. 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/locate/jbusres .

    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.