IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/eurjfi/v20y2014i7-9p681-702.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The more the better? Foreign ownership and corporate performance in China

Author

Listed:
  • David Greenaway
  • Alessandra Guariglia
  • Zhihong Yu

Abstract

We examine the relationship between the degree of foreign ownership and performance of recipient firms, using a panel of 21,582 Chinese firms over the period 2000-2005. We find that joint-ventures perform better than wholly foreign-owned and purely domestic firms. Although productivity and profitability initially rise with foreign ownership, they start declining once it reaches a certain point. This suggests that some domestic ownership is necessary to ensure optimal performance. We referred these findings to a model of a joint-venture, where strategic interactions between a foreign and a domestic owner's inputs may lead to an inverted U -shaped ownership-performance relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • David Greenaway & Alessandra Guariglia & Zhihong Yu, 2014. "The more the better? Foreign ownership and corporate performance in China," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7-9), pages 681-702, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurjfi:v:20:y:2014:i:7-9:p:681-702
    DOI: 10.1080/1351847X.2012.671785
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/1351847X.2012.671785
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/1351847X.2012.671785?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Dollar & Shang-Jin Wei, 2007. "Das (Wasted) Kapital: Firm Ownership and Investment Efficiency in China," IMF Working Papers 2007/009, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    3. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas & Newey, Whitney & Rosen, Harvey S, 1989. "The Revenues-Expenditures Nexus: Evidence from Local Government Data," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 30(2), pages 415-429, May.
    5. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Multinational Corporations and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 8, pages 101-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Eswar Prasad & Shang-Jin Wei, 2007. "The Chinese Approach to Capital Inflows: Patterns and Possible Explanations," NBER Chapters, in: Capital Controls and Capital Flows in Emerging Economies: Policies, Practices, and Consequences, pages 421-480, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond & Frank Windmeijer, 2000. "Estimation in dynamic panel data models: improving on the performance of the standard GMM estimator," IFS Working Papers W00/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    8. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Sourafel Girma & David Greenaway & Katharine Wakelin, 2013. "Who Benefits from Foreign Direct Investment in the UK?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(5), pages 560-574, November.
    10. Mark E. Doms & J . Bradford Jensen, 1998. "Comparing Wages, Skills, and Productivity between Domestically and Foreign-Owned Manufacturing Establishments in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Geography and Ownership as Bases for Economic Accounting, pages 235-258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Jozef Konings, 2000. "The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 344, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    12. Sean M. Dougherty & Robert H. McGuckin, 2001. "The Effect of Ownership Structure and Jurisdictional Governance on Productivity in Chinese Enterprises," Economics Program Working Papers 02-01, The Conference Board, Economics Program, revised Jan 2002.
    13. Steven Globerman & John C. Ries & Ilan Vertinsky, 1994. "The Economic Performance of Foreign Affiliates in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 27(1), pages 143-156, February.
    14. McConnell, John J. & Servaes, Henri, 1990. "Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 595-612, October.
    15. Saul Estrin & Jan Hanousek & Evzen Kocenda & Jan Svejnar, 2009. "The Effects of Privatization and Ownership in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 699-728, September.
    16. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    17. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    18. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    19. Liu, Zhiqiang, 2008. "Foreign direct investment and technology spillovers: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 176-193, February.
    20. Robert E. Baldwin & Robert E. Lipsey & J. David Richardson, 1998. "Geography and Ownership as Bases for Economic Accounting," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bald98-1.
    21. James Laurenceson & Bing Bing Jiang & Kam Ki Tang, "undated". "Share reform and the performance of China�s listed companies," EAERG Discussion Paper Series 1005, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    22. David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(517), pages 134-161, February.
    23. Rachel Griffith, 1999. "Productivity and foreign ownership in the UK car industry," IFS Working Papers W99/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    24. repec:bla:scotjp:v:49:y:2002:i:3:p:318-35 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    26. Jozef Konings, 2001. "The effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 9(3), pages 619-633, November.
    27. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    28. Simeon Djankov, 1999. "Ownership Structure and Enterprise Restructuring in Six Newly Independent States," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 41(1), pages 75-95, April.
    29. Andrew Benito, 2003. "The capital structure decisions of firms: is there a pecking order?," Working Papers 0310, Banco de España.
    30. 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.
    31. Luiz R. de Mello Jr., 1997. "Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: A Selective Survey," Studies in Economics 9701, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    32. Jun Du & Sourafel Girma, 2009. "The Effects of Foreign Acquisition on Domestic and Export Markets Dynamics in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 164-177, January.
    33. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    34. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    35. Tian, Lihui & Estrin, Saul, 2008. "Retained state shareholding in Chinese PLCs: Does government ownership always reduce corporate value?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 74-89, March.
    36. Ralf Martin & Chiara Criscuolo, 2002. "A note on ownership and productivity in UK businesses," United Kingdom Stata Users' Group Meetings 2002 6, Stata Users Group.
