Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets

In a world of rising political uncertainty, it is increasingly challenging for firms to navigate the political landscape. Political challenges can severely affect firms' operations in overseas markets, particularly during home-host country geopolitical confrontations. Hence, it is crucial for f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Qiu, Z
Other Authors: Thun, E
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
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author Qiu, Z
author2 Thun, E
author_facet Thun, E
Qiu, Z
author_sort Qiu, Z
collection OXFORD
description In a world of rising political uncertainty, it is increasingly challenging for firms to navigate the political landscape. Political challenges can severely affect firms' operations in overseas markets, particularly during home-host country geopolitical confrontations. Hence, it is crucial for firms to develop organisational capabilities to manage political risks and challenges. Prior research argues that variations in firms' strategic responses to host countries' political challenges are shaped by the home country's political environment. However, the existing literature appears to overlook firm-level variations within the same home country: firms may develop different relationships with the home government and, subsequently, manage government relations in different ways. Hence, my thesis seeks to address the research question: “Why do firms originating in the same country develop different political capabilities in overseas markets?” I approached this question empirically by conducting an in-depth qualitative study to investigate how Chinese firms handled host governments' national security concerns. I utilised interview and archival data to present six detailed case studies. My research findings illustrate that the heterogeneity of Chinese firms' political capabilities is shaped by their relationships with the Chinese government. My thesis first contributes to the corporate political capabilities literature by suggesting two additional antecedents – ownership and strategic importance – to explain firms' divergent responses to similar political challenges. Second, it provides an alternative explanation for firms' strategic choices between deploying internal political capabilities and/or relying on external political actors. Finally, my thesis offers practical guidance for business leaders to manage overseas political challenges.
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spelling oxford-uuid:756a62f6-25a2-4d21-b4b2-352d3ee35c292023-05-03T08:35:20ZChinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas marketsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:756a62f6-25a2-4d21-b4b2-352d3ee35c29ManagementGovernmentBusinessEnglishHyrax Deposit2022Qiu, ZThun, ESako, MIn a world of rising political uncertainty, it is increasingly challenging for firms to navigate the political landscape. Political challenges can severely affect firms' operations in overseas markets, particularly during home-host country geopolitical confrontations. Hence, it is crucial for firms to develop organisational capabilities to manage political risks and challenges. Prior research argues that variations in firms' strategic responses to host countries' political challenges are shaped by the home country's political environment. However, the existing literature appears to overlook firm-level variations within the same home country: firms may develop different relationships with the home government and, subsequently, manage government relations in different ways. Hence, my thesis seeks to address the research question: “Why do firms originating in the same country develop different political capabilities in overseas markets?” I approached this question empirically by conducting an in-depth qualitative study to investigate how Chinese firms handled host governments' national security concerns. I utilised interview and archival data to present six detailed case studies. My research findings illustrate that the heterogeneity of Chinese firms' political capabilities is shaped by their relationships with the Chinese government. My thesis first contributes to the corporate political capabilities literature by suggesting two additional antecedents – ownership and strategic importance – to explain firms' divergent responses to similar political challenges. Second, it provides an alternative explanation for firms' strategic choices between deploying internal political capabilities and/or relying on external political actors. Finally, my thesis offers practical guidance for business leaders to manage overseas political challenges.
spellingShingle Management
Government
Business
Qiu, Z
Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title_full Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title_fullStr Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title_full_unstemmed Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title_short Chinese multinational enterprises’ corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
title_sort chinese multinational enterprises corporate political capabilities in overseas markets
topic Management
Government
Business
work_keys_str_mv AT qiuz chinesemultinationalenterprisescorporatepoliticalcapabilitiesinoverseasmarkets