Chinese multinationals’ FDI motivations: suggestion for a new theory

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to complement the conventional international business (IB) theory, the OLI perspective, which is good at explaining the foreign direct investments (FDIs) undertaken by developed market multinational corporations (DMNCs). This study also suggests a new theoretical framework, namely, the OILL paradigm, that is able to encompass FDIs from emerging market multinational corporations (EMNCs) toward developed economies. Design/methodology/approach - The data comprising 206 Chinese MNCs, which completed international mergers and acquisitions (IMAs), were obtained from Zephyr. By using these data, logical regressions are conducted to statistically confirm that we should not omit the learning motivation if we want to adequately understand the FDI phenomenon by encompassing investment flow from developing (or emerging) to developed countries. Findings - The results based on this data set indicate that EMNCs often try to enter developed economies with the motivation to seek sophisticated foreign host knowledge that is not available internally. In particular, they tend to use IMA strategies when they want to learn from heterogeneity (i.e. inter-industry mergers and acquisitions) and absorb advanced technologies from DMNCs. Research limitations/implications - By shedding light on the recent new trend in FDI (i.e. FDI from emerging countries to developed economies), the study provides useful theoretical implications, as well as suggesting scholarly contributions. However, we should acknowledge that there are some limitations to this study. First, the study explores only Chinese MNCs. Second, learning motivations need to be minutely and precisely measured by other studies. Third, this study argues that FDI from EMNCs to DMNCs is triggered by the former’s motivation concerning knowledge acquisition. However, the type of knowledge should be considered, and this is perhaps another avenue for future research. Practical implications - Conventional IB theories, such as the OLI paradigm and internalization theory, have long sought to answer the question of why DMNCs go for foreign markets, in spite of the presence of the liabilities of foreignness, and focused on their main investment motivations (i.e. market-seeking, efficiency-seeking and resource-seeking motivations). For this reason, these theories do not adequately capture the primary FDI motivations of EMNCs, and consequently, they are unable to see the big picture when it comes to the FDI phenomenon. Based on this idea, the authors complement the well-known triad motivations (i.e. market-seeking, efficiency-seeking and resource-seeking motivations) by adding the knowledge-seeking motive and contribute to the evolution of IB theories by suggesting a new theory, which is the OILL paradigm. Originality/value - The study contributes to the extant literature in the field of IB in two key ways. First, it examines EMNCs’ central motivations in conducting FDI where empirical research is sparse. By doing this, this paper attempts to solve the query indicated above (i.e. why MNCs choose FDI in spite of the presence of the liabilities of foreignness), and it offers a new theory (i.e. the OILL paradigm).