    37. repec:bla:scotjp:v:48:y:2001:i:2:p:119-33 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Sophia Dimelis & Helen Louri, 2002. "Foreign ownership and production efficiency: a quantile regression analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 449-469, July.
    39. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    40. Takii, Sadayuki, 2004. "Productivity Differentials Between Local and Foreign Plants in Indonesian Manufacturing, 1995," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1957-1969, November.
    41. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    42. Yama Temouri & Nigel L. Driffield & Dolores Añón Higón, 2008. "Analysis of Productivity Differences among Foreign and Domestic Firms: Evidence from Germany," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 144(1), pages 32-54, April.
    43. Luiz de Mello, 1997. "Foreign direct investment in developing countries and growth: A selective survey," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1-34.
    44. Chhibber, Pradeep K & Majumdar, Sumit K, 1999. "Foreign Ownership and Profitability: Property Rights, Control, and the Performance of Firms in Indian Industry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 209-238, April.
    45. repec:bla:jecsur:v:12:y:1998:i:3:p:247-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    46. Richard Harris, 2002. "Foreign Ownership and Productivity in the United Kingdom—Some Issues When Using the ARD Establishment Level Data," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 49(3), pages 318-335, August.
    47. Abraham, Filip & Konings, Jozef & Slootmaekers, Veerle, 2007. "FDI Spillovers in the Chinese Manufacturing Sector: Evidence of firm heterogeneity," CEPR Discussion Papers 6573, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    48. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    49. Shahid Yusuf & Kaoru Nabeshima & Dwight H. Perkins, 2005. "Under New Ownership : Privatizing China's State-Owned Enterprises," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7399.
    50. Richard Harris & Catherine Robinson, 2003. "Foreign Ownership and Productivity in the United Kingdom Estimates for U.K. Manufacturing Using the ARD," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 22(3), pages 207-223, May.
    51. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables, 2006. "Multinational Firms in the World Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 7832.
    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. Benfratello, Luigi & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2006. "Foreign ownership and productivity: Is the direction of causality so obvious?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 733-751, July.
    2. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    3. Waldkirch, Andreas & Ofosu, Andra, 2010. "Foreign Presence, Spillovers, and Productivity: Evidence from Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1114-1126, August.
    4. Hanousek, Jan & Kocenda, Evzen & Maurel, Mathilde, 2011. "Direct and indirect effects of FDI in emerging European markets: A survey and meta-analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-322, September.
    5. Arnold, Jens Matthias & Javorcik, Beata Smarzynska, 2005. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign acquisitions and plant performance in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3597, The World Bank.
    6. Fons-Rosen, Christian & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sørensen, Bent E. & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina & Volosovych, Vadym, 2021. "Quantifying productivity gains from foreign investment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    7. Sara L. McGaughey & Pascalis Raimondos & Lisbeth La Cour, 2018. "What is a Foreign Firm? Implications for Productivity Spillovers," CESifo Working Paper Series 7109, CESifo.
    8. Uppenberg, Kristian & Riess, Armin, 2004. "Determinants and growth effects of foreign direct investment," EIB Papers 3/2004, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    9. Kolasa Marcin, 2008. "How does FDI inflow affect productivity of domestic firms? The role of horizontal and vertical spillovers, absorptive capacity and competition," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 155-173.
    10. Segundo Camino-Mogro & Natalia Bermúdez-Barrezueta & Mary Armijos, 2023. "Is FDI a potential tool for boosting firm’s performance? Firm level evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 341-391, April.
    11. Harris, Richard & Moffat, John, 2011. "Plant-level determinants of total factor productivity in Great Britain, 1997-2006," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33561, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Orlic, Edvard & Hashi, Iraj & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap, 2018. "Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 777-796.
    13. Bournakis, Ioannis & Papanastassiou, Marina & Papaioannou, Sotiris, 2020. "Multinationals and Domestic TFP: Market Shares, Agglomerations Gains and Foreign Ownership," MPRA Paper 106626, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Agarwal, Natasha & Milner, Chris & Riaño, Alejandro, 2014. "Credit constraints and spillovers from foreign firms in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 261-275.
    15. Christian Bellak, 2004. "How Domestic and Foreign Firms Differ and Why Does it Matter?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 483-514, September.
    16. Noor Aini Khalifah & Radziah Adam, 2009. "Productivity Spillovers from FDI in Malaysian Manufacturing: Evidence from Micro‐panel Data," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 23(2), pages 143-167, June.
    17. Damijan, Jože P. & Rojec, Matija & Majcen, Boris & Knell, Mark, 2013. "Impact of firm heterogeneity on direct and spillover effects of FDI: Micro-evidence from ten transition countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 895-922.
    18. Santos, Eleonora, 2017. "Externalities from FDI on domestic firms’ Productivity: A Literature Review for Developed Countries," MPRA Paper 88958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Hanousek, Jan & Kočenda, Evžen & Shamshur, Anastasiya, 2015. "Corporate efficiency in Europe," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 24-40.
    20. Harris, Richard, 2009. "Spillover and backward linkage effects of FDI: empirical evidence for the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33206, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:eurjfi:v:20:y:2014:i:7-9:p:681-702. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/REJF20 .

    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